easa|ireland|2008

WHAT IS AN "APPROVED BODY"?

In addition to eligible charities, the following is a list of other "approved bodies" for the purposes of the Scheme:

Educational institutions or bodies including primary, second level or third level, if they meet certain conditions (e.g. their programmes are approved by the Minister for Education and Science or the institution provides courses which are validated by the Higher Education Training and Awards Council),

A body approved for Education in the Arts by the Minister for Finance,

A body to which Section 209 TCA 1997 applies, i.e. a body for the promotion of the observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the implementation of the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, or both.

WHAT DONATIONS QUALIFY FOR RELIEF?

The minimum donation in any single year that must be made to any one eligible charity or approved body in the form of money or designated securities, or a combination of money and designated securities, must be of a value of €250. Cash donations made in instalments (e.g. Standing Order) also qualify.

There is no maximum qualifying donation amount save that where there is an association between the donor and the eligible charity/approved body at the time the donation is made, e.g. where the donor is an employee or member of the eligible charity/approved body, the relief will be restricted to 10% of the total income of the individual for the relevant year of assessment.

An overall restriction applies to tax relief schemes as introduced by Section 17 of the Finance Act 2006.

A donation must also satisfy the following conditions:

It must be in the form of money or designated securities or a combination of money and designated securities,

It must not be repayable,

It must not confer any benefit on the donor or any person connected with the donor,

It must not be conditional on, or associated with, any arrangement involving the acquisition of property by the eligible charity or the approved body.

NATURE OF RELIEF

The arrangements for allowing tax relief on donations will depend on whether the donor is

(1) a PAYE-only taxpayer or

(2) an individual on Self-assessment or

(3) a company.

For a PAYE-only taxpayer, the relief will be given on a "grossed up" basis to the eligible charity or approved body, as the case may be, rather than by way of a separate claim to tax relief by the donor. In other words, the donation will be treated as having been received by the eligible charity or approved body 'net' of income tax. If the donation comprises designated securities, the donor must account for any Capital Gains Tax liability to enable the eligible charity to claim the tax relief.

In the case of a donation made by an individual who pays tax on a Self-Assessment basis, the individual will claim the relief and there is no grossing up arrangement. Similarly, in the case of a donation made by an individual who pays portion of his/her tax under the Self-assessment system but who also pays tax under the PAYE tax system, the individual will claim the relief and there is no grossing up arrangement unless he/she is not deemed a "chargeable person" for Self-assessment purposes.

In the case of Corporate donations, the company will claim a deduction for the donation as if it were a trading expense; again there is no grossing up arrangement in this case.

Examples:

PAYE-ONLY Individual

(a) Individual on the standard rate of tax, i.e. 20%

Individual donates €500

Value of donation to the eligible charity/approved body = €625, i.e. €500 x (100 ÷ 80)

Tax associated with the donation (€625 - €500) = €125

The eligible charity or approved body will therefore be able to claim a repayment of €125 from Revenue at the end of the tax year.

(b) Individual on the higher rate of tax, i.e. 41%

Individual donates €500

Value of donation to the eligible charity/approved body = €847.46, i.e. €500 x (100 ÷ 59)

Tax associated with the donation (€847.46 - €500) = €347.46

The eligible charity or approved body will therefore be able to claim a repayment of €347.46 from Revenue at the end of the tax year.

(Note: In a situation where insufficient tax has been paid to cover the donation made, the refund of tax will be limited to the amount of tax actually paid by the donor.

Also, if a taxpayer does not have sufficient tax paid at the higher rate to cover the grossing up of the relevant donation, then the tax relief is restricted at the relevant rates of tax.)

Examples contd.:

The individual

PAYE-only donor must complete an "Appropriate Certificate" - see Appendix 2 'CHY2 Cert' -

and forward it to the relevant eligible charity or approved body, as the case may be, to allow it to claim the grossed up amount of tax associated with the donation. Charities and other approved bodies should exercise care towards ensuring that such Certificates are completed in the case of PAYE-only donors.

For repayment purposes, the details contained in the Appropriate Certificates must subsequently be forwarded by charities and approved bodies to Revenue together with a completed claim form, Form 848A Donations Scheme, available on Revenue's website www.revenue.ie or from the Revenue office below.

All repayment claims should be sent to:

Office of the Revenue Commissioners,

Collector-General's Division,

Charity Claims Unit,

Government Offices,

Nenagh,

Co. Tipperary

Phone: 067-63400 Ext. 63308/63320/63305

LoCall 1890 666 333 Ext. 63308/63320/63305

Self-assessed Individual

Individual on the standard rate, i.e. 20%

Individual donates €500 and receives tax relief @ 20% (€100). Cost to the taxpayer is €400 and receipt by eligible charity or approved body is €500 - the self-assessed individual will simply claim a deduction for the donation on his/her tax return, there is no grossing up arrangement and therefore no repayment claim by the eligible charity or approved body arises.

Individual on the higher rate, i.e. 41%

Individual donates €500 and receives tax relief @ 41% (€205).

Cost to the taxpayer is €295 and receipt by eligible charity or approved body is €500 - again there is no grossing up arrangement and therefore no repayment claim by the eligible charity or approved body arises.

Corporate donations

Company X donates €1,000 to an eligible charity or approved body. Assuming a corporation tax rate of 12.5%, relief to the company is €125, i.e. €1,000@12.5%. While the eligible charity or approved body has the benefit of €1,000, the cost to the company of making the donation is only €875 (£1,000 - £125). The company will simply claim a deduction for the donation as if it were a trading expense, there is no grossing up arrangement and therefore no repayment claim by the eligible charity or approved body arises.

Further Information:

You can obtain further information on the Donations Scheme from: