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Gift Aid The public response to the tsunami disaster was fast and generous. The Government have tried to keep pace with it, and one element of the Government's support is Gift Aid relief on charitable donations. If you are a taxpayer, you tell the charity that you want your gift to be covered by the Gift Aid rules, and they can claim an additional 28.2% of the money you give from the Revenue. If you are a higher rate taxpayer, you can also save some of your higher rate tax - if you give £78, the charity would get another £22, and you would reduce your own tax by £18. So the charity's £100 costs you £60. If you made an immediate gift to a disaster relief charity, and now realise that you could have made it under the Gift Aid rules, you can still do so. You can write to the charity asking for a Gift Aid declaration - that will confirm that you are a taxpayer, and give your name and postcode. It won't be worth doing if the amounts are small, but the bonus for the charity is worthwhile and they are usually geared up to deal with Gift Aid claims very efficiently. Anyone who has donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee for the Tsunami Earthquake appeal and believes that they may have omitted to use Gift Aid should write, requesting a Gift Aid declaration, to the Disasters Emergency Committee, PO Box 2710, London W1A 5AD. The details required are: name of donor, full postal address and the type of donation i.e. over the telephone, by post, through a newspaper etc. The details are set out at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/charities/late-gift-aid.htm.