Charity stuff - tax deductible?

[Misstoddler]

1. Is the cost of a ticket to a charity dinner (ie all proceeds go to charity) tax-deductible?

2. VAT is included in the cost of the ticket. I assume if the ticket is not tax-deductible, then the VAT can't be reclaimed?

3. Is a donation to charity (which contains no VAT) tax-deductible?

Thanks in advance for help!

[Richard1966]

So what your saying is, can i get the taxpayer to pay for me looking good by appearing to donate to a charity when in fact i then claim it against tax, so not contributing as much to teh public purse.

Your aving a laff

[factor-fiction]

Charity Donations can attract taxelief if there is a Gift Aid option. I've never heard of Gift Aid for the price of tickets for a charity dinner but there may be a facility.
Ask the charity dinner organiser or the charity who will benefit

[Misstoddler]

Actually, Richard, I don't donate to charity to look good!! (The only person who sees my donation anyway is the charity's accountant).

However it's worth noting, even assuming the charity donation is tax deductible from my perspective, then there is still a real cost to me. Eg if I pay tax at 25%, then the real cost of every �10 I donate is still �7.50......

Or have I got this wrong.....

PS Good idea Factor30, I will contact the charity direct.

[Skyline D]

We are presumably talking about a business here, not an individual taxpayer? I'm presuming so since there's a reference to VAT and an individual cannot be registered for VAT without there being a trading business involved.

The short answer is "it depends". Basically it depends who used it. If you are talking about a single ticket and you gave it to a customer then it's business entertainment and not tax deductible. You also can't reclaim any VAT on it.

If you gave it to an employee as a rewar for their work then that IS a business expense and it would be tax deductible and you'd be entitled to reclaim the VAT.

If you used it yourself and it's your business it's for self benefit purposes and you can neither claim it against tax nor claim the VAT back.

All that said, in practice I guarantee that at least 9 out of 10 businesses do in fact claim it and it's never picked up.

As for the donation - If the business is a limited company then yes it is tax deductible provided it's not to a connected charity (ie one where your wife is a trustee) and there's no significant benefit to you as a result of making the gift. If the business is a sole trader or partnership then yes you can also but it has to be done through your individual tax return, not via the business.

[Skyline D]

Meant to add, all the info is in fairly plain site on the Inland Revenue website www.hmrc.gov.uk if you go look for it.

[Misstoddler]

Brilliant SkylineD. Thanks soooo much for taking the time to explain the ins and outs of that. I'll print it off for reference :-)