Effective Corporate Donations in Northern Ireland
Giving to Charity
Tax relief is available in the UK to encourage businesses to give to charity. There are different rules that might apply, depending on whether your business is a company, a sole trader or a partnership.
Types of gifts
Gifts of money
Businesses can get tax relief when they give money, whether as a one-off or a regular payment, under the Gift Aid scheme. There is no longer a separate tax relief for payments to charity under a deed of covenant. There is no limit to the amount that the business can give, but the way you get tax relief will depend upon whether the business is a company, a sole trader or a partnership.
Gifts of land, buildings, shares and securities
Businesses can get tax relief for the gifts to charity of any qualifying investments. These include certain shares, securities and land and buildings. This is in addition to the relief you can claim for them when calculating capital gains tax.
Gifts of equipment or trading stock to charity
If your charity gives to a charity
- an item manufactured or sold in the course of your trade, or
- machinery or plant used in the course of your trade
Secondment of employees to charity
Trading or investment companies, sole traders, or trading partnerships that provide assistance to charities by seconding employees to them on a temporary basis can claim relief for the employment costs that they continue to incur.
Sponsorship payments
Trading companies, sole trading partnerships sponsoring a charitable activity can claim relief for sponsorship payments, provided the payments are made wholly and exclusively for the purposes of your trade and are not of a capital nature. (Capital expenditure is expenditure incurred for the purpose of acquiring, improving or extending an asset held for use in the business).
More information
More detailed information is available from the HM Revenue & Customs website.
You can also contact their charity helpline on 0845 3 02 02 03.
Thank you for helping us to make poverty a thing of the past.