Claiming Gift Aid on volunteer expenses

As part of our recent look at some of the complexities around Gift Aid, we know that volunteer expenses can cause confusion. Volunteers sometimes incur expenses when helping a charity, such as travel costs, and these may be reimbursed by the charity.

Unfortunately, if a volunteer simply forgoes the expenses to which they are entitled, the charity cannot claim Gift Aid on these expenses. Gift Aid cannot be claimed on book entries following a waiver of expenses.

However, if a charity physically pays the expenses to the volunteer they can then choose to pay part or all of it back as a Gift Aid payment. When the volunteer pays back part or all of the expenses, they are treated as having made a donation on which Gift Aid can be claimed, rather than just returning the expenses. The charity will need a Gift Aid declaration from the volunteer to make the claim.

Find out more about our Charity & Not-for-profit sector specialists.