Set it up
- Make sure the currency is GBP under Donor Merchant → Settings → General. Gift Aid is only offered in pounds.
- Open Settings → Forms and, under Gift Aid (UK), tick Offer Gift Aid on the form.
- Enter your charity's registered name under Charity name. It is the name in the declaration donors tick. Blank uses your organization name.
A Gift Aid screen appears under Donor Merchant once it's switched on.
What donors see
A box with the extra amount Gift Aid would add and HMRC's model declaration for multiple donations, next to an unticked checkbox. Ticking it asks for a house name or number and a postcode, or a full address if they live outside the UK. A gift with Gift Aid shows "Gift Aid: Declared" on its printable receipt, and the receipt email's details table shows how much it adds.
Claim from HMRC
- Open Donor Merchant → Gift Aid. Ready to claim lists completed gifts covered by a declaration that you haven't claimed yet. Pick dates to narrow it down.
- Click Download the claim file.
- Open HMRC's schedule spreadsheet, click the first donation row and paste the file's rows with Paste Special → Values only. Plain pasting brings formatting that can make HMRC reject the file. Save it as .ods.
- Upload it in Charities Online.
- Back in Donor Merchant, click Mark these as claimed. If you mark a batch by mistake, Undo it under Past claims.
HMRC takes up to 1,000 donations per schedule spreadsheet. If you have more, the screen lists the first 1,000; claim those, and the rest appear next.
Refunds after a claim
If a gift is refunded after you've claimed on it, it appears under Refunded after claiming with the Gift Aid to report. Enter that total in the "previously over-claimed" box of your next schedule, then click Mark as reported.
Cancellations and changes
Donors can cancel from the donor portal. If a donor asks you by phone or email, click Cancel next to their declaration under Declarations. Gifts from that day on are no longer claimed; earlier gifts still are.