Gift Aid Settings
To start claiming Gift Aid, you will need to add your HMRC details within Gift Aid Settings.
Changing Gift Aid defaults
On the Gift Aid settings screen:
- You can choose to disable the Gift Aid module in ExpensePlus. You may want to do this if you claim all your Gift Aid outside of ExpensePlus or your organisation does not claim Gift Aid. This will hide the Gift Aid module. However ExpensePlus will continue to record information such as Named Donations and GASDS, in case you later want to use the Gift Aid module in ExpensePlus to claim Gift Aid.
- You can change the start date from which ExpensePlus includes donations in your Gift Aid claims. The default is your ExpensePlus system start date. You may choose a later start date than your financial year start date if you have already claimed Gift Aid manually or outside of ExpensePlus this financial year. ExpensePlus will then exclude any donations prior to this date.
Connect to HMRC
Once you have checked you are happy with the Gift Aid start date, you will need to add your HMRC details.
GASDS Settings
The default in ExpensePlus is regular GASDS and most organisations with use regular GASDS.
If your organisation uses the GASDS Community Building Scheme, click manually set to enter your details.
You should then read and follow the instructions in this helpguide article: GASDS Community Building Scheme.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
When I click 'submit' on the Gift Aid Settings screen, my details are rejected
Firstly, check that you have completed all required fields. When entering details into this screen, we send a validation request to HMRC to verify the user ID and User Password fields are correct. If these are rejected by HMRC then we recommend that:
- Double-check that the user name and user password you have entered in ExpensePlus are correct (the most common issue is a mistyped user ID or password).
- Sign in to the HMRC Online Gift Aid Portal with the user ID and password you are trying to enter into ExpensePlus (this will rule out the possibility of someone having changed the password).
- Try once again to submit your details within the Gift Aid Settings screen in ExpensePlus (this will rule out your HMRC account needing you to sign in before connecting within ExpensePlus).
What if my organisation doesn't have a charity number?
If your organisation doesn't have a charity number, then you need to set the regulator field to 'None'.
Should I enter my own details as the Authorised Official if I'm submitting the Gift Aid Claims?
No, the Authorised Official's details need to match the details HMRC has on file as your registered Authorised Official. Whoever clicks the submit button to make a claim isn't relevant as far as this information is concerned.
If any of the information HMRC holds is incorrect or out of date, then you will need to update this using HMRC's ChV1 form.
The details I've entered have been rejected by HMRC, what should I do?
Firstly, double-check all the fields you have entered exactly match the details you believe HMRC has for your charity.
Unfortunately, we simply send the details you have entered in your Gift Aid Settings screen to HMRC as part of your claim. So if you have entered all fields 100% correctly and they fully match what HMRC has on file, they will accept claims sent from within ExpensePlus, and if they don't fully match, they will reject the claim - it's really that simple.
As HMRC doesn't provide feedback on which field they are rejecting, this isn't something we can help you with, and you will need to contact HMRC.
I've corrected my Gift Aid details - how do I resubmit a rejected claim?
Within the Gift Aid Screen, click the 'update claim status' button to the right of the rejected claim to reset the claim.
You will then be able to resubmit the claim to HMRC by clicking the 'tick' button to the right of the claim.
To better understand the Gift Aid module, please view the module overview video here.