Grace is Money editor at Which?, on the hunt for ways to help people save with smart tips and deals. She was named personal finance journalist of the year 2025.
A rising number of people are choosing to leave a gift to charity in their will – and even a small amount can have a meaningful impact.
According to Remember A Charity, a consortium of around 200 UK charities that work together to raise awareness of charitable gifts in wills, nearly one in three over-40s with a will have included a charitable gift.
But it's not just good for the cause; it could work in your favour, too. Here, we explain how to leave a gift in your will and four key benefits in doing so.
Some charities offer free will-writing services to people who are considering leaving them a gift.
These schemes are available year-round and are designed to make legacy giving more accessible.
While they usually cover straightforward wills, people with more complex estates may still be able to benefit from a lower fee or access to further advice.
The National Free Wills Network is a good place to start if you want to see which charities offer free will-writing services.
Some participating charities include Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie and Stroke Association.
Bear in mind that some have criteria for who can use the service, so it's best to check first. For example, Stroke Association requires you to be over the age of 60 or a stroke survivor.
Any money you leave to a charity, as long as it's registered in the UK, will always be free from inheritance tax (IHT).
IHT is charged at 40% on any estate worth more than £325,000. But if you leave 10% or more of your net estate to charity, you'll benefit from a lower inheritance tax rate of 36%.
As a result, in some scenarios, donating to charity could lower your IHT bill, which could mean you have a bit more to leave to your beneficiaries overall.
However, this depends on how much your estate is worth in the first place, as well as the size of your donation.
Always seek advice before gifting to charity for the purpose of minimising inheritance tax.
A gift in your will can help a charity to continue its work for years to come.
That might mean funding medical research, running community services or supporting people in crisis.
For many charities, legacy donations are a key source of income. According to Remember A Charity, charitable gifts in wills raise more than £4bn a year for UK charities, with almost 11,000 organisations named in wills each year.
Unlike regular donations, a gift in your will doesn’t affect your day-to-day finances.
You can pledge support to a charity you care about without paying anything upfront or changing how you spend or save during your lifetime.
The gift only takes effect after your other wishes in the will have been carried out — such as leaving money to family or repaying debts.
That makes it a flexible option if you’d like to support a cause but don’t feel comfortable donating right now.
You can also update your will at any time, which means you’re not locked in if your circumstances or priorities change.
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If you decide to leave a gift to charity, start by choosing a cause you want to support.
This might be a charity that’s helped you or someone close to you, or one that reflects your values or has made a difference in your local area.
To make sure your gift reaches the right place, include the charity’s full name, registered address and charity number in your will. This is especially important as many charities have similar names.
You can choose to leave a pecuniary gift (a fixed amount of money), a specific gift (such as property, shares or a valuable item) or a residuary gift, which is a percentage of what’s left in your estate after other gifts and expenses have been dealt with.
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