Smart Giving

Giving tax effectively - giving shares


Individuals who give shares to charity may be able to claim full tax relief against the value of the shares. So, a gift of shares worth £10,000 could cost a higher rate taxpayer only £6,000, or £7,800 for lower rate taxpayers. A gift of shares will also give rise to neither a gain nor a loss for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes.

If you are in a position to give a significant gift to charity, you may find that a gift of stocks or shares is an effcient way to achieve this. The process is simple:

  • Contact the charity you want to give shares to, to ensure they can accept your gift. They may also be able to help arrange the transfer
  • Transfer the gift to the charity
  • Keep evidence of the gift, the date it was made, the charity's acceptance and the value of the shares on the day they were gifted
  • Claim the tax relief via your self assessment form or by contacting your tax office

If the charity isn't in a position to handle the process for you, there is plenty of advice available from organisations like the Charities Aid Foundation,  ShareGift or The Community Foundation Network. The Inland Revenue website also provides information on tax relief on gifts of shares.

If you only have a few shares that would cost more to sell than they are worth, you can use them to help UK charities by donating them to the charity ShareGift. ShareGift specialises in share donations, and in accepting small holdings of shares. Donated shares are accumulated until there are enough to sell, and the proceeds are then used to make donations to a wide range of other UK charities.