Gifts of shares and property do not fall within the Gift Aid scheme. The tax relief is designed to incentivise donors to give assets to charities and there is no further tax that can be reclaimed from HMRC. Once a charity has received a gift of shares or property it is up to the charity to decide whether to retain the asset or to dispose of it.

Charities may wish to determine the tax positions of their major donors in order to appreciate whether a gift of shares or property is more appropriate than a Gift Aid donation.

A charity can ask a donor to sell the investment on its behalf – in these cases it is essential to retain the evidence to demonstrate that the gift to the charity took place before the realisation of the investment on its behalf, so as to show that the donor was acting as the nominee or agent of the charity at the time of disposal.

HMRC’s guidance on considerations for charities can be found here.