Donate shares to our charity

You can donates shares to the Sailors’ Society and tax relief on such donations can be such a benefit – both to our Society and to you

Making a charitable gift of shares can be a highly tax effective way of donating money to the Sailors’ Society. When you make a charitable gift of shares it is possible to do this at a substantially lower cost to you or to your estate because of the generous tax relief that is available.

What are the tax benefits?

Charitable gifts of shares are free from capital gains tax and since April 2000 individuals can get income tax relief, at their highest rate, for the full market value of shares on the date of transfer to the Sailors’ Society. This means that you will not pay tax on the equivalent amount of your income in the year that you make the gift and you can obtain the tax relief on your self-assessment tax return.

In order to qualify for the tax relief, the shares or securities must be; listed or dealt on a recognised UK or foreign stock exchange, units in authorised unit trusts, shares in a UK open-ended investment company or holdings in certain foreign collective investment schemes. To ask us how to donate, please email your contact details to.

Two simple examples of how income tax relief works are shown below:

Example 1.  A Basic rate taxpayer (presently levied at the rate of 20% at 6 April 2010)

If you donate shares worth £500 to the Sailors’ Society, then you will be able to claim income tax relief of £100 (20% of £500).

This means the donation has cost you £390, whilst our charity has benefited from shares worth £500. You also will not have to pay any capital gains tax on the disposal of these shares.

Example 2.  A Higher rate taxpayer (presently levied at the rate of 40% at 6 April 2010)

If you donate shares worth £10,000 to the Sailors’ Society, then you will be able to claim income tax relief of £4,000 (40% of £10,000).

This means that the donation has cost you only £6,000, whilst the Sailors’ Society has benefited from shares worth £10,000. You also will not have to pay any capital gains tax on the disposal of these shares.

NB. These examples above are for illustrative purposes only.

The tax benefits you may be entitled to will depend of course on your personal circumstances. You should consider taking professional advice to ensure that your gift to the Sailors’ Society is structured in the most tax efficient manner.

If you are a business, your business can also claim tax relief on the donation of shares. If qualifying, your business can claim tax relief equal to the market value of the shares on the day you make the gift, together with associated costs such as brokers’ fees.