What a CRA official donation receipt must show
Updated
This page lists what the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says an official donation receipt from a registered charity must show, and where each item comes from on a FreeCharityReceipts receipt. The list is the CRA's: What information must be on an official donation receipt from a registered charity? (opens in a new tab). The CRA also says the information must be readable and not easily altered.
FreeCharityReceipts fills the layout. You are still the charity: you are responsible for entering correct details and for deciding whether a gift qualifies for a receipt. This page is not tax or legal advice. For your own situation, check the CRA pages or ask a professional.
Gifts of cash
| The CRA says the receipt must show | On FreeCharityReceipts |
|---|---|
| A statement that it is an official receipt for income tax purposes | Printed for you. The title reads Official Donation Receipt and the line under it reads For Income Tax Purposes. |
| The name and address of the charity as on file with the CRA | You enter Organization Name and Organization Address. Enter them as they are on file with the CRA. |
| A unique serial number | Created for you for each receipt and printed as the receipt number. |
| The registration number issued by the CRA | You enter CRA Registration Number. It must be nine digits, RR, then four digits. It prints as Charitable Registration #. See Charity registration number. |
| The location where the receipt was issued | You enter Location Issued. It prints as Issued in. |
| The date or year the gift was received | You enter Gift Date. It prints as Date. |
| The date the receipt was issued | You enter Receipt Date. It prints as Issued. See Gift date and receipt date. |
| The donor's full name, including middle initial, and address | You enter Donor Name and Donor Address. Name is one box, so type the full name, with the middle initial, as you want it printed. |
| The amount of the gift | You enter Gift Amount ($). On a cash or gift-in-kind receipt it prints as Eligible amount, because the whole gift is eligible. On a gift with advantage receipt it prints as Total amount received. |
| The amount and description of any advantage received by the donor | On a gift with advantage receipt, the Value of advantage and Description of advantage print. A cash receipt prints no advantage lines. |
| The eligible amount of the gift | Eligible amount prints on every Canadian receipt. On a cash or gift-in-kind receipt it is the full gift, and a gift-in-kind receipt also prints the FMV, Valuation and Item rows. On a gift with advantage receipt it is the gift minus the advantage, printed beside the Total amount received. The CRA's sample receipts (opens in a new tab) show the amount of the gift and the eligible amount as separate lines, even when there is no advantage. Without an advantage, FreeCharityReceipts prints a single Eligible amount line. |
| The signature of an individual authorized by the charity to acknowledge gifts | You provide the Authorized Signature, by upload or Type to Sign. It is required and prints above the word Authorized. See Logo and signature. |
| The name and website address of the CRA | Printed for you at the bottom: Canada Revenue Agency, canada.ca/charities-giving. In French it reads Agence du revenu du Canada, canada.ca/organismes-bienfaisance-dons. |
Gifts that are not cash
The CRA adds these for non-cash gifts:
| The CRA says the receipt must also show | On FreeCharityReceipts |
|---|---|
| The date the gift was received, if not already included | Same Gift Date as above. |
| A brief description of the gift received | You enter Description of Item on the gift-in-kind form. It prints as Item. |
| The name and address of the appraiser, if the gift was appraised | You enter Appraiser's name and address on the gift-in-kind form. It is required when the value was determined by Professional Appraisal (up to 150 characters), and it prints as Appraiser. For the other valuation choices the field is not shown and nothing prints. |
The CRA also says the amount of a non-cash gift must be its fair market value when the gift was made. A gift-in-kind receipt prints FMV, the Valuation choice you made and the Item. See Gift-in-kind receipts and Non-cash gifts.
For an appraised gift the form will not let you continue without the appraiser's name and address, so the receipt always carries them. The CRA's rules on who may value a gift are on the CRA page above. Ask a professional if you are unsure.
Other things the CRA's checklist mentions
- Deemed fair market value. The CRA's checklist adds the deemed fair market value in place of the gift amount for some non-cash gifts. The form has no separate field for it. See Non-cash gifts.
- Receipts you cannot issue. The CRA's checklist says a charity cannot issue receipts for services given to the charity, on behalf of another organization or in a name other than the true donor's. The form does not check this. You do.
- Your copy. FreeCharityReceipts is not a receipt archive: you download each PDF and there is no saved receipt history to come back to. See What we keep. Keep your own copy of every receipt. The CRA's Books and records (opens in a new tab) page explains what a registered charity must keep.
When to issue a receipt
The CRA says the Income Tax Act has no requirement to issue a receipt, or to issue it within a certain time. The CRA suggests issuing receipts by February 28 of the calendar year after the donation, so donors can claim them on their tax returns. A charity may issue receipts through the year or, for cash gifts, one cumulative receipt for the year. A separate receipt must be issued for each non-cash donation (When should a charity issue a receipt (opens in a new tab)).
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