{"id":118957,"date":"2026-04-07T10:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=118957"},"modified":"2026-04-07T10:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:43:19","slug":"hmrc-cracks-down-on-gift-aid-new-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/hmrc-cracks-down-on-gift-aid-new-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"HMRC Cracks Down on Gift Aid: How the New Rules Will Affect Your Tax Relief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Millions of UK taxpayers face changes to their take-home pay after HMRC began automatically removing certain reliefs from PAYE tax codes <\/strong>from 6 April 2026. Those who claim higher-rate Gift Aid relief or employment expenses are among those most likely to be affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The changes, which coincide with the start of the 2026\u201327 tax year, form part of a broader effort by HMRC to ensure that tax code adjustments reflect current circumstances rather than outdated estimates. Taxpayers across the country are being urged to review their codes carefully to avoid unexpected shortfalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employment Expenses and Gift Aid Relief Face Automatic Removal<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Under the new approach, employment expenses exceeding \u00a3120<\/strong> may be removed from tax codes where HMRC data indicates a change in circumstances. According to HMRC guidance, this could apply where an individual no longer has PAYE income, where there has been a full tax-year gap in employment since an expense was first claimed, or where a taxpayer <\/a>has not submitted a Self Assessment return since the 2021\u201322 tax year<\/strong> despite indications that one should have been filed. Adjustments may also follow where the level of expenses held in a tax code is higher than that reported in a 2022\u201323 Self Assessment return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Higher-rate Gift Aid<\/a> relief<\/strong> faces a similar treatment. HMRC will remove such relief from tax codes in cases where the same level has been applied for at least three years and no Self Assessment return has been submitted during that period. The rationale, according to the tax authority, is to prevent outdated charitable donation estimates from continuing to reduce tax liabilities without being reviewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charities and Donors Warned Over Tainted Donation Rules<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The changes carry significant implications not only for individual taxpayers but also for the charitable sector. Accountancy firm Rayner Essex<\/strong> noted that the tightening of tainted donation rules will require charities to take greater care when assessing donor arrangements. Where any form of benefit <\/a>arises, even indirectly, trustees must ensure it does not compromise eligibility <\/strong>for reliefs such as Gift Aid, placing increased importance on clear documentation, well-defined processes, and consistent review of donation structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For donors who make Gift Aid payments between 6 April 2026 and the date they submit their tax return for the year ended 5 April 2026<\/strong>, HMRC has confirmed that those payments can be included in that return. This means relief on such payments would be given for the earlier year rather than the one in which the gift was actually made. However, taxpayers must have paid sufficient Income Tax<\/strong> or Capital Gains Tax<\/strong> in the earlier year to cover the amount that charities reclaim. HMRC has also clarified that it cannot accept a first claim or a higher claim for carry-back relief in an amended tax return for the year ended 5 April 2026, any such claim must appear in the original return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With millions potentially affected, financial advisers are recommending that PAYE workers who regularly claim these reliefs check their updated tax codes as a matter of priority to ensure accuracy ahead of the new financial year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HMRC has quietly triggered one of the most significant PAYE tax code changes in years, automatically stripping Gift Aid and employment expense reliefs from millions of workers’ codes, and many may not realise their take-home pay has already changed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":118959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-taxation","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118957"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118963,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118957\/revisions\/118963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}