Charity Shops and Gift Aid.

[davidk65]

I know of a person who took some of their unwanted cloths to a charity shop. The shop asked the "giver" if they wanted to gift aid the clothes? The individual concerned was a tax payer and said yes.
But how can gift aid be claimed on unwanted clothes by a charity shop?

[woofgang]

the answer is actually quite complicated...and slightly worrying.
http://www.guardian.c...gift-aid-hidden-catch

[wolf63]

I volunteer in a charity shop and we print out barcodes with the person donating the items personal 'account' number on it. This barcode is scanned at the point of sale and the information is passed to our head office.

I have also donated items to another charity shop and did receive a letter telling me how much my items had sold for and how much tax that was being repaid by the tax man.

It seems to be a good idea and we have encountered no problems so far.

[EastEndLass]

It's not a worrying answer at all - and that old Guardian article was a really negative piece. the fact is that less than 0.1% of gift aid donors in charity shops have claimed their money back.

less than 0.1% - and yet they have moved millions for the charities involved.

It's a fantastic scheme that has been around since 2006.