Claim your tax credit

To claim the charitable donation tax credit, keep your official donation receipts from registered charities and other qualified donees. Once you have receipts for all your donations, follow these steps:

Step 1 : Determine the amount you wish to claim. You can also claim a credit for donations made by your spouse or common-law partner. During a taxation year, you can claim a tax credit for :

• donations made between January¹ and December 31 of the year in question;
• unsolicited donations you have made in the last five years;
• unclaimed donations you made after February 10, 2014, which were gifts of ecologically sensitive land whose conservation and protection are important to the preservation of Canada’s environmental heritage.

Step 2: Once you’ve determined the amount you want to claim, calculate your tax credit by determining the eligible amount of your donations. This is usually the amount indicated on your charitable donation receipt. CompleteSchedule 9 to calculate your tax credit.

Step 3: Enter the amount you calculated inSchedule 9 on line 34900 of your return.

Keep your official donation receipts and proof of payment. This includes cancelled cheques and credit card or bank statements. You should always keep your receipts for a period of six years in case the Agency asks for them.

Learn more about a charity

Learn more about a charity before making a donation:

• Contact the charity directly for more information about its work;
• consult the Agency’s list of charities for registration status, contact information, activities and financial details;
• submit an informal inquiry to the Agency;
• submit an access to information request to the Agency.

For more information on charities and donations, go to canada.ca/charities-donors. You can also consult our questions and answers on filing your tax return to learn more about COVID-19 taxable benefits and the tax-filing process.