What does it mean for a charity to be 'running charitable activities in a community building' under section 7 of the Small Charitable Donations Act 2012?

A charity is treated as running charitable activities in a community building if it carries out a qualifying charitable activity there on at least 6 occasions in a tax year, each time with a group including at least 10 beneficiaries. The activity must be open to the public and no charge may be made for access to the building.

What are the six-occasion and ten-beneficiary thresholds in section 7 SCDA 2012?

To qualify, a charity must carry out a charitable activity in a community building on at least 6 separate occasions during a single tax year. On each occasion, at least 10 individuals who belong to the class of beneficiaries the activity is intended to help must be present. The individuals need not be the same each time.

Are fund-raising activities counted as charitable activities under section 7?

No. The Act defines a charitable activity as one carried out for a charitable purpose but specifically excludes activities carried out primarily for fund-raising. For example, a free advice clinic in a village hall would qualify, but a jumble sale held primarily to raise funds would not count toward the thresholds.

Can Community Amateur Sports Clubs claim top-up payments on small donations collected at community buildings?

No. Section 7 explicitly excludes registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs), as defined under Chapter 9 of Part 13 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010, from being treated as charities for these purposes. Even if a CASC meets all the activity criteria, it cannot use these rules to claim top-up payments.

Small Charitable Donations Act 2012 section 7

Meaning of "running charitable activities in a community building" etc

Section 7 defines what it means for a charity to be "running charitable activities in a community building" for the purposes of claiming Gift Aid style top-up payments on small donations collected at such buildings.

A charity is treated as running charitable activities in a community building if it carries out qualifying activities there on at least 6 occasions in a tax year, each time with a group including at least 10 beneficiaries.
The activities must be open to the public or a section of the public, and no one in the group can be charged for access to the building or the relevant part of it.
A "charitable activity" is one carried out for a charitable purpose, but not one that is primarily a fund-raising activity.
Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) registered under the Corporation Tax Act 2010 are excluded from claiming under these provisions, even if they carry out charitable activities in a community building.

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