Wealth Strategies: Political Donations Yield Sizable Tax Credits

Political donations are, first and foremost, to demonstrate support for the party or candidate of your choice, but the tax benefits are perhaps more than most Canadians realize.

They may be either Federal or Provincial/Territorial, each with varying levels of non-refundable tax credits (except for Ontario, which offers a refundable credit).

Federal credits are admittedly more generous, offering a $300 non-refundable tax credit on the first $400 of donations and an additional $175 on the next $350 of donations (applied against Federal tax owing). Federal credits also allow either spouse or common-law partner to claim the full credit. There are, however, maximums imposed by Elections Canada for Federal political contributions.

Specifically for Alberta, Provincial political donations offer a $150 non-refundable tax credit on the first $200 and an additional $450 non-refundable credit on the next $900 of donations. For provincial political donations, only Alberta and B.C. allow either spouse or common-law partner to claim the full credit.

The below tables provide an overview for both Federal and Provincial/Territorial donation amounts and corresponding tax credit.

Additional details can also be found here.

Federal:

Provincial:

Source: TaxTips.ca