3.35.1 This section is intended for charitable schools and Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) who want to know if Gift Aid can be used in respect of voluntary contributions toward educational school trips. 3.35.2 In schools, other than independent fee paying schools, the education provided wholly or mainly during school hours is free. This means that head teachers may not impose a charge on parents for any visit that is undertaken as part of the National Curriculum and occurs during school hours. The head teacher may, however, ask for a voluntary contribution. Parents must be made aware that the contribution is not compulsory, and the children of parents who do not contribute must not be discriminated against. It’s permissible for the school to ask parents to contribute more than the minimum amount in order to subsidise those pupils whose parents have not contributed. However, if there are not enough voluntary contributions and the shortfall cannot be made up, the visit may have to be cancelled. Such voluntary contributions to charitable schools or PTAs may be eligible for tax relief under the Gift Aid Scheme, provided the usual requirements of the scheme are satisfied and in particular:
parental contributions are made on the basis that they’re not refundable (and are not in any event refunded) if the trip does not go ahead or if their child does not go on the trip
any benefit arising from the school trip does not exceed the maximum level of permissible benefit for the donation
For a donation of £0 to £100 the value of the benefits must not exceed 25% of the donation. For a donation of £101 to £1,000 the value of the benefits must not exceed £25. Benefits include travel costs, trip insurance, cost of entry and associated educational material, cost of food and drink supplied and any other costs associated with the trip (costs averaged per pupil if appropriate). In general, however, it is likely that the benefits associated with a school trip contribution will exceed the maximum level of permissible benefits and so the donation will not come within the Gift Aid Scheme. Example 1 The cost of an educational trip to a local museum amounts to £8 (transport £5 entry £2 and brochure £1). The school asks for a voluntary contribution of £10. The payment of £10 cannot be made under the Gift Aid Scheme as the benefit of £8 exceeds the 25% limit (80%). However, where a payment is made in excess of the requested contribution the excess can be Gift Aided provided the requested contribution meets the cost of the trip (the benefit). Example 2 The position is the same as in example one but a parent makes a voluntary contribution of £15 instead of the requested £10. The additional £5 can be made as a Gift Aid payment.