Giving to RCSEd
Over the centuries, The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has received generous support from its benefactors. We now need to keep pace with the new demands of a twenty-first century College, renowned globally for its excellence in every area of its teaching, research and heritage. We are in an economic climate where neither the fees paid by students, nor membership can fully realise our ambition to be at the cutting edge of international surgical education and research. The support of donors plays a critical role in allowing us to deliver world class education and research facilities.
Although we have an excellent asset base, in financial terms we are progressively falling behind international competitors who have received a far greater measure of donor support. If we are to compete with other world class medical institutions, then we need substantial funds to do so. It is vital to continue with fundraising, to bridge the funding gap on an annual basis and secure the College’s future.
Ways to Give
- Tax-Efficient Ways of Giving
- The Gift Aid Scheme
- Gifts of Shares and Securities
- Give As You Earn
- Making a Gift from Other Countries
Tax-efficient Ways of Giving
If you are a UK tax payer, by using one of many tax-efficient methods explained below, your gift to RCSEd can be worth even more. For example, by using the gift-aid scheme, or GAYE, it's possible that the value to RCSEd of your gift will be 65% greater than the cost to you of making the gift.
The Gift Aid Scheme
How does it Work?
If you are a UK taxpayer, and you complete a Gift Aid Declaration form, we can reclaim tax so that the value of your gift to the College increases by over 25%.
Example
- Mrs X donates £1000 to the RCSEd
- RCSEd reclaims tax of £250 (since £1250 income is worth £1000 after being taxed at the basic rate of 20%)
Furthermore, if you are a higher rate taxpayer, you can reclaim an additional portion of tax, by completing the section on Gift Aid payments in your Self-Assessment tax return. If you do not complete a return you can give the details on form P810 Tax Review which is available from your tax office. For more information, please see the HM Revenue and Customs pages about Gift Aid or the Gift Aid calculator on the Institute of Fundraising website.
Example
- Mrs X donates £1000 to RCSEd
- RCSEd reclaims tax of £250 (since £1250 income is worth £1000 after being taxed at the basic rate of 20%)
- You can reclaim tax of £250 (which is equal to (40-20)% of £1250)
- So the value to RCSEd of Mrs X's gift (£1250) will be over 65% greater than the net cost to you of making the gift (£750)
Here are some more numerical examples:
| Donor's (net) gift | Tax reclaimed by RCSEd | Tax relief for donor (only if donor is higher-rate taxpayer) | Total (gross) value of gift to RCSEd | Total (net) cost of gift to the donor after tax relief (only if donor is higher-rate taxpayer) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1000 | £250 | £312.50 | £1250 | £687.50 |
How do I do it?
As a donor, you simply need to complete a Gift Aid Declaration form provided by the College once at the time of your first donation. If you have already given to the College, but have not signed a Gift Aid Declaration form, you can do so at any time, and we can then reclaim tax on gifts made in the past four years.
The income tax relief would be claimed by completing the relevant section in a Self-Assessment Tax Return, or if you pay tax by PAYE, writing to your tax office. Please see HM Revenue and Customs pages about Gift Aid.
Gifts of Shares and Securities
How does it Work?
If you donate shares or securities to the College, the gift is exempt from Capital Gains Tax. Furthermore, for certain qualifying gifts you can also claim income tax relief equal to the net value of the shares to the charity on the date of the gift. Donors can claim the tax relief in their tax return.
What sort of investments qualify?
Shares and securities listed or dealt on a recognised stock exchange – in the UK or elsewhere
- UK Authorised Unit Trust Units
- UK Open-ended investment company shares
- Certain foreign collective investment scheme holdings
- Land, buildings and other valuable assets may also qualify
How do I do it?
If you are interested in donating shares to RCSEd, please contact the Development Director Michael Stitt on 0131 527 1591 or email m.stitt@rcsed.ac.uk.
The income tax relief would be claimed by completing the relevant section in a Self-Assessment Tax Return, or if you pay tax by PAYE, writing to your tax office.
Give As You Earn
How does it Work?
Give As You Earn (GAYE), the largest Payroll Giving scheme, enables you to give tax-free to the College regularly directly from your pre-tax salary or pension. This means that:
- If you are a basic rate tax-payer and donate £10 per month to the College via this scheme, each gift of £10 comes from your pre-tax salary, so it will cost you only £8.00, yet RCSEd receives the full £10.
- If you are a higher rate taxpayer, this gift of £10 will only cost you £6.
Examples of GAYE monthly donations to RCSEd:
| Employee's monthly gift to RCSEd | Cost to basic rate taxpayer (at 20%) | Cost to higher rate taxpayer (at 40%) |
|---|---|---|
| £10 | £8.00 | £6 |
| £12.50 | £10 | £7.50 |
| £17.50 | £14 | £10.50 |
How do I do it?
Ask your employer or pension provider whether they operate GAYE or an alternative Payroll Giving scheme.
If they do, you'll need to complete a mandate form (for the Payroll Giving agency – in the case of GAYE, this is the Charities Aid Foundation) giving details of how much and how often you want to give to RCSEd (and/or other charities).
The Payroll Giving agency then simply tells your employer/pension provider how much to deduct each month.
Learn more from the Tax Office site.
Giving through Self-Assessment Tax Return
How does it Work?
If you complete a Self-Assessment Return and are entitled to a repayment you can choose to have all or part of it sent directly to RCSEd. You can also ask that the repayment is made as a Gift Aid donation. HMRC will send your refund (plus any Gift Aid repayment where applicable) directly to your charity by electronic transfer.
How do I do it?
On your Self-Assessment Tax Return, you’ll need to enter RCSEd's Registered Charity No. SC005317.
For more details, please visit the Tax Office site.
With your support, we can continue to be at the cutting edge of educational and medical achievements in today’s changing world.
Making a Gift from Other Countries
If you are making a donation in your country's currency, please make your cheque payable to the 'Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh’. However, if you wish to make a donation in £ sterling, please enclose a cheque again made payable to the 'Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh'- or if you wish to pay by International Bank Draft please contact the Development Office by emailing development@rcsed.ac.uk or telephoning +44 131 527 1591.
Thank you very much for your support.
