Line 34900 – Donations and gifts
- Tax year: 2025
- Return type: Personal income tax and benefit return
If you or your spouse or common-law partner made a gift of money or other property to certain institutions, you may be able to claim federal and provincial or territorial non-refundable tax credits when you file your income tax and benefit return.
Generally, you can claim part or all of the eligible amount of your gifts, up to 75% of your net income for the year.
For information about a gift made in a previous year, you will need the version of Guide P113, Gifts and Income Tax, for the year in which you made your gift.
On this page
Gift you can claim
You can claim a tax credit based on the eligible amount of your gift to a qualified donee.
Qualified donees are:
- registered charities (list of charities)
- registered journalism organizations
- registered Canadian amateur athletic associations
- registered national arts service organizations
- registered housing corporations resident in Canada set up only to provide low-cost housing for the aged
- registered municipalities in Canada
- registered municipal or public bodies performing a function of government in Canada
- the United Nations and its agencies
- the Government of Canada, a province, or a territory
- universities outside Canada that ordinarily include students from Canada, that are registered with the CRA
- registered foreign charities to which the Government of Canada has made a gift
To help donors determine which organizations may issue official donation receipts, qualified donees must appear on the publicly available lists that the CRA maintains at List of charities and other qualified donees. The United Nations and its agencies, as well as the Government of Canada, a province, or territory are not included on these lists because they qualify automatically.
See Guide P113 for more information about:
- gifts of non-qualifying securities
- gifts to U.S. charities
- gifts to government bodies
- gifts of ecologically sensitive land
- gifts of certified cultural property
If you contributed to a federal political party, see lines 40900 and 41000 to find out about claiming a credit. If you contributed to a provincial or territorial political party, see the provincial or territorial forms in your tax package to find out about claiming a credit.
Eligible amount of the gift
In most cases, the eligible amount of your gift is the amount shown on your charitable donation receipt.
The eligible amount of the gift is the amount by which the fair market value of the gifted property exceeds the amount of an advantage, if any, in respect of the gift.
What is an advantage?
An advantage is generally the total value of any property, service, compensation, use, or any other benefit that you are entitled to as partial consideration for, in gratitude for, or in any other way related to the gift. The advantage may be contingent or receivable in the future, either to you, or a person or partnership not dealing at arm's length with you.
For example, you donate $1,000 to the Anytown Ballet Company, which is a registered charity. In gratitude, the company provides you with three tickets to a show that are valued at $150. You are therefore considered to have received an advantage of $150. The eligible amount of the gift is $850 ($1,000 − $150).
The advantage also includes any limited-recourse debt (including amounts owed by persons not dealing at arm’s length with you) in respect of the gift at the time it was made. For example, there may be a limited recourse debt that can reasonably relate to a gift to a qualified donee as part of a gifting arrangement that is a tax shelter. Generally, a limited-recourse debt is one where the borrower is not at risk for the repayment. In this case, the eligible amount of the gift will be reported in box 13 of Form T5003, Statement of Tax Shelter Information. For more information on tax shelters and gifting arrangements, see Guide T4068, Guide for the Partnership Information Return (T5013 Forms).
There are situations in which the eligible amount may be deemed to be nil. For more information, see Official donation receipts and Deemed fair market value.
Completing Schedule 9
Add the eligible amount of all donations either you or your spouse or common-law partner made in 2025 or in any of the previous 5 years (or previous 10 years for ecological gifts) that have not been claimed before. This includes gifts of capital property as well as any gifts to Canada, a province, or a territory.
Generally, you can claim all or part of these donations, up to 75% of your net income (line 23600). As an exception, gifts of capital property are limited to 100% of your net income. Also, for the year a person dies and the year before, the 75% limit is extended to 100% of the person's net income.
Unlike other donations, your total eligible amount claimed for cultural and ecological gifts is not limited to a percentage of net income. Enter the amount of these donations on line 34200.
Enter on line 34900 of your return, the amount calculated at line 23 of Schedule 9, Donations and Gifts.
Tax tips
You do not have to claim the eligible amount of gifts you made on your income tax and benefit return for the current year. It may be more beneficial for you to carry them forward and claim them on your return for any of the next 5 years (or any of the next 10 years for a gift of ecologically sensitive). No matter what you choose, you can claim these amounts only once.
You have to claim tax credits for gifts that you carried forward from a previous year before you can claim tax credits for gifts that you give in the current year. If you are claiming a carry-forward from a previous year, keep a record of the portion of the eligible amount that you are claiming this year, and the amount you are carrying forward.
Supporting documents
If you receive a T5003 slip from a tax shelter with an amount in box 13, you must submit this slip with your return along with a completed Form T5004, Claim for Tax Shelter Loss or Deduction.
Electronic filing
Keep all of your documents in case the CRA asks to see them.
Paper filing
Include your Schedule 9 with your paper return, but keep your official donation receipts in case the CRA asks to see them.
Capital gains on certain capital property
If you donated shares, stock options, ecologically sensitive land, or other capital property to a registered charity or other qualified donee, you may not have to include capital gains in your income.
For more information, see Capital gains realized on certain gifts.