Recently, there's been some confusion around the announced extension of the deadline for making charitable donations eligible for tax support in the 2024 tax year. The extension allows individuals to include donations made between Jan 1 and Feb 28, 2025 on their 2024 tax returns. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently sent out an update on this matter which can be found here: Extension of the deadline for making 2024 charitable donations.
According to this CRA guidance, individuals may claim the eligible amount of certain gifts made to charities or other qualified donees up to February 28, 2025, on their 2024 personal income tax and benefit return. The gift must be in the form of cash, or transferred by way of cheque, credit card, money order, or electronic payment.
More importantly for our clients, CRA states that charities can issue receipts as normal according to receipting rules, and the CRA will work on their end to administer the extension. Charities are not required to issue official donation receipts specific to the extension period; however, they may wish to do so as a courtesy to its donors, especially if they generally receive only one annual receipt for multiple donations.
