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Registered Charities and Tax Savings
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) regulates registered charities under the Income Tax Act. Under the Act, donations to registered charities may help to reduce your individual income tax. Tax credits are calculated as a percentage of the eligible amount of donations you make. Did you know? You do not have to claim all of the donations you made this year on your current-year tax return. You can claim them on your return for any of the next five years, but you can only claim them once. You can also combine your receipts with those of your spouse or common-law partner and claim them all on one return to maximize your credits.

Donation Receipts
You must have a receipt to claim a tax credit for your donation. As a donor, you should make sure your receipt includes the following information:


CRA Web site and Charities Listings
The CRA Web site includes a useful resource called Giving to charity: Information for donors. This user-friendly tool provides information about tax savings, donation receipts, the regulation of charities, and how to be an informed donor. Giving to charity: Information for donors also explains how to search the CRA Charities Listings for information on a specific registered charity. The CRA Charities Listings is an online, searchable list of all the registered charities in Canada. Using the listings, you can access the Registered Charity Information Return for a particular charity. The return includes contact information, a description of the charity's activities, and financial information such as income, expenditures, assets, and liabilities. Visit www.cra.gc.ca/donors to search the listings.

a statement that the receipt is an "official receipt for income tax purposes"; your name and address; the name and Business Number/Registration Number of the charity; the eligible amount of the donation; the date of the donation (the year is sufficient for donations of cash); the CRA's name and Web site; and a unique serial number.







Depending on the kind of donation you make or whether you receive an advantage in return for making your donation, your receipt may require additional information.

Learn, Confirm and Take Action
To protect yourself from fraud, the CRA recommends that you follow the tips below: Learn and Confirm


Take Action


Write cheques payable to the charity, not an individual, or make sure that your online payments are secure. Refuse to donate if there are signs of fraud, such as inappropriate pressure to give immediately or being offered a receipt for more than you actually donate. Report fraud to PhoneBusters, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre, at: 1-888-495-8501

Giving to charity:
Information for Donors

Confirm that a charity that claims to be registered with the CRA is in fact registered. Consult the CRA Charities Listings at www.cra.gc.ca/donors or call 1-800-267-2384. Confirm that you will receive an official donation receipt if you want to claim a tax credit. Tax receipts must meet specific requirements: For more information, see: www.cra.gc.ca/donors Ask the charity what activities your donations will support. Make sure you know who you are donating to. Sometimes fraudulent charities use names that are similar to well-known and respected charities. Beware of schemes that promise you tax savings greater than your cost, thus allowing you to "profit" from donating to a registered charity. For complete details, see the donor alert section of www.cra.gc.ca/donors. Ask yourself: Am I satisfied that my donation will support the work of a legitimate charity?







For More Information
Much more information is available on the CRA Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/donors. Not online? Contact us toll-free! 1-800-267-2384 (for service in English) 1-888-892-5667 (for service in French)









RC4407(E) Rev. 07