Chapter 2: The Charitable Landscape
Canada Revenue Agency considers registered charities to be “qualified donees”. That’s important, because only qualified donees can issue charitable donation receipts for contributions.
Donation receipts allow tax-payers to claim tax credits (tax deductions for corporations), which may lower the total amount of income tax payable.
Some donations may not generate a charitable donation receipt. Always ask if a receipt is available before you give.
ADDITIONAL LEARNING
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Only qualified donees can issue charitable donation receipts. Registered charities fall into this category, but so do registered amateur athletic associations, municipal governments, and even the United Nations. You can find the full list here. -
No. Issuing receipts does create an administrative burden. Some registered charities set minimum donation amounts before issuing a receipt. The charitable tax credit cannot be claimed without an official receipt, so it’s best to check with the charity directly before making a commitment. -
Only the donor who made the gift can receive the charitable donation receipt. The name and address of the donor must appear on the receipt. Donations that originate from joint accounts (for example a bank account) can be claimed by any name account holder. However, a donation receipt may be transferred and used by a spouse to reduce taxes. Check with your accountant!
If the donation came from a joint account, the donation receipt is issued to the account holders. Typically, this is spousal, in which case either spouse could claim the donation up to their personal limit. But in the cases of parent/child or joint sibling accounts, the donation tax receipt would list all account holder names, and any of them could claim the entire donation or split it amongst each other.
