Peterborough office
48 Broadway, Peterborough Cambridgeshire, PE1 1YW
01733 346 333 01733 562 338 enquiries@hegarty.co.ukStamford office
10 Ironmonger Street, Stamford Lincolnshire, PE9 1PL
01780 752 066 01780 762 774 enquiries@hegarty.co.ukOakham office
66 South Street, Oakham Rutland, LE15 6BQ
01572 757 565 01572 720 555 enquiries@hegarty.co.ukMarket Deeping office
27a Market Place, Market Deeping, PE6 8EA
01778 230 120 01778 230 129 enquiries@hegarty.co.uk9 Sept 2019
Gifts in Wills are vital for charities to continue their important work. In fact, many charities wouldn’t exist without them. Most people, however, simply aren’t aware of this form of giving. There can also be a misconception that only extremely wealthy people leave money to charity, but even a small donation can have a massive impact.
While the priority is making sure family and friends are taken care of first, a Will can also offer the opportunity to leave a thank-you gift to a favourite charity. Many of this country’s best-loved charities wouldn’t exist without gifts left in wills by people like you. After taking care of family and friends, leaving even a small gift can achieve big things. And it’s much simpler than you think.
Aside from supporting your favourite charity’s work, there are also financial benefits to leaving part of your estate to charity. The inheritance tax threshold is currently £325,000 – doubling to £650,000 if you have a partner – but leaving money to charity can be a way of reducing how much of your estate ends up with HMRC. Not only will any portion left to charity not count towards the total taxable value of your estate, but if you leave at least 10 per cent of your net estate to charity then you can cut the rate of inheritance tax you pay from 40 per cent to 36 per cent.
Gifts in Wills are a critical source of funding for charitable services across the country, raising more than £3 billion for good causes annually. They fund two out of three guide dogs, 6 out of 10 RNLI lifeboat rescue launches and almost one third of Macmillan’s income, in addition to sustaining an increasing number of smaller and community-based charities. Even the museums we enjoy are often funded by gifts in Wills, as are many environmental causes which protect the countryside where we go for family walks on a Sunday.
Think about the things that have played a really important part in your life, and the causes and charities that you think are doing particularly great work which should continue and be protected for the future. You may have a specific charity in mind that you’d like to donate to. Alternatively, the Remember A Charity website allows you search by location or type of cause from more than 200 charities it collaborates with.