Latest Charities

Charity Success

Throughout 2018 our Bury St Edmunds office have been executing various charity events to support Age UK Suffolk, an independent charity that offers support and services to older people in Suffolk.   Just a few of the fundraisers which our Charity Committee have held include a Bacon Roll Lunch in the office; Slip Into Slippers;…

Charities small trading tax exemption to increase

During the Autumn Budget on 29th October 2019, it was announced that the small trading tax exemption limits for Charities is set to increase.   The exemptions apply to Charities who trade outside of their primary purpose. A Charity will not pay tax on trading profits that are a part of the Charity’s primary purpose…

Gift aid small donations limit to rise

Following the budget on 29th October 2018, the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme limit has been increased to donations of £30 or less from 6 April 2019. The scheme was introduced for Charities who accept small donations to still claim for Gift Aid despite not collecting the usual declaration paperwork from the donor. This has…

Profit distribution to charitable parent

It is common practice for a trading subsidiary company to pay their profits to their charitable parent as a donation under gift aid. This is tax efficient for the subsidiary company, as the profits that have been donated are treated as a donation expense and therefore there is no corporation tax due if paid within…

Charity serious incident reporting

The Charity Commission is worried about the number of charities not reporting serious incidents or taking a long time to do so. This has perhaps become a concern since the Commission raised a statutory inquiry into Oxfam in February, following allegations of misconduct by staff in Haiti. It is a Charity’s trustee’s responsibility to ensure…

Beware the fraudsters

We are fortunate to have many worthy charities in and around our area all making a huge contribution to our community. When it comes to the fraudsters charities do not have any exemption, in fact quite the opposite, they are often seen as a soft touch.  The Charity Commission has just published ‘Tackling Charity Fraud’…

When an employee becomes a trustee

When an employee becomes a trustee it is important to consider what the salary is paying them for – either trustee duties or for their contractual employment. There are only limited circumstances when trustee boards can pay a trustee for carrying out their trustee duties. Whilst there is a general power to pay a trustee…

Charity annual returns – changes ahead

Later this year The Charity Commission will introduce a tailored annual return which will include some new questions which may require preparation in advance. Overseas expenditure As these new questions will likely require additional preparation, they will be optional for 2018 but become mandatory for 2019 onwards: When spending money outside England and Wales, did…

Charity fraud awareness & cyber security scheme

  The government have recently updated their guidance to help protect charities from fraud. The guidance contains advice, regulatory alerts and links to other helpful websites to help charities to understand fraud and how to protect themselves against it. In December 2017, Action Fraud opened a cyber-attack helpline. If you experience a live cyber-attack, this…

Charities to promote diversity

  In November 2017, the government posted research into awareness and effectiveness of trusteeship in England and Wales. This recommended that charities should do more to promote diversity on their boards. This would involve encouraging applications from women, young people and people from ethnic minority and socially diverse backgrounds. Some of the key findings of…