Donating goods to charity shops

Ok, in the States when you donate household goods to a charity shop, you are given a receipt. It's up to you to value the items. (There are some guidelines available, though.)  Once you have valued them, you can apply for a credit on your taxes for the donation.

So I know there is something vaguely similar at play here in the UK. But what I'm seeing is that a charity shop has to agree to take the items and sell them for you and then you agree that they can keep the profits. That seems like an awful lot of record-keeping for the charity shop! (?) And it would be more appropriate for more expensive items than typical household goods. I have some dishes, a stand mixer, a microwave oven, a couple of oil-filled room heaters, stuff like that, that I was hoping to donate. I was also going to donate our living-room furniture to an organization that helps refugees get settled, as it's only a couple of years old and in very good shape.  I'll be donating the goods one way or the other, but if I can get a tax credit for them I would certainly be able to use the money.

Am I understanding the UK tax credit thingy correctly?

Ok, in the States when you donate household goods to a charity shop, you are given a receipt. It's up to you to value the items. (There are some guidelines available, though.)  Once you have valued them, you can apply for a credit on your taxes for the donation.

So I know there is something vaguely similar at play here in the UK. But what I'm seeing is that a charity shop has to agree to take the items and sell them for you and then you agree that they can keep the profits. That seems like an awful lot of record-keeping for the charity shop! (?) And it would be more appropriate for more expensive items than typical household goods. I have some dishes, a stand mixer, a microwave oven, a couple of oil-filled room heaters, stuff like that, that I was hoping to donate. I was also going to donate our living-room furniture to an organization that helps refugees get settled, as it's only a couple of years old and in very good shape.  I'll be donating the goods one way or the other, but if I can get a tax credit for them I would certainly be able to use the money.

Am I understanding the UK tax credit thingy correctly?

Are you a UK tax payer? You will get a statement in the mail with the value of your donations. You can choose then if the charity can keep the money or if you want it.

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The way it works in the UK is that if you are a UK tax payer then the charity can claim extra based on your marginal tax rate. In the USA if you want to donate $80 you give $100 and get $20 back when you file your taxes. In the UK you simply donate $80 and the charity claims $20 from HMRC. (I just made up the figures for demonstration.)

We just donated a washing machine to the British Heart Foundation a couple of weeks ago and filled in the gift aid form. They came and picked it up, sold it and we just received a letter the other day saying that they sold it for £60 and claimed £20 from HMRC. The form is simple, they only need name and address, no tax id or anything.

We donate lots of smaller items and just drop them off at our local charity shops.

Are you a UK tax payer? You will get a statement in the mail with the value of your donations. You can choose then if the charity can keep the money or if you want it.

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Hi. Yep. I will be paying taxes this year. So I need to do the donations before the end of the 2019/20  tax year in April, right? We won't be here long enough after that point for me to have enough taxable income for the following year that I'd go past the £12+K exclusion, so I think to maximize what I can, I need to donate what I can by the start of April. I was thinking I'd use the Heart Foundation for some of it, and Shelter for some of it, and I've forgotten the name of the one for the refugees, but they probably would like the furniture.

I will contact the shop and see what they want to take, and then hopefully they'll send me my letter before the last date I can file my UK taxes for 2019/20. (Jan 2021 if I file my self-assessment online?)

Hi. Yep. I will be paying taxes this year. So I need to do the donations before the end of the 2019/20  tax year in April, right? We won't be here long enough after that point for me to have enough taxable income for the following year that I'd go past the £12+K exclusion, so I think to maximize what I can, I need to donate what I can by the start of April. I was thinking I'd use the Heart Foundation for some of it, and Shelter for some of it, and I've forgotten the name of the one for the refugees, but they probably would like the furniture.

I will contact the shop and see what they want to take, and then hopefully they'll send me my letter before the last date I can file my UK taxes for 2019/20. (Jan 2021 if I file my self-assessment online?)

The items have to sell though before then.

The charity signs you up under the scheme and a barcode label will get printed and attached to your item. They scan that when it gets sold and that is how they keep track of what you've donated.

Some of the items you donate may not sell before then or get discounted or if it sits there too long it will get shipped off to another location or disposed of. 

