UK charitable tax reliefs withdrawn for EU and EEA charities

A small change in the Spring Budget could have potentially significant consequences for taxpayers making gifts to charities in their wills. With little fanfare UK charitable tax reliefs were quietly withdrawn for European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) on 15 March 2023 with only very limited exceptions. In particular individuals who do not update their wills to take account of the change could leave a nasty surprise for their loved ones. However some proactive planning could ensure that charitable gifts remain tax efficient.

Impact on charities

Before this announcement EU and EEA charities and CASCs have generally been able to benefit from UK tax reliefs. For charities these reliefs were in respect of tax charges that would otherwise arise on:

• receipt of donations;
• profits from trading or rental income;
• investment income;
• chargeable...