Gift Aid is an easy way of making your donation to a charity worth more

But - without actually giving more. It allows the charity to reclaim the tax that would normally be due on a financial donation.

Anyone who pays income or capital gains tax in the UK can Gift Aid a donation. The charity takes your donation (which is money you've already paid tax on) and reclaims the tax from the government. Gift Aid is worth around £1 billion every year to charities in the UK.

How do I know if I pay taxes?

Income tax is automatically deducted from your salary each month. If you are self employed, you pay tax after completing a self assessment form. You pay tax on some types of savings, for example, money in a Building Society or on your pension plan, and you may also pay capital gains tax if you sell a property or shares. Inheritance tax does not count as UK income or capital gains tax.

What difference does Gift Aid make to my donation?

For every £1 you give, Gift Aid makes it worth an extra 25 pence to the charity. Even though basic tax rate in this country is 20%, your donation is treated as the net amount (the after tax amount), so £1.25 minus 20% is approximately £1.

When you scale this up you can see how important Gift Aid is to charities: a £10 donation becomes £12.50, and a £100 donation becomes £125.

How do I Gift Aid my donation?

To make a Gift Aid donation, you need to sign a Gift Aid declaration form. This is a very simple form which the charity will give you and which you only need to fill out once. Gift Aid can then be applied to all the donations you've already made to the charity, as well as all the donations you make in the future.

If you complete a tax return at the end of the financial year and find you are due a tax refund, you can ask the government to treat all or part of it a Gift Aid, and donate it to the charity of your choice.