During this Remember a Charity Week, it is vital that the importance of leaving a charitable gift in a Will is highlighted.
In 2024, we saw a record jump in the overall UK Legacy Income, with it totalling a colossal £4.5 billion. Legacy income makes up a significant percentage of a charity’s income, with gifts under Wills equating to an average of 30% of all voluntary income, and 14% of all total income across the top 1,000 legacy charities.
Charitable gifting in a Will shall allow for funding to be put towards vital research needed for cancer treatments, shall enable additional support to be given to those using services provided by mental health or children’s charities, and can create a better world for the animals that we love.
If you are already a philanthropist, and the mitigation of inheritance tax is at the forefront of your mind, leaving a gift to a charity under your Will may be a useful estate planning tool. Any gifts to a charity in your Will are exempt from tax. The rate of inheritance tax will also be reduced from 40% to 36% if you gift 10% of your net estate a charity or charities.
It is also important to recognise that gifting in light of the cost-of-living crisis donating to a charity may be difficult for some. Making a gift to a charity under your Will shall allow you to contribute to a charity’s aims upon death, if you are not able to do so during your lifetime. Every penny that is gifted towards a charity, aids in shaping a better future for wider society and knowing that you have contributed to such change is a very rewarding legacy to leave behind.
Ellisons are a proud member of the Remember A Charity Campaign Supporter Scheme, and to find out more about the various charities that you could support, and to hear about how legacy income has directly impacted the charities and those they support, visit www.rememberacharity.org.uk.
If you would like to discuss how you could support a charity in your Will, whether that be due to a desire you have to leave a gift to a charity important to you, or for estate planning purposes, please get in touch with our Wills, Trusts and Probate team.
