Her Majesty in right of Canada, a province, or a territory, and the United Nations and its agencies

Her Majesty in right of Canada, a province, or a territory (Yukon, Northwest territories and Nunavut), and the United Nations and its agencies are qualified donees. These qualified donees do not have to be included on a list maintained by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to be recognized as such.

As qualified donees, they can issue official donation receipts for gifts that they receive from individuals and corporations. They are also eligible to receive gifts from registered charities.

Issuing official donation receipts

Before issuing an official donation receipt, the qualified donee must determine whether it has received a gift for the purposes of the Income Tax Act and the eligible amount of the gift. For more information, go to What is a gift? and see Pamphlet P113, Gifts and Income Tax.

The information on an official donation receipt must be legible and shown in a way that cannot be easily altered.

Receipts for cash gifts must have the following:

• a statement that it is an official receipt for income tax purposes
• the name and address of the qualified donee
• a unique serial number
• the location where the receipt was issued (city, town, municipality)
• the date the gift was received
• the date the receipt was issued
• the full name, including middle initial, and address of the donor
• the amount of the gift
• the amount and description of any advantage received by the donor
• the eligible amount of the gift
• the signature of an individual authorized by the qualified donee to acknowledge gifts
• the name and website address of the CRA

Receipts for non-cash gifts (gifts in kind) must also include:

• a brief description of the gift received by the qualified donee
• the name and address of the appraiser (if the gift was appraised)

The amount of a non-cash gift must be its fair market value at the time the gift was made.

References

• Contents of receipts Income Tax Regulations, ss. 3501(1.1)
• Definitions ITA 149.1(1); and Interpretation Act 35(1)

Date modified:

2015-11-24