Feb 2018 Charity & NFP Law Update
CRA Reminder to Update Donation Tax Receipt URLs
A recent update on the Canada Revenue Agency’s (“CRA”) Twitter account on February 15, 2018, reminded qualified donees to update their official donation receipts with the CRA’s new website URL. In accordance with section 3501(1)(j) of the Income Tax Regulations, official donation receipts must include the name and website of the CRA. According to the CRA’s “What information must be on an official donation receipt from a registered charity?” webpage, charities and qualified donees will have until March 31, 2019 to update their receipts from the current www.cra-arc.gc.ca URL to the CRA’s new www.canada.ca/charities-giving URL.
P113 – Gifts and Income Tax 2017 Updated to Include Ecological Gifts
On January 3, 2018, the CRA updated the P113 – Gifts and Income Tax 2017 (the “Pamphlet”) to reflect changes to the ecological gifts program introduced in the 2017 Federal Budget. The Pamphlet assists individuals who donate money or property, including gifts of ecologically sensitive land, to a registered charity or other qualified donee and is updated every year. The changes to ecological gifts, as reflected in the Pamphlet, include changes to the approval of recipients, private foundations and personal servitudes, along with new rules for unauthorized changes of use and dispositions of property as of March 21, 2017, and are discussed in greater detail in Charity & NFP Law Bulletin No. 399.