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Revising rules linked to legislation or where we are not the lead regulator

Trustees responsibilities

Current code rules

  • 2.1.3 You must act in the best interests of your charitable institution.
  • 2.1.4 You must be aware of possible conflicts between the duties you owe to your charitable institution and the duties or loyalties you have to others. You must follow your charitable institution’s conflicts procedures and disregard any other interests you have when making decisions relating to the organisation.
  • 2.1.5 You must make sure that your charitable institution’s assets and resources are used only for the purposes for which they were given (which may be all or just some of the institution’s purposes). If the charitable institution is a charity, you must make sure it is run in line with its governing document, charity law and all other laws and regulations that apply.
  • 2.1.7 You must make it clear to all people fundraising on your behalf that they must make sure that your charitable institution receives all the money they have raised.
  • 2.5.1 You must use all funds reasonably and sensibly in the interests of your charitable institution. This involves making sure that what you pay your fundraisers is proportionate to the benefit you reasonably expect to gain from their work.

Indicative change

  • Rule A.A.A: You must make all reasonable attempts to act in the best interests of your charitable institution. This includes:
    • Being aware of and appropriately addressing possible conflicts of interest; and
    • Using assets and resources reasonably and sensibly, and only for the purposes for which they were given.

Registered charities in England and Wales are required to follow guidance from the Charity Commission for England and Wales on trustees’ duties, including The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do (CC3) and Charity fundraising: a guide to trustee duties (CC20).

Registered charities in Scotland are required to follow the charity’s governing document and the charity trustee duties under section 66 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.

Registered charities in Northern Ireland are required to follow guidance from the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland on trustees’ duties, including their Running your Charity guidance.

Gift Aid

Current Code rules

  • 2.7.8 You must be aware when benefits cancel out possible tax relief such as Gift Aid or top-up payments available under the small-donation rules. If benefits do prevent the donation qualifying under Gift Aid or the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme rules, you must not try to reclaim tax on the donation. The tainted-donations rules may apply to some benefits.

Further guidance

  • HM Revenue & Customs: Chapter 3.18 Charities: detailed guidance notes on how the tax system operates – for guidance on the limits on benefits that can be offered without tax consequences

 

  • 4.6.1 You must not reclaim tax on the donation (the amount of the charity cheque or voucher) if you are the charity receiving the donation, as the Gift Aid was added before you received it.

4.9. Gift Aid

In this section, ‘you’ means a charitable institution or third-party fundraiser.

Gift Aid allows registered charities to reclaim tax on donations made by UK taxpayers. This effectively increases the amount of the donation.

  • 4.9.1 You must only claim Gift Aid for a donation if all of the Gift Aid conditions are met. One of these is that a donor's Gift Aid declaration must meet HMRC’s guidance on Gift Aid.
  • 4.9.2 If you want to make a tax relief claim under the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme, you must only do so if all of the scheme’s conditions are met. 

Further guidance

  • HM Revenue & Customs: Charities: detailed guidance notes on how the tax system operates – Chapter 3: Gift Aid
  • HM Revenue & Customs: Charities: detailed guidance notes on how the tax system operates – Chapter 8: The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme

Indicative change

Gift Aid allows registered charities to reclaim tax on donations made by UK taxpayers. This effectively increases the amount of the donation. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is the lead statutory body for all matters relating to tax, including Gift Aid. If you wish to take advantage of Gift Aid, you must: