HMRC has denied that charities are proving slow to adopt a new digital system for claiming Gift Aid which comes in at the end of this month, saying it is 'very pleased' with the numbers registering for the Charities Online service which have 'increased significantly' ahead of the 30 September deadline for doing so.
A recent Charity Tax Group (CTG) seminar reported that only about a quarter of the 120,000 charities registered for Gift Aid have signed up so far. After 1 October charities will be required to submit data to HMRC in spreadsheet form via the online portal, and will no longer be able to claim Gift Aid using the old R68(i) paper forms.
A transitional period has been in effect since March that allows charities to claim Gift Aid using both the old paper forms and the new electronic system, but this is now ending and will not be extended. Charities have been told to allow 15 working days after enrolling for Charities Online to make a claim electronically. Those that do not have internet access must now use the ChR1 paper form.
Peter Mills, programme manager for Charities Online at HMRC, told the CTG meeting that about 70,000 charities make Gift Aid claims every year, and in total, HMRC receives about 85,000 claims a year.
While just 30,000 charities have registered for the new service so far, an HMRC spokesman said this is not a guide to the number of charities that may experience difficulties in accessing Charities Online.
'Most charities only make one Gift Aid claim a year and they won't register until shortly before they need to make their first claim - for many of them that will not be until next year,' the spokesman said.
The HMRC spokesman also said that the number of charities registered for Charities Online does not reflect the number of charities that are already using the new system, stating that: 'Some charities are using the new paper form for claims and they are not included in the number of charities registering for Charities Online'.
In the Charities Online Survey conducted by the customer representative bodies in July, the most popular reason for not yet registering was that they did not yet need to make a claim.
HMRC says it has taken 'extensive steps' to make charities aware of the new system, including writing to all charities registered for Gift Aid. Most claims made electronically under the new system are now being paid in two or three working days, compared to an average of 26 days using the R68(i) paper forms.
