Charitable Giving
.jpg) In 2010, the first $200 you donate is eligible for a federal tax credit of 15% of the donation amount. After the first $200, the federal tax credit increases to 29% of the amount over $200. Generally, you can claim all or part of this amount up to a limit of 75% of your net income. For gifts of certified cultural property or ecologically sensitive land, you may be able to claim up to 100% of your net income.
You may also be eligible for a provincial tax credit. The amount of the provincial tax credit available varies between provinces.
Donations must be made by December 31st to be claimed against your income for the current year. However, you do not have to claim all of the donations you made this year on your current-year return. You can carry forward any donations you do not claim in the current year and claim them on your return for any of the next five years. You can only claim donations once.
 Recent tax changes have made it even more attractive to donate publicly traded securities. Under new rules in the 2006 federal budget, you may give stocks, bonds, futures and options, as well as shares in mutual funds and you will pay no tax on the capital gain. This greatly reduces the out-of-pocket expense of making such a donation.
For example, a gift of stocks that are worth $10,000 today that you previously acquired for $5,000 would provide you with about $4,500 of income tax savings, and there would be no capital gains tax owed. This would make the cost of your $10,000 gift a mere $5,500, and would save you what could amount to thousands of dollars of capital gains tax.
Gift of Securities Calculator
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