Income Tax Act 2007

Non-charitable expenditure

543 Meaning of “non-charitable expenditure”

(1) For the purposes of this Part a charitable trust’s non-charitable expenditure for a tax year is—

(a) any loss made in the tax year in a trade carried on by the charitable trust unless—

(i) the trade is a charitable trade in relation to the tax year, or

(ii) the trade is not a charitable trade in relation to the tax year but profits of the trade arising in the tax year would be exempt from income tax as a result of one of the exemptions in sections 526, 529 or 530,

(b) any payment made in the tax year by the charitable trust in connection with a trade in circumstances where relief is available under section 96 (post-cessation trade relief) unless—

(i) the trade was a charitable trade in relation to the tax year in which the cessation occurred, or

(ii) the trade was not a charitable trade in relation to that tax year but profits of the trade arising immediately before the cessation would have been exempt from income tax as a result of one of the exemptions in sections 526, 529 or 530,

(c) any loss made in the tax year in a trade, or in a UK property business or an overseas property business, carried on by the charitable trust, if—

(i) the loss relates to land, and

(ii) profits of the trade, or income of the business, generated from the land in the tax year would not be exempt from income tax as a result of the exemptions in section 531,

(d) any payment made in the tax year by the charitable trust in connection with a trade or UK property business in circumstances where relief is available under section 96 or 125 (post-cessation trade or property relief), if—

(i) the payment relates to land, and

(ii) profits of the trade, or income of the business, generated from the land immediately before the cessation would not have been exempt from income tax as a result of the exemptions in section 531,

(e) any loss made in the tax year in a miscellaneous transaction entered into by the charitable trust otherwise than in the course of carrying out a charitable purpose,

(f) any expenditure incurred by the charitable trust in the tax year, not falling within paragraphs (b) or (d), which is not incurred for charitable purposes only and is not required to be taken into account in calculating—

(i) the profits of, or losses made in, any trade, UK property business or overseas property business carried on by the charitable trust, or

(ii) the profit or loss made in any miscellaneous transaction entered into by the charitable trust,

(g) any payment made in the tax year by the charitable trust to a substantial donor which is treated under section 551(1) or (5) as non-charitable expenditure,

(h) any non-charitable expenditure treated as incurred under section 551(2) as a result of a transaction between the charitable trust and a substantial donor,

(i) the amount of any of the charitable trust’s funds that is invested in the tax year in an investment which is not an approved charitable investment (see section 558), and

(j) any amount lent in the tax year by the charitable trust, if the loan is neither an investment nor an approved charitable loan (see section 561).

But anything which falls within more than one of the above paragraphs counts as non-charitable expenditure only once.

(2) An amount may also be non-charitable expenditure for a tax year as a result of section 562 (excess expenditure treated as non-charitable expenditure of earlier years).

(3) This section needs to be read with—

• section 525 (meaning of “charitable trade”),

• sections 544 to 548 (supplementary provision in relation to this section, in particular in relation to subsection (1)(f), (i) and (j)),

• sections 549 to 557 (transactions with substantial donors),

• section 558 (approved charitable investments), and

• section 561 (approved charitable loans).

544 Section 543: supplementary

(1) This section applies for the purposes of section 543.

(2) For rules about the calculation of losses, see—

(a) section 26 of ITTOIA 2005 (losses of a trade calculated on same basis as profits),

(b) section 272 of that Act (which applies section 26 of that Act, so that losses of a UK property business or overseas property business are calculated on the same basis as profits), and

(c) section 872 of that Act (losses from miscellaneous transactions calculated on same basis as miscellaneous income).

(3) A transaction is a miscellaneous transaction if it is of such a nature that, if income or gains had arisen from it—

(a) ignoring section 527 (exemption from charges under provisions to which section 1016 applies), it would have been charged to income tax under or by virtue of any provision to which section 1016 applies, and

(b) the trustees of the charitable trust would have been liable for any tax so chargeable.

(4) References to a charitable trust making a loss in a trade in a tax year are to the charitable trust making a loss in the trade in the basis period for the tax year.

545 Section 543(1)(f): meaning of expenditure

(1) For the purposes of section 543(1)(f) “expenditure” includes expenditure of a capital nature.

(2) None of the following is “expenditure” for those purposes—

(a) the investment of any of the charitable trust’s funds,

(b) the making of a loan by the charitable trust, or

(c) the repayment by the charitable trust of the whole or a part of a loan made to it.

546 Section 543(1)(f): tax year in which certain expenditure treated as incurred

(1) This section applies for the purposes of section 543(1)(f).

(2) Subsection (3) applies to expenditure which is referable to commitments (whether or not of a contractual nature) that the charitable trust has entered into before or during a tax year.

(3) The expenditure is treated as incurred in the tax year if, had the charitable trust been required to draw up accounts that met the requirements mentioned in subsection (4), the expenditure would have been required to be taken into account in preparing those accounts.

(4) The requirements referred to in subsection (3) are—

(a) that the accounts are drawn up for the tax year, and

(b) that UK generally accepted accounting practice applies with respect to them.

547 Section 543(1)(f): payment to body outside the UK

A payment made, or to be made, to a body situated outside the United Kingdom is non-charitable expenditure under section 543(1)(f) if—

(a) it is incurred for charitable purposes only, but

(b) the trustees of the charitable trust have not taken such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that the payment will be applied for charitable purposes.

548 Section 543(1)(i) and (j): investments and loans

(1) Subsection (2) applies if in a tax year a charitable trust—

(a) realises the whole or part of an investment which was made in the tax year and is not an approved charitable investment (see section 558), or

(b) is repaid the whole or part of a loan which was made in the tax year and is neither an investment nor an approved charitable loan (see section 561).

(2) Any further investment or lending in the tax year of the sum realised or repaid, so far as it does not exceed the sum originally invested or lent, is not non-charitable expenditure as a result of section 543(1)(i) or (j).