Daughter
Church of
St. John's
Cathedral
Hong Kong

As Christians, we are privileged to share our time, our talents, and our financial resources with our congregation as our sign of our thankfulness to God.  There are many ways to give at Emmanuel and all gifts are valuable!

Gifts of time, talent and financial support make the work of Emmanuel Church - Pokfulam possible.

Emmanuel Church's operations and activities, like those of most churches, are funded by the generous and kind financial support of the congregation. These are for the ongoing costs such as the priest's salary, rent and utilities as well as the cost of the usual things used in the services and Sunday School classes.

Without your financial support, Emmanuel Church - Pokfulam would not be able to function and continue to be the spiritual force for good that it is.

How You Can Financially Support Emmanuel?
There are several ways you can financially support Emmanuel Church - Pokfulam:

• Sunday Morning Collection - your weekly contribution to the collection needs no explanation, except to point out that red notes are popular, while brown and golden notes are even better.
   
• Standing Orders and Direct Debits - we raise most of our funds by monthly Standing Order (autopay) to your bank. This gives you a 35% tax deduction and allows the Church to better plan its finances by knowing what regular part of its income will be provided by members of the congregation. By sending a Standing Order to your bank in favour of Emmanuel Church, you will be helping Emmanuel Church - Pokfulam and you will receive a receipt annually in April in time to claim your tax deduction.
  
  To obtain your Standing Order, please click here Bank Standing Order Form. Please print out the form and complete it, leaving the reference blank.
  
  The completed form should be submitted either to our Treasurer, or to St. John's Cathedral, 4-8 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong marked "For the attention of The Administrator, Viola Yip".
  
  Your Financial Stewardship is CONFIDENTIAL and known only to The Almighty, our Treasurer and to the Administrator at St. John's Cathedral.
   
• One Time Gifts, Special Gifts - If you would like to make a one time gift and you would like to receive a charitable donation receipt, please write your cheque made payable to St John's Cathedral - Emmanuel Church, and send it to c/o Viola Ip, The Administrator, St. John's Cathedral, 4-8 Garden Road, Central. Please include your return address so that we can send you your charitable receipt. Please also state if your gift is for a specific purpose and if you require details of the gift to remain CONFIDENTIAL.

To see Emmanuel Church's name on the Hong Kong Government's list of approved charities, click on the following link (go to page 163):Inland Revenue List of Approved Charities.

If you have any questions, please contact Chris Erving by phone or fill out our contact form that will be e-mailed directly to the Emmanuel Church Treasurer.

God bless you and thank you for your financial support.

Chris Erving
Treasurer, Emmanuel Church - Pokfulam
Office tel: 2869 0333

Extract from Hong Kong SAR Inland Revenue Department "Guide to Tax Return – Individuals (B.I.R.60) (4/2008)", Section 4.3 Deductions, subsection (3): Approved charitable donations (box 32).

• Donations must be in respect of those made to tax-exempt charities or Government for charitable purposes and supported by receipts.  List of tax-exempt charities is available on the [Inland Revenue] Department's website (http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/ach_search.htm)
   
• The aggregate deduction of approved charitable donation must not be less than HKD100 and shall not exceed 35% of your income after allowable expenses and depreciation allowances.  (For year of assessment 2003/04 to 2007/08, the limit is 25%.)
   
• In support of your claim for deductions, you should ask for donation receipts issued by the tax-exempt charities and the Government and retain these receipts for a period of 6 years after the expiration of the year of assessment in which the donations were made.  Production of donation receipts for examination is required in the event your case is selected for review.
   
• Enter TOTAL AMOUNT of approved charitable donation made during the year.  Donations already claimed in your spouse's return should be excluded.

For clarification: an "approved charitable donation" means a donation of money to any charitable institution or trust of a public character, which is exempt from tax under section 88 of the Hong Kong SAR Inland Revenue Ordinance, or to the Government, for charitable purposes. (Section 2 of the Hong Kong SAR Inland Revenue Ordinance).

Useful Tax links:

• Charitable Donations and Tax-Exempt Charities definition
  http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/ach.htm
   
•  Approved Charitable Donations calculation example
  http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/taxes/salaries/allowances/deductions/approv eddonation.htm