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Ah, so I should go ahead and get stuff cleaned up, boxed, and taken over to them in the next few weeks. Except for the microwave, which we will continue to use.  I would think it'd be a good time for them to sell room heaters and stuff like that.

I guess the microwave would go to the refugee charity to help furnish a flat for someone who really needs it. They will probably want the dishes, too, then. I will contact them to see if they do and how to arrange it, when the time comes.

Thanks for the heads-up!

With the Heart Foundation, once I registered they gave me a sheet of barcoded labels and said that if I wished to donate more items in future then I could simply put a label on each item, no more forms to complete. For large items like furniture I have found them to be very easy to arrange pickups for.

In 2011 we rented a house for 7 months, furnished it with items bought mostly from charity shops then donated most all of it back when we moved back to the USA. (We were not UK tax payers back then so no gift aiding)

Yeah, I got a lot of stuff from charity shops since we've been here. I'd love to take it all back with us, but we can't take everything as even though we're going with a container, every extra box still adds up. The Daughter has bought a ~lot~ of books since we have been here, so those will go with us, of course. But I did get a lot of Ikea stuff. A lot of it we can break back down to flatpack, and will do so and take it with us. Some of it can't, so hopefully the charity will want it. It's in pristine condition. I will be taking some smaller stuff over to them this week and will see what they say about what they can take.

Okaaay then....

I booked a pickup with the British Heart Foundation. I was donating a like-new stand mixer, two almost-new oil-filled portable room heaters, three boxes of good housewares,  two pair of new/like new wellies, a very large hamster cage with all the hamster stuff (toys, bottles, ball, etc.), and a few other odds and ends.

So today they phoned and said it would not be cost-effective for them to have their truck come and get the stuff. And could I bring it in myself? The reason I phoned them to have them come get it is because I cannot bring it in myself. I can't lug each item the 3/4 of a mile over to their shop. 

Bummer. I'll see if some other charity wants it all, I guess.

My final option is to leave it in the flat when we go, as our landlord participates in a program that takes used furniture (etc.) and provides it to very low-income households. That would be ok with me, but I'd really prefer to get a tax break on this stuff, even though it won't be much. I guess I'm spoiled - in the USA the charities had trucks making periodic runs through an area and you just let them know you had stuff and they'd add your address to the next run and pick it up.

Okaaay then....

I booked a pickup with the British Heart Foundation. I was donating a like-new stand mixer, two almost-new oil-filled portable room heaters, three boxes of good housewares,  two pair of new/like new wellies, a very large hamster cage with all the hamster stuff (toys, bottles, ball, etc.), and a few other odds and ends.

So today they phoned and said it would not be cost-effective for them to have their truck come and get the stuff. And could I bring it in myself? The reason I phoned them to have them come get it is because I cannot bring it in myself. I can't lug each item the 3/4 of a mile over to their shop. 

Bummer. I'll see if some other charity wants it all, I guess.

My final option is to leave it in the flat when we go, as our landlord participates in a program that takes used furniture (etc.) and provides it to very low-income households. That would be ok with me, but I'd really prefer to get a tax break on this stuff, even though it won't be much. I guess I'm spoiled - in the USA the charities had trucks making periodic runs through an area and you just let them know you had stuff and they'd add your address to the next run and pick it up.

Where I live, on Facebook there's a "people help the people" group, and often people on benefits moving into flats after homelessness need a lot of basic items. You could see if there's something comparable in your neighbourhood? The people who run the group locally are very good and don't let it be abused. Whenever I've had things that needed rehoming they've been snatched up quickly and were truly appreciated.

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Where I live, on Facebook there's a "people help the people" group, and often people on benefits moving into flats after homelessness need a lot of basic items. You could see if there's something comparable in your neighbourhood? The people who run the group locally are very good and don't let it be abused. Whenever I've had things that needed rehoming they've been snatched up quickly and were truly appreciated.

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We have the same thing here Margo. Lots of needy people out there.

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Yeah, I can leave the stuff in the flat when I leave. The landlord participates in a program where they take such furniture and household goods and makes them available to needy families they are re-housing. (There are not going to be that kind of needy families in my neighborhood, but the landlord has properties all over town and our just-above-market rent subsidizes social housing elsewhere.)

