Charities who lost out on gift aid payments because donations on JustGiving included messages of support from more than one person will now receive the lost funds, following updated guidance by HMRC.

A blog by Just Giving last week said the organisation was “delighted” that HMRC updated its guidance “following months of discussion” - paving the way for £1.6m worth of gift aid repayments.

Under previous guidance, thousands of charities were denied gift aid payments if they included messages such as “with love from mum and dad”.

But following the new guidance by HMRC in April, those charities will now receive the gift aid they thought they had lost, JustGiving revealed.

The organisation said it has received the first of two payment from HMRC, affecting donations made between November 2015 and July 2016.

Last Friday, JustGiving paid affected charities the first set of reclaimed gift aid payments and confirmed to donors that the gift aid confirmations will be visable on the donation page alongside their donation.

Reports relating to these funds will be available in the relevant JustGiving charity accounts which will provide a full breakdown of the funds received, JustGiving said.

The second set of payments to charities will take place once JustGiving has received the second payment from HMRC.

A statement by the organisation said: “In line with the new guidelines, JustGiving has also agreed to include supplementary questions within the Gift Aid declaration process to help donors make accurate Gift Aid declarations and minimise the risk of error.

“We will continue to monitor and optimise our donation flow to maintain the very high donation conversion rates that our charities expect of JustGiving.

Affected charities will receive email confirmation of payments “shortly”, JustGiving said.