Gift Aid > Getting Started > Registering

Registering with HMRC

Currently, all parishes are charities which are excepted from registration with the Charities Commission. This means that parishes will not have a Charities Registration number. (This is under review and may change in the near future). However, in order to make tax reclaims, a parish does have to be registered as a charity for tax purposes with the Inland Revenue.

Parishes which have made claims under Gift Aid or Deeds of Covenant in the past will have an Inland Revenue reference number, which usually starts with X. If you are unsure of your reference number, or if you are not sure if your parish has ever made tax reclaims, then :

if you are thinking of operating under a Diocesan Scheme, (Dioceses of Canterbury, Lichfield, Liverpool, Manchester, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Southwell & Nottingham, ) please get in touch with the Diocesan Gift Aid contact at the Diocesan office;

otherwise you will need to contact HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) at Bootle. Their help line is 0845 3020203, web-site is www.hmrc.gov.uk and their e-mail is charities@hmrc.gov.uk

Authorised Signatory

The Inland Revenue only allows one official of a charity to sign the Claim Form (R68). This person is usually the Gift Aid Secretary. When the Gift Aid Secretary changes, a new Charity Official Authorisation Form must be sent to the Inland Revenue.

You need to complete the form as follows:

• Charity details 
  Complete as required. 
• PART A: 
  1 Check (or enter) your name. Particularly ensure that your FULL name is included correctly. 
  2 Ensure your address is correct. 
  3 Enter your own National Insurance Number. The Revenue say this is for them to check that you exist! 
  4 Sign the form as the Authorised Official 
• PART B: 
  This is to be completed by someone authorising you to be the Authorised Signatory. It should be completed by an official of your church who is also a signatory on behalf of your church. The best example would be your Treasurer. Alternatively, one of your Wardens, or your incumbent, could sign Part B, so long as they are a signatory.