Thanks to Deb Borrett for posting this on the Larkfield Facebook page. It may be well known to all church and organisation treasurers, but just in case...
Has the person responsible for Gift Aid at your Church caught up with GASDS – the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme? HMRC now allows charities to claim gift aid on small donations of £20 or less without the need for a Gift Aid declaration. That means, broadly, that we can claim Gift Aid on all the loose cash in the collection plate since 6th April. There are a few more conditions attached, but they look easy to meet, but it is likely to mean a slight change to the records kept each week when the collection is counted.
For once, this is a case of the Chancellor giving something rather than taking it away. Don't let your Church miss out. There doesn't seem to be anything about this on the Methodist Church website (yet!) but an email was been sent out to all Church/Circuit/District Treasurers and Gift Aid secretaries in mid-February. If you didn't receive it and should have done, then ask your Superintendent to update the Connexional database or send your details to giftaid@methodistchurch.org
