... Gift Aid Calculator 2025/26 - How Much Extra Does Your Charity Get?
Free · 2025/26 · UK

Gift Aid Calculator 2025/26

Charity Gift Aid top-upHigher-rate reclaimPayroll giving reliefGross donation value

Calculate how much Gift Aid a charity can claim on your donation, how much you can personally reclaim if you’re a higher or additional-rate taxpayer, and how payroll giving compares.

Donor view — what does my donation really cost?
Charity view — how much does the charity receive?
Gift Aid Relief for Donors
2025/26
£
The amount you actually pay — Gift Aid is claimed on top
£
Used to check Gift Aid qualification — you must pay enough tax
Gross Donation (with GA)
Your Tax Reclaim
Your Net Cost
Gift Aid Breakdown
Gift Aid — Charity View
2025/26
£
Total cash the charity actually received — Gift Aid top-up is calculated on this
Cash Donations
Gift Aid Reclaim
Total Value to Charity
Charity Gift Aid Claim

How Gift Aid works

Gift Aid allows UK charities to claim an extra 25p for every £1 you donate, at no extra cost to you — as long as you’re a UK taxpayer and have paid at least as much income tax or CGT as the charity will claim (for a £100 donation, the charity claims £25, so you must have paid at least £25 in tax this year). You confirm this by signing a Gift Aid declaration.

If you’re a higher-rate (40%) taxpayer, you’re entitled to claim back the difference between the basic rate already claimed by the charity and your higher rate — that’s an extra 20p per £1 donated, claimed via Self Assessment or by contacting HMRC.

Gift Aid and the £100k adjusted income trap

Charitable donations under Gift Aid reduce your “adjusted net income” — the figure used to calculate the £100k personal allowance taper. If your income is between £100,000 and £125,140, a £2,000 Gift Aid donation effectively recovers £1,200 in tax (restoring personal allowance worth 60p per £ plus the 25p Gift Aid top-up). Highly efficient.

Frequently asked questions

Can I carry back a Gift Aid donation to the previous tax year?
Yes — you can elect to carry back a Gift Aid donation made in the current tax year to the previous tax year, provided you make the election before you file your Self Assessment return for the previous year and you had enough tax liability in that prior year to cover the donation. This is useful if you had a high-income year and want to offset it with a large charitable donation made early in the following year. The election is made on your Self Assessment return.
Can I Gift Aid donations made in previous years I didn’t claim?
You can amend a Self Assessment return up to 12 months after the filing deadline to add Gift Aid donations you forgot to include. For older years, HMRC has some discretion but generally won’t go back further than 4 years. If you didn’t file a return, you can contact HMRC directly to claim higher-rate relief on Gift Aid donations, though this is a more complex process. Don’t leave significant unclaimed relief on the table.

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