Official Tax Receipt Guidelines

Charitable donation receipts are issued in accordance with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) guidelines.

For further clarification, please refer to the CRA Website.

General Tax Receipt Guidelines for 3rd Party Events

Eligible donations in the amount of $20 or more will receive a tax receipt for the full donation amount.

If tax receipts are required, after a 3rd party event, please provide Brigadoon a list of supporters, full addresses including postal codes, with the associated donation amounts over $20. Pledge sheet can be found here.

For example, Brigadoon can receipt cumulative casual day donations when detailed lists are provided for amounts of $20 and over, that includes the donor’s name, full address, donation amount and email or phone number.

We, however, cannot receipt a coin box collection or community/company fundraising activities such as auctions, raffles, bake sales, car washes, etc.

Please note that a charitable donation receipt can only be issued to the issuer of a cheque. According to CRA guidelines, the tax receipt must be made out to the entity listed on the cheque.

A gaming license is required by law for all bingos, raffles and 50/50 tickets. Brigadoon will provide letters of endorsement and support to include with a lottery application. If you require a lottery license for your event, please contact your local Gaming Authority.

Additional Tax Receipt Guidelines

A charitable tax receipt may be issued for the purchase of a ticket to a Brigadoon charitable event, but not for the entire ticket price. For example, if the price of a ticket to attend a dinner is $100 and the value of the dinner is $40, a receipt may be issued for the $60 difference.

Details can be found here.

A charitable donation receipt cannot be issued for a lottery ticket or raffle. No part of the cost of a lottery ticket or raffle ticket is considered a gift because the ticket offers the purchaser a chance to win prizes.

Donations of gift certificates to Brigadoon cannot be receipted. The retailer is entitled to claim the cost of the property transferred to the certificate holder as a business expense.

A charitable donation receipt cannot be issued for sponsorships. Where a business gives a gift of cash or merchandise and receives a material business advantage such as promotional or advertising services, the business has not made a gift according to CRA and Brigadoon cannot issue a charitable donation receipt. In these circumstances, the business can usually claim the cash payment or value of the merchandise as a business expense.

Purchasing items from the Brigadoon “Wishlist” is considered a non-cash gift and fall under the criteria of a Gift-In-Kind. If the item is under $1,000, and a tax receipt is requested, Brigadoon will make an educated guess on what the value of the item is and receipt accordingly. If the item is above $1,000, the item needs to accompany an appraisal at the donor’s expense.

Details can be found here.

Contributions of services are not property and therefore do not qualify as gifts for purposes of issuing official charitable receipts. However, Brigadoon may issue an official donation receipt if an entity provides a service to Brigadoon, Brigadoon pays for the service, and the entity then returns the payment to the charity as a gift. The Canada Revenue Agency recommends that in this situation, the parties should proceed by way of an exchange of cheques to ensure the presence of an audit trail.

A charitable donation receipt may be issued for a Gift-In-Kind. Gifts-in-kind may include capital property, depreciable property, personal-use property, shares, and inventory of a business. If the item is under $1,000, and a tax receipt is requested, Brigadoon will make an educated guess on what the value of the item is and receipt accordingly. If the item is above $1,000, the item needs to accompany an appraisal at the donor’s expense.

Details can be found here.