Give to Charity in your Will

Many people give to charities both during their lifetime, and via their Will. These provide vital income to charities to enable them to provide their services. Charitable giving also has certain other advantages, particularly regarding a donor’s Income Tax and Inheritance Tax situation.

Lifetime gifting:

Provides people an opportunity to be as generous as they can be at the time, and shows financial support for worthwhile causes. There are tax advantages too. Gift Aid will enhance the donation the charity eventually ends up with, where the giver is a taxpayer and pays Income Tax. Donations to charity also reduce an individual person’s taxable income.

Gifting via a Will:

Has a number of advantages. A person can:
- Truly show their support of any number of charities they wish
- Give as much as they wish, up to the value of their entire estate
- Make donations which are exempt from Inheritance Tax via their Will
- Potentially reduce their overall Inheritance tax charge rate from 40% to 36%

Gifting is usually done in a number of ways, for example:
- Gifting a particular sum of money, or
- Gifting a certain percentage or portion/fraction of a person’s estate

What to do:

Rob Cope, Director of Remember A Charity comments: “When planning your inheritance, please consider the charity you’d like to benefit after taking care of loved ones. Everyone can leave the world a better place by leaving a gift to charity in their Will.”

To make your donation effectively, it is vitally important that your Executors know what to do, and exactly which charity is involved. This means:

Your Will needs to clearly state the name and Charity Registration Number, this can be found from the Charity Commission website.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission
This is important so that your will does not become subject to legal challenge.
You should also consider and make clear whether you intend the bequest to be made for the national body, or a local or regional branch.
It is also recommended that you provide ( in your Will) for circumstances in which a charity may have closed, or merged with another, that your Executors can give to a charity with similar objectives/aims.

For more information on charitable legacies see Remember A Charity by clicking here

To make a Will which includes a gift to a charity, contact your IPW member by clicking here.