Donating shares to charity

Share giving

You can put shares to good use by giving them to charity, because they can be more tax-effective than giving cash

Contact the philanthropy team

Welcome to the Charities Aid Foundation

We help donors to give more impactfully and charities to build their resilience so they can do more of their life-changing work.

Personal giving From one-off donations to long-term giving, or designing your personal philanthropic strategy, we work together to help you realise your giving ambitions. Corporate giving You have the vision for making a difference. So do we. We help you plan how to give based on your goals. Services for charities Helping your charity or social enterprise become more resilient. Insights Discover the latest insights for donors and charitable organisations to help create a greater impact About us We are a leading charity, working at the centre of the giving world. We help donors to give more impactfully and charities to build their resilience so they can do more of their life-changing work. Donate  
 
 
 

Personal giving

From one-off donations to long-term giving, or designing your personal philanthropic strategy, we work together to help you realise your giving ambitions.

DISCOVER OUR PERSONAL GIVING SOLUTIONS

Corporate giving

You have the vision for making a difference. So do we. We help you plan how to give based on your goals.

DISCOVER OUR CORPORATE GIVING SOLUTIONS

Services for charities

Helping your charity or social enterprise become more resilient.

DISCOVER HOW WE SUPPORT CHARITIES

Insights

Discover the latest insights for donors and charitable organisations to help create a greater impact

Explore

About us

We are a leading charity, working at the centre of the giving world. We help donors to give more impactfully and charities to build their resilience so they can do more of their life-changing work.

Find out more about CAF

Why donate shares?

Did you know that donating shares is one of the most tax-effective ways to give to charity?


  • Giving HMRC qualifying shares to charity means you get Income Tax relief on the value of the shares as well as exemption from Capital Gains Tax.

  • You can give us your shares or sell us your shares which we will then sell to create sales proceeds to fund your Charity Account or Charitable Trust. Note that the service between each product differs.

  • Alternatively, you can simply transfer the shares to us and these can be held in a Charitable Trust to generate investment income (subject to our investment policy).

Not yet a CAF customer? Find out how we can support your charitable giving.

How can you give shares?

Gift shares directly to us

Gift shares directly to us and we can place the proceeds in a Charity Account or Charitable Trust.

For a long term approach to giving with a Charitable Trust, you can either place the proceeds into the Charitable Trust or, subject to our investment policy, hold the shares in the Charitable Trust to generate an investment return. We will help you manage and grow the funds to increase the amount to give to charity. 

Under a Charity Account, you will need to sell the shares yourself. We then place the proceeds into your account allowing you to give to charity when and where you choose.

Donate your shares to us

Selling shares yourself and donating the proceeds to your CAF Charitable Trust could be more tax effective for you.

Depending on your personal tax situation, selling shares yourself and donating the proceeds to your Charitable Trust or Charity Account could be more tax effective for you.

By donating the proceeds as cash the gifts will get a Gift Aid uplift of 25%, and you can also claim higher rate or additional rate tax relief on the gross value of the cash donation, after taking into account the Gift Aid tax claimed by the charity.

Sell your shares

You can sell your shares to us for less than their value and then the gain generated will be available to donate.

You can sell your shares to us for less than their value and then the gain generated will be placed into your Charity Account or Charitable Trust.

This means that you can reduce your taxable income by the donation amount (i.e. the market value of the shares, plus any costs of the transfer, less the sale price paid by the charity), reducing your overall income tax liability.

We will put the proceeds in your Charitable Trust or Charity Account to donate when you choose.

Find out more 

Please contact your dedicated private client manager direct. Alternatively, our private client managers are happy to advise about any aspect of giving, so please call 03000 123 028 (9am-5pm Monday to Friday) or complete our online form and we’ll get back to you within one working day.

To find out more and contact our team about share giving, please complete our online form

A wide range of shares and securities can be gifted in this way. These include those listed or dealt on a recognised stock exchange in the UK and many international exchanges: the USA, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Japan, Colombo, Singapore, Johannesburg, Switzerland and the EU countries. We will be happy to advise you before you make your gift whether or not the shares are listed on a recognised stock exchange. 

There are other investments that also qualify, including authorised unit trusts, UK open-ended investment company shares and certain foreign collective investment scheme holdings. We recommend that you seek confirmation from HMRC that your investment qualifies for Income Tax relief.

We are unable to offer advice on personal tax issues. So if you are unsure of your tax situation, we recommend that you speak to a professional advisor or visit the HMRC website www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity.

Important legal information 

HMRC Qualifying Shares

A wide range of shares and securities can be gifted in this way. These include those listed or dealt on a recognised stock exchange in the UK and many international exchanges: the USA, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Japan, Colombo, Singapore, Johannesburg, Switzerland and the EU countries. We will be happy to advise you before you make your gift whether or not the shares are listed on a recognised stock exchange.

There are other investments that also qualify, including authorised unit trusts, UK open-ended investment company shares and certain foreign collective investment scheme holdings. We recommend that you seek confirmation from HMRC that your investment qualifies for Income Tax relief.

Tax Advice

We are unable to offer advice on personal tax issues. So if you are unsure of your tax situation, we recommend that you speak to a professional advisor or visit the gov.uk website www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity