All charities in Canada are required to issue official donation receipts for qualifying contributions, which need to include the name and website address for the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”). In August 2017, the CRA website address was revised to canada.ca/charities-giving, which means all receipts need to be updated to reflect the correct website.

The CRA has given charities until March 31, 2019 to update their donation templates, so donation receipts issued after March 31, 2019 must show the new CRA domain address.

While making this change, registered charities should check that their templates meet all other necessary requirements. Specifically, each official donation receipt must include:

• a statement that it is an official receipt for income tax purposes
• the name and address of the charity as on file with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
• a unique serial number
• the registration number issued by the CRA
• the location where the receipt was issued (city, town, municipality)
• the date or year 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 charity to acknowledge gifts
• the name and website address of the CRA.

For non-cash gifts, the receipt must also include: 

• the date the gift was received (if not already included)
• a brief description of the gift received by the charity
• the name and address of the appraiser (if the gift was appraised).

In addition, the amount listed on the receipt of the non-cash gift must be its fair market value at the time of the donation. 

For further information, please see the charity receipts section on CRA's website, or contact us.