Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Charity definition

What does Charity mean? In practice, a charity is an organisation established solely for charitable purposes to deliver public benefit, with assets held for those purposes and supervised by the courts and charity regulators. Common forms include a trust, unincorporated association or company limited by guarantee (including CIO/SCIO). Surpluses cannot be distributed to members; funds must be applied to the purposes. Political activity is permitted only as ancillary. Status determines regulatory duties and eligibility for charity tax reliefs. England and Wales: Charities Act 2011, s 1, defines a charity as an institution established for charitable purposes only and subject to High Court control;...

Company charitable giving: UK corporation tax and VAT reliefs, Gift Aid, tainted donations, sponsorship, payroll giving and charity-owned subsidiaries

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Practice notes

The principal legislation defining relief for company charitable donations sits squarely within Part 6 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 (CTA 2010). There are five core routes for a company to give to Charity, namely the following options generally available:

making donations of money
donating equipment and trading stock items
donating land, property and Shares
temporarily seconding employees
sponsoring a charity

Donating money

A Limited company that is not itself a charity can legitimately reduce its corporation tax when it gives money directly to a charity or Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC). The amount gifted is ordinarily deducted from total business profits before tax.

However, you cannot deduct the following:

loans that will be repaid by the charity
payments made on condition the charity will buy property from the company or anyone connected with it
a distribution of company profits (e.g. dividends)

Any benefits received by the company in return (e.g. tickets for an event) must be under strictly set thresholds (£25 if the payment does not exceed £100 or 5% plus £25 where the payment exceeds £100; with higher limits where the payment exceeds £2500), and this equally applies to benefits provided to any person or company connected with...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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