Charitable donations from untaxed earnings

Reestit Mutton · 2005-01-04T19:26:50+00:00

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can answer this question as I've looked high and low and cannot find a definitive answer. Are UK individuals allowed to donate to UK charities from untaxed UK earnings to offset their personal tax liabilities? Basically, if I earned commissions from referrals that I wished to pledge to registered charity (read DEC in this instance), could I simply donate the lot and not declare that income (or, declare it but offset it against the donation)? I suspect not, as that's what gift-aid is there for, but it would be useful to know what the definitive answer is. I get the impression that companies have recently been allowed to do this to offset corporation tax but no mention is made of whether individuals can do this. BTW...I know the proper way to effect such a donation would be to donate 78% of it and tick the gift aid box to allow the charity to gross it up to 100% but my question is very specific for a reason. cheers, (and happy new year) Reestit Mutton