Claim Expenses and Boost Club Income!

We know that the time our volunteers freely give is the lifeblood of the club. But we can’t ignore the financial contributions everyone makes when supporting the club. Whether it is the travel costs of getting to training or buying some bibs and cones but never submitting the receipt our volunteers are donating hundreds of pounds every season.

It might seem crazy but these donations are actually costing the club valuable income. 

How is that possible?

As a registered charity, Harrogate Rugby Club (Charity Number: 1195769) we are entitled to claim Gift Aid on every donation made by any UK Taxpayer. This means for every £1 donated the club can claim an extra 25p: 

But what does this have to do with expenses?

If you buy something for the club or incur legitimate expenses in support of the club, you are entitled to reclaim these in cash. Obviously nobody does this as along with your time and efforts these costs are just part of our commitment to the mission of “Rugby for All” and if we claimed these costs there would be less money to invest in what we need. However HMRC guidance explicitly allows for expenses that are claimed by a volunteer only to be donated back to the club in cash to be then claimed for Gift Aid:

Plus we could be missing our on VAT reclaims...

As well as missing out on the 25% gift aid on these contributions, we could also be missing out on the VAT that goes unclaimed because the invoice or receipt is not being processed through the club. Where expenses include VAT and that VAT can be reclaimed this could be an extra 20% back to the club.

So how do we maximise our Gift Aid claims...

We have designed the process to be as simple as possible:

1 – Download the expense form from this link – Expenses Claim Form.
2 – Complete the expenses form and upload it in the web form below, providing your contact details and confirmation that you will repay the expenses received and that this donation qualifies for Gift Aid
3 – Include any receipts you have so that VAT can be reclaimed
3 – Receive the money into your nominated bank account and immediately pay it back to the charity using these bank account details
4 – We claim the 25% Gift Aid and any VAT

What's the catch?

There is no catch; this simple process, authorised by HMRC, helps the charity gain more income so that we can continue to invest in our mission of “Rugby for All”.

We do need to follow some simple rules:

1 – This is a green light to spend more money. This should only be done where you have every intention of providing the expenses as a donation and would normally pay for the things you buy yourself. 

2 – As we need to be able to repay the expenses and wait for the money to come back before claiming Gift Aid there may be a delay between your submission and receipt of the money.

3 – This only works if expenses are repaid by the volunteers so it is vital that you only submit a claim if you intend to repay the money as a donation.

For more information please contact mark.garrett@harrogaterugby.com

Download the expense form from this link – Expenses Claim Form.