How to Claim Charitable Donations in Canada on Your Taxes
If you live in Canada and have been making some charitable donations during the tax year, you may be able to claim them on your taxes. The Canada Revenue Agency makes it pretty easy to claim your charitable donations and even allows you to carry over some donations for future tax years.
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Instructions
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Locate a registered charity. In order to be able to claim charitable contributions on your taxes in Canada, you have to donate to a registered charity. You can find a list of registered charities on the Canada Revenue Agency website (see Resources).
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Donate to a registered charity. Once you find a registered charity you will need to donate either cash or gifts. The Canada Revenue Agency defines gifts as goods, securities and land, but does not include services.
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Get a donation receipt. You must have a donation receipt in order to claim charitable contributions on your taxes in Canada. The receipt must proclaim an "official receipt for income tax purposes." The receipt will also need to list your name and address, the charity's registration number, the amount donated or the value of the item donated, the date of the donation, the name and Web address of the Canada Revenue Agency and a unique serial number for the receipt. You can find samples of donation receipts on the Canada Revenue Agency website (see Resources).
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Get your T1 return form. If you live at the same address as you did last tax year you will get your T1 form by mail. You can also go to the Canada Revenue Agency website (see Resources) and go to "Forms and Publications" and click on "Tax Packages." Once there, select your province to download your T1 form.
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Complete schedule 9. For all provinces, schedule 9 is the "Donations and Gifts" portion of the T1 income tax return. You do not have to claim all of your contributions in one tax year. In fact, you have up to five years. Common-law partners and married couples can claim donations on one return to maximize the tax benefit.
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File your tax return. You can deliver or mail your income tax return to the Canada Revenue Agency. The location depends on your province. There is a complete listing of offices on the Canada Revenue Agency website (see Resources). Remember to include your donation receipts with your T1 income tax return to claim your charitable donations.
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