Donors who pay taxes in other countries should review local tax laws and regulations or consult a professional tax advisor before making a gift.

Columbia (UK) Fund Limited

For those based in the United Kingdom, Columbia established the Columbia UK Fund Limited to help donors with tax relief. If you pay UK income taxes, your gift to this fund (in Sterling, US Dollars, or Euros) is eligible for Gift Aid relief, which increases the donor’s philanthropic impact.

When donating to the Columbia (UK) Fund, please complete a Gift Aid Declaration Form. Your gift is then treated as if it were a gift of an amount from which income tax has been deducted at the basic rate. Columbia can reclaim from HM Revenue and Customs the basic rate income tax (currently 20 percent) which is deemed to have been deducted from that gift.

If You Pay UK and US Taxes

Americans residing in the UK have particular income tax problems with respect to structuring tax efficient charitable gifts because they are subject to two systems of taxation. In the past, Americans typically chose to obtain tax relief in either the US or UK and accepted that the overall benefit would be limited by the constraints of the other tax system.

The Columbia (UK) Fund Limited solves that problem. It is simultaneously governed by English and US law. Columbia owns all of the share capital of the Fund, and it has made an election to be treated as a “disregarded entity” for US tax purposes. The Columbia (UK) Fund Limited is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission and simultaneously qualifies as a foreign branch of the US exempt organization.

The effect of this election is that a gift to the Columbia (UK) Fund Limited is eligible for income tax benefits in both the US and UK. Gifts to the UK Fund can be made in Sterling, Euros, and US Dollars.

• For UK tax purposes, the gift is to the English charity and is therefore eligible for Gift Aid relief.
• For US tax purposes, the gift is treated as a gift to a US qualified exempt organization that will give rise to a US income tax deduction.

Giving to the Columbia (UK) Fund Limited

Check
Please send a check made to Columbia UK Fund Limited and payable in Sterling, Euros, or US Dollars to:

Eileen Flood
Administrator
Columbia UK Fund
19 Norcott Road
London N16 7EJ

E-mail: eileen_flood@blueyonder.co.uk
Phone: +020 7502 2813

Be sure to include a Gift Aid Declaration Form and let us know which part of the University you wish to support.
 

Wire Transfer
Contact Columbia's Office of Gift Planning at gift.planning@columbia.edu or 001-212-851-7857.

For More Information
Contact Dorota Gonera, Manager of Gift Receivables, Gift Systems, at dg2869@columbia.edu.

 

Columbia University Hong Kong Fund

Donors in Hong Kong may give to Columbia and receive tax benefits through our Columbia University Hong Kong Fund registered under Section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance.

Hong Kong residents giving to this Fund may deduct their donation from their income up to a maximum percent (35 percent in 2009-10). To give via wire transfer, contact gift.planning@columbia.edu or Dorota Gonera, Manager of Gift Receivables, Gift Systems, at dg2869@columbia.edu.

To learn more about Hong Kong tax benefits, consult the Inland Revenue Department.