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Payroll Giving is a simple, tax-efficient way for employees to make monthly donations to any national or local charity or registered good cause directly from their gross pay.

Because the donation is taken from employees' pay before tax is deducted, they receive tax relief on their donation immediately and at their highest rate of tax. For example, for 20% tax payers it would only cost £8 to make a £10 donation. For 40% tax payers it would only cost £6 to make the same-sized donation.

The scheme therefore allows employees to give regularly to charity in a cost-effective way. The employee's chosen charity also benefits by receiving regular donations without the need to claim back the tax from HM Revenue & Customs.

In order to offer payroll giving the University is required to register with an approved Payroll-Giving Agent. Although the Payroll Giving Agencies are themselves charities they do need to make a small charge to cover their operating costs. The University is registered with Charitable Giving who charge £0.23 per donor per month. The Agent will deduct the administration fee from employees' donation before passing them on to the chosen charity.

The University of Cambridge does not endorse any particular charities and employees may choose to donate to any local or national registered charity or registered good cause. For details of all UK registered charities please visit the Charity Commission.

Please note that the rules of the scheme may be varied from time to time at the University's discretion. The University may also terminate the scheme or exclude employees from participating in the scheme at its discretion. This guidance does not form part of employees' contracts of employment. Joining the scheme does not prevent an employee from donating to charity in other ways.

If you need any assistance or further guidance please ring the Payroll Giving helpline on 01271 344360.

Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in the payroll-giving scheme, you must be an employee of the University of Cambridge and receive your salary through PAYE. As payroll giving is a deduction from pay, it is not covered by the same minimum wage restrictions as salary exchange schemes.

Tax Saving

The payroll-giving scheme makes donations to your chosen charity directly from your salary after national insurance contributions are calculated but before income tax is deducted. You do not pay tax on the donation, only on the remaining amount, so tax relief is given immediately on the donation. Tax relief is calculated at your highest rate of tax.

For example if you are a 20% tax payers it would only cost you £8 to make a £10 donation. If you are a 40% tax payers it would only cost you £6 to make the same sized donation to your chosen charity.

Further examples are provided below:

Employee donation Cost to employee
(20% tax payer)
Cost to employee
(40% tax payer)
Administration fee
(Charitable Giving)
Value of contribution to charity
£5.00 £4.00 £3.00 23p £4.77
£10.00 £8.00 £6.00 23p £9.77
£20.00 £16.00 £12.00 23p £19.77
£100.00 £80.00 £60.00 23p £99.77

Donate Now

To make an online donation now please follow the steps below. If you do not have access to a computer or the internet, hard-copy forms are also available from your Departmental Administrator.

  1. Go to cambridgeuniversity.givingonline.org.uk.
  2. Complete the online donation form selecting the charity of your choice and the amount you wish to donate each month.
  3. On completing the donation form, an e-mail of the form will be sent direct to your e-mail address. At the top of the form is a link for you to click to confirm that you made this donation. The donor form is also stamped with the date and time and the individual IP address of your computer.
  4. The donor form will then be passed direct to the University Payroll Section to make the deduction from your gross pay.

Please allow up to 6 weeks before the donation will show up on your pay slip. The time delay simply depends on when your payroll department receives the form relative to the cut-off date for each payroll run.

If you need any assistance or further guidance please ring the Payroll Giving helpline on 01271 326131.