There a few good reasons to give to charities if you can. Not only can you contribute to the good work that a charity you support does in your community but you can also receive federal tax credits. A win-win! Here’s a few things to be aware of first though.

Not all Non-profits are charities. Non-profits similarly do great work in our communities, helping the needy, providing services to children and families, or support for refugees, immigrants the elderly and many others. Though this shouldn’t dissuade you from supporting a non-profit, you cant’ claim tax credits for donations to them unless they have a registered Charitable Business Number with CRA.  Read here for more information or refer to this very helpful chart that CRA provides to clarify the differences between the two.

Many people don’t realize that you can defer claiming your donations up to five years until you’ve accumulated enough to claim a higher rate credit. If you’ve donated less than $200 to a CRA registered charity you may want to consider holding off as there are two rates, a lower one everything you’ve donated up to $200 and a higher rate for everything above $200.

For couples it’s a good practice to have only one of you claim all of the donations your household has made, maximizing the credit potential.

If you donated investments (bonds, mutual funds, stocks) accrued capital gain is usually not included in your yearly income. Though changes to the tax code covers some gains on these types of “flow-through” shares. If you would like more information about this or other related issues in regards to charitable donations and how to best include them when filing your taxes contact us today at murat@madazli-cga.com 

 

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