The Canada Revenue Agency allows taxpayers to claim a deduction for charitable giving. This Non-Refundable Tax Credit is claimed on Line 34900 – Donations and Gifts of your personal T1 General Tax Return. However, you may be required to back up your claim with official receipts if CRA requests you to submit the supporting documents to them for review. Learn what you need to know about donation receipts and what you need to do if CRA sends you a request for more information.

Required Information on Donation Receipts

Donation receipts must contain the name and address of the charity as well as its registration number. These details must also match what the CRA has on file in its List of Charities and Other Qualified Donees.

Additionally, receipts must contain the location of issue, the date and value of the donation. They should also include the value of any advantage, such as gifts received in exchange for the donation.

Receipts must state that they are for official income tax purposes and must contain your full name and address. Finally, each receipt should have the name and website of the CRA and a unique serial number.

Special Notes for Non-Cash Gifts

If you have a receipt for a non-cash gift, the receipt should contain a few extra details about the gift. Most importantly, the receipt must include a description of the gift. If the gift was appraised, it also needs to include the name and address of the appraiser.  If you would like to have a tax expert take all the guessing work off your hands and do your return for you from start to finish and give you helpful tax advice for the next tax season then TurboTax Live Full Service is the right solution for you.

Your expert will include the details needed to help assure the CRA that the charity has reported the fair market value of the gift.

Requesting a Receipt

The CRA does not require charities to provide receipts. For example, charities are allowed to set minimum donation thresholds for receipting or can opt to not issue receipts at all. It’s quite common for a charity to not issue receipts for small amounts like $5.00 or $10.00.

If you want to report a charitable donation on your income tax return, make sure the charity is willing to issue you a receipt and remember to ask for one. Keep in mind that some charities alter their receipt giving practices dependent on the situation.

For example, a charity may gladly issue receipts when you make a donation to its main office. However, this same charity may opt not to issue receipts at a special event such as a silent auction.

Altered Receipts

If you receive a donation receipt that has been altered, you are still permitted to use it for income tax purposes. However, the CRA advises the charity to make changes to both its copy of the receipt and yours. The CRA also advises the charity to stamp its new information on the receipt rather than write it by hand.

For example, if a charity has recently moved but still has receipts with an old address, it may opt to issue these old receipts until they run out. If you receive one of these receipts, you may want to check that the charity has altered them to meet the CRA’s recommendations.

Replacement Receipts

If you notice that your receipts are missing information or have incorrect information, you can request a replacement receipt from the charity.

According to the CRA, the replacement receipt should have the serial number of the original receipt and a statement that it is a replacement of the original receipt. It should also contain a new and unique serial number, as well as the rest of the required information.

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