Political Contributions

Federal Contributions

With the election today, we wanted to do a post about political contributions. Did you know that your Federal political contributions are made directly to a registered political party or a candidate for the election, to the House of Commons? Your contribution can be claimed by either you or your spouse, but it cannot be split between you. When preparing your personal income tax return, your Federal political contribution credit is based on the following percentages:

• Up to $400 is 75%
• Over $400 to $750 is 50%
• Over $750 to $1,275 is 33.333%

Provincial Contributions

For your provincial contributions, here are some examples:

• a candidate under an election to the provincial legislature
• an Alberta political party
• a leadership contestant
• a nomination contestant
• constituency association

Just so you know, when preparing your personal income tax return, if both your & your spouse’s names are not on the contribution receipt, only the person whose name is on the receipt can claim it.

Please make sure to note that not all provinces have the same rules for provincial contributions. The information below is specifically for Alberta in regards to the percentage of the contribution credit:

• Up to $200 is 75%
• Over $200 to $1,000 is 50%
• Over $1,000 to $2,300 is 33.33%

You must claim all political contributions in the year in which you made the contribution. By putting both spouses name on the official receipt this can give you the opportunity to maximize this credit.

To make sure you have the correct support to claim this contribution on your tax return please contact us!

Photo by Parker Johnson on Unsplash