Originally Posted by
operabob
Then I would have said,"Ring them through individually." ;-)
Charitable tax donations reduce your taxable income 26% on the first $200 (or is it 29%?) and 42% on anything over $200.
You can save the tax receipts for up to 5 years.
So, if you donate $1,000 in year 1 you get a refundable tax credit for .26 x $200 = $52 plus .42 x $800 = $336 for a total of $382 or 38.2%.
This is claimed on your T1 tax form. Doesn't matter if you pay no taxes you still get the $382 back.
If you don't claim it in year 1 and contribute another $1,000 in year 2 you can claim both at the same time. You get $382 for year 1 but a full $420 for year 2 as the "first $200" counts for both years.
You can save receipts for up to 5 years so you'd get $382 + $420 + $420 + $420 + $420 + $420 if you did.
I donate at least $1000 worth every year and figure with the tax refund I'm ahead by over $500 at least.
My food bank does give a receipt if I can give them the original Safeway receipt. Check to see if there are other organizations in you area that can do this for you: churches, animal shelters, etc.