Income Tax Act 2007 section 257JC

Charities that are trusts

Section 257JC clarifies that charitable trusts are treated in the same way as companies for the purposes of the social investment tax relief provisions.

• Throughout the social investment tax relief part of the Act, the term "company" includes a charity that is structured as a trust.
• This means charitable trusts can qualify as social enterprises eligible for social investment tax relief, just as charitable companies can.
• The one exception is section 257JD, which deals with accreditation as a social impact contractor — in that context, "company" does not extend to charitable trusts.
• The effect is to ensure that the legal form a charity takes (trust versus company) does not, by itself, determine eligibility for social investment tax relief.