Anonymous Charity

HMRC Audit found many gaps in the paperwork and system of recording declarations resulting in a fine and recovery of monies received

• Incorrect Declarations
  Gift Aid declarations require very specific wording and the wording has also changed a number of times since the scheme’s inception some 20 years ago. Many of the forms were found to be inadequate by HMRC.
  
• Missing Declarations
  Declarations had gone missing completely or were not tagged to the correct donors on records.
• Incorrect Use of Verbal Declarations
  Verbal declarations taken over the phone require specifically worded letters to be sent out to the donor confirming their declaration and giving them 30 days notice to opt-out if incorrect. These had not been done.

We applied for a period of appeal to HMRC where we could also sort out the paperwork

We set about overseeing a full audit of all records to know where the gaps were. We then produced new and correct forms and procedures going forward whilst proceeding to oversee the writing to, calling and emailing of all donors with missing or inadequate declarations.

After a process of 6 weeks we were able to close the gap from 80% incorrect or missing declarations to only 15%!