At this point, I had hoped to be able to get a tax break by donating the stuff BEFORE we leave. However, if that's not in the cards, the landlord's program will put the stuff to good use.

I just find it amazing that a charity doesn't have volunteers driving their trucks, etc., to pick up donations. They said they were going to have to pay a driver and costs for the truck. WTF?  If they don't want the stuff, fine, just say so. But, really!

Yeah, I can leave the stuff in the flat when I leave. The landlord participates in a program where they take such furniture and household goods and makes them available to needy families they are re-housing. (There are not going to be that kind of needy families in my neighborhood, but the landlord has properties all over town and our just-above-market rent subsidizes social housing elsewhere.)

At this point, I had hoped to be able to get a tax break by donating the stuff BEFORE we leave. However, if that's not in the cards, the landlord's program will put the stuff to good use.

I just find it amazing that a charity doesn't have volunteers driving their trucks, etc., to pick up donations. They said they were going to have to pay a driver and costs for the truck. WTF?  If they don't want the stuff, fine, just say so. But, really!

I would just leave the stuff as you suggest, much easier and it will go to a good cause.

You keep talking about you getting a tax break, but as I explained above you don't, the charity does, unless you happen to be in the 40% tax bracket or higher. If you are in the 40% tax bracket then the charity first gets its 25% from HMRC and then you would claim the other 15%.

https://www.gov.uk/claim-gift-aid

You (the Charitable organization) can claim back 25p every time an individual donates £1 to your charity or community amateur sports club (CASC). This is called Gift Aid.

https://www.gov.uk/income-tax-reliefs/charity-donations-tax-relief

Charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) can register with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to be part of the Gift Aid scheme. When they’re registered, they can claim back the tax you’ve already paid on your donation.

The charity or CASC will give you a form to sign. They must also have an HMRC charity reference number - ask the charity or CASC if you’re not sure.

If the charity or CASC gets back more tax than you’ve paid, HMRC may ask you to pay more tax to cover the difference.

You pay Income Tax above the 20% basic rate

You can claim back the difference between the tax you’ve paid on the donation and what the charity got back when you fill in your Self Assessment tax return.

If you don’t fill in a Self Assessment tax return, call HMRC to tell them about your charity donations.

Apologies if you know all this and are in the 40% tax bracket.

No, I just keep forgetting that bit!

Too many things juggling right now.      Packing. International move. Daughter's school (yes or no?). Potential job at short notice for the Daughter. Trying to get the fish moved. Trying to contact realtors in two different cities. Trying to arrange housing. Trying to arrange scouting trip home. Etc., etc., etc.

I just wish they would not advertise that they're happy to come pick up anything we might have if they are not willing to do that. They've wasted my time and really, now I am highly unlikely to ever donate to the British Heart Foundation based on that interaction. They could have gotten at least ­£100 plus the gift-aid tax for it, I would think (based on what I've seen them selling things for in their shop). I've contacted the charity I mentioned (that will see low-income folks get my stuff) and they're happy to help. So....

No, I just keep forgetting that bit!

Too many things juggling right now.      Packing. International move. Daughter's school (yes or no?). Potential job at short notice for the Daughter. Trying to get the fish moved. Trying to contact realtors in two different cities. Trying to arrange housing. Trying to arrange scouting trip home. Etc., etc., etc.

I just wish they would not advertise that they're happy to come pick up anything we might have if they are not willing to do that. They've wasted my time and really, now I am highly unlikely to ever donate to the British Heart Foundation based on that interaction. They could have gotten at least ­£100 plus the gift-aid tax for it, I would think (based on what I've seen them selling things for in their shop). I've contacted the charity I mentioned (that will see low-income folks get my stuff) and they're happy to help. So....

That certainly is a lot on your plate at present.  When we left Texas to come here in 2017 one of the last things to go was the washer and drier and the Salvation Army had already been to our place once to pick up a bunch of stuff and I’d scheduled them to do one last pickup for the washer and drier just a couple of days before the lease on the apartment was up. When the truck arrived the driver had a look and declared the machines too heavy to carry downstairs and we were left in the lurch. Fortunately one of the maintenance guys at the apartment complex told us to just leave it and he would  take them to his church for sale or donation.

Good luck with everything you have to do.