Tag Archives: gift aid

Getting Tax Relief for Gift Aid, Pensions and much more…

If you make any donations to a registered charity you can claim tax relief if you pay higher rate tax. You must keep a record of the payments you’ve made and to which charities, this is then recorded on your self-assessment tax return and allows you to claim relief by extending the basic rate band for the payments made. This way more of your income is taxed at the basic rate of 20% before being subject to the higher rate.

When you make contributions to a personal pension plan these are usually treated as net contributions and the pension provider claims tax back from the Government at the basic rate of 20%. In practice, this means that for every £80 you pay into your pension, you end up with £100 in your pension pot. If you pay tax at higher rate, you can claim the difference through your tax return.

Expenses

Expenses that you have paid in order to do your job can be reclaimed via your tax return. For example, if you used your own car for a business trip and your employer only reimbursed at a rate of 30p per mile then you can claim the difference between the approved mileage allowance of 45p per mile and the 30p then you received from your employer as a business expense.

This includes items like work related training, if you as the employee have paid for this then this should be included on your tax return as a business expense. You therefore receive tax relief on the cost of anything work related.

Items that were recorded on your P11d, if these were wholly and exclusively for business purposes these should also be included on your tax return as business expenses to enable you to claim the relief for the reimbursement, otherwise these items are treated as taxable.

If you are unsure what you can claim for – we can help you make sure you claim what you are entitled to, please get in touch.