The clarification comes after reports that multiple donors to site such as Justgiving, which were shown as being from ‘Mum and Dad’ or a similar list of family members, were not applicable for gift aid rules because these are available for an individual’s donations only.

The department has now put out a clarification saying this is ‘absolutely not the case’.

It goes on to say: ‘HMRC’s position has always been that gift aid can be claimed when an individual donor, who pays tax in the UK, makes a donation, even if additional names are added in a supporting message.

‘HMRC’s advice on this issue appears to have been misinterpreted so we are going to ensure our guidance is as clear as possible.’

However, the department points out that where gifts are made by groups of people, such as work collections or large groups of friends, gift aid is not due and should not be claimed.

Going forward, HMRC says it will work closely with charity collection agents to help them improve their processes so that gift aid is not removed from eligible donations.

HMRC’s Gift Aid clarification is here