cautiousjon

Hi,

I left the UK a few weeks ago and got paid my last UK salary payment on the day after I left the country. I have just received my P45 from my UK company (posted to USA) and am now filling in a P85 to reclaim any tax owing.

When I was in the UK, I used to give regularly to a charitable organization that is registered as a Gift Aid claimant with HMRC. A few months ago, I asked HMRC to adjust my tax code to account for higher rate tax relief on some regular monthly giving, to avoid me having to reclaim it later on. I have since made additional contributions (when I was in UK), so will write an additional letter detailing this when I send in my P85 and P45.

A few days ago (while in USA), I made a fairly large one-off donation to the same charitable organization in the UK. My question is, can I reclaim higher rate tax relief on that gift, even though I have already left the UK? I am still tax resident in the UK until 6 April 2015.

Thanks,
Jon

cautiousjon

Question has been answered on a cross-posting to MoneySavingExpert Forums.

The answer is yes, provided that I am still UK tax resident (which I am).

For those interested, here's the thread URL: Can you claim gift aid relief on a donation made after you leave the UK? - MoneySavingExpert.com Forums

Thanks,
Jon

Cook_County

But you could have donated via a dual qualified charity and had tax relief in both countries. An American deduction might have saved you more money.

Macca67

Jon, your first mistake was asking HMRC for anything. Your second mistake is not having the courage of your convictions to show these people who is in charge - that would be you. By now, you've likely paid more than enough in tax than is generally accepted as healthy and now you need a little gravy for yourself. Still with me?

Anyway, the best advice I was ever given was from my Accountant and I will share this with you gratis. He said "always treat your annual tax return as your opening offer."

These are golden words which I would urge you to follow.