Donation Tax Credit Calculator
What a charitable gift costs you after tax. Combines the 2026 federal credit (14% on the first $200, 29% or 33% above) with your province's rates, so you can see your out-of-pocket cost and the smartest way to give.
Rates & rules verified · July 2026Primary sources: CRA – Tax rates and income brackets · Revenu Québec – Income tax rates
How much of each dollar comes back
The share of each donated dollar returned as a tax credit at your income and province: the steps are the rate on the next dollar, the line the average across the whole gift.
Can you use it all this year?
Your donations against the two caps on one year's claim: 75% of your income, and the amount whose credit your estimated tax can absorb.
Credit as your donation grows
Total credit for gifts of every size at your income and province, with the part this year's return can use when that is less.
How your credit is built
Federal and provincial pieces of your credit, split at the $200 line, with Quebec's abatement and the Ontario surtax saved shown as their own rows.
| Tier | Amount | Federal | Provincial | Credit |
|---|
How this is calculated
The two-tier credit
Canada's charitable donation credit is non-refundable and split at $200. Federally in 2026 it is 14% × min(donation, 200) + 29% × (donation − 200), and your province adds its own two-rate credit on top. Everywhere except Alberta the first $200 earns less than the dollars above it (19.05% against 40.16% combined in Ontario, for example). Alberta reverses that: its 60% provincial rate makes the first $200 worth 74% combined, against 50% above it.
Top-bracket rates: 33% federal, 20.5% in BC, 25.75% in Quebec
If part of your income is taxed in the top federal bracket (taxable income over $258,482 in 2026), the federal credit on your above-$200 donations rises from 29% to 33%, but only on the portion that matches income in that bracket: 33% × min(donation − 200, income − 258,482), with the rest at 29%. British Columbia (20.5% instead of 16.8%, on income over $265,545) and Quebec (25.75% instead of 24%, on income over $132,245) apply the same rule to their own top brackets. No other province does.
2026 provincial rates (first $200 / above $200)
AB 60% / 21% · BC 5.6% / 16.8% (20.5% top) · MB 10.8% / 17.4% · NB 9.4% / 17.95% · NL 8.7% / 21.8% · NS 8.79% / 21% · NT 5.9% / 14.05% · NU 4% / 11.5% · ON 5.05% / 11.16% · PE 9.5% / 19% · QC 20% / 24% (25.75% top) · SK 10.5% / 14.5% · YT 6.4% / 12.8%
Alberta's 60% and Quebec's 20% on the first $200 are unusually generous; most provinces use their lowest bracket rate there (British Columbia's rose to 5.6% in 2026). A Quebec resident's federal credit is cut by the 16.5% Quebec abatement, so it is worth 83.5% of its face value; the credit table shows the federal pieces at face value and the abatement as its own row.
The Ontario surtax
The Ontario credit lowers basic Ontario tax before the Ontario surtax is worked out (20% of basic Ontario tax above $5,818, plus 36% above $7,446). For a surtax payer each credit dollar also removes 20 or 56 cents of surtax, so the 11.16% rate is really worth 13.39% or 17.41%. The calculator estimates basic Ontario tax from your taxable income less the basic personal amount credit (the surtax starts near $94,900 of taxable income and reaches its full 56% near $111,800) and shows the surtax saved as its own row: surtax(basic tax) − surtax(basic tax − Ontario credit).
How much of each dollar comes back
The first chart uses the same credit function as the result above. For each gift size x it plots the rate on the next dollar, credit(x + 1) − credit(x), as steps, and the average across the whole gift, credit(x) ÷ x, as a line. The steps jump at $200 (they drop in Alberta), fall from 33% back to 29% federally once a gift uses up your top-bracket income, and for Ontario surtax payers step down as a large gift pulls basic Ontario tax below the surtax thresholds. The axis grows with your gift, so your gift always sits in its left two thirds.
Can you use it all this year?
Two caps limit one year's claim. You can claim donations up to 75% of net income (taxable income stands in for net income here). And the credit is non-refundable: it can cut federal and provincial tax to zero, no further. The calculator estimates your 2026 tax before the credit as bracket tax less the basic personal amount credit (federal tax after the Quebec abatement; Ontario tax before the health premium, which credits cannot reduce), then finds the largest claim whose federal credit fits your federal tax and whose provincial credit fits your provincial tax. Claiming that much, and carrying the rest forward, wastes nothing: claim this year = min(donation, 75% × income, the largest claim your tax can absorb). The dashed line on the credit chart is the credit on that claim, and on both charts the gifts past it are shaded: they would be claimed in a later year. CPP and EI, age, pension and other credits, and low-income tax reductions all lower real tax, so treat the estimate as an upper bound.
Net cost and effective rate
net cost = donation − total credit, and effective rate = total credit ÷ donation. Because of the low first tier, small donations have a low effective rate that climbs as you give more, which is the whole reason pooling helps. When part of the gift is claimed in a later year, the net cost assumes the whole credit is eventually used.
Beat the $200 tier, pool and carry forward
The low first tier resets every year, so giving $200 a year for three years earns the low rate three times. Spouses can combine all their receipts on one return, and you can carry donations forward up to five years and claim two or three years at once, clearing the $200 hurdle a single time. Pooling is not always better: in Alberta it gives up the generous first $200; a top-bracket earner's 33% (and BC or Quebec top-rate) portion is capped by one year's top-bracket income, so one big claim uses it once instead of every year; and one large Ontario claim can drop basic Ontario tax below the surtax thresholds. The pooling toggle compares years × credit(yearly gift) with credit(years × yearly gift) at this year's income and names the effect that decides it.
Donate securities, not cash
Gifting publicly traded shares that have appreciated is the best move in Canadian tax: the capital gain is taxed at a 0% inclusion rate (no capital gains tax at all) and you still get the full donation credit on the shares' market value. Selling first and donating the cash triggers the taxable gain. Compare with the capital gains calculator, and see the income tax calculator for your full picture.
Limits and eligibility
You can claim donations up to 75% of net income per year (100% in the year of death or the year before); the excess carries forward up to five years. Only gifts to CRA-registered charities or qualified donees count; political contributions, crowdfunding gifts to individuals, and raffle tickets do not.
What this doesn't model
The 100% limit in the year of death and the year before; the extra claim room from gifts of property (25% of the taxable capital gain or recaptured depreciation); the $200 tier a carried-forward claim meets again in a later year; Quebec's separate provincial return, where you could claim a different amount (the calculator assumes the same claim on both); the first-time donor super credit (expired); corporate donations (deductions, not credits); and the alternative minimum tax on very large gifts. Provincial rates verified against taxtips.ca for 2026 as of July 2026.
Common questions
How much is the charitable donation tax credit in Canada for 2026?
The federal credit is 14% on your first $200 of donations each year and 29% on everything above $200, rising to 33% on the portion of donations that offsets income taxed in the top federal bracket (taxable income over $258,482). Your province adds its own credit on top, so combined rates typically run from about 20% on the first $200 to 40–55% above it, depending on province and income. Alberta is the exception: its 60% provincial rate makes the first $200 worth 74% combined.
Why is the first $200 of a donation worth less?
Canada gives a two-tier credit: the first $200 each year earns only the lowest tax rate (14% federal in 2026), while dollars above $200 earn a much higher rate (29% or 33% federal). Because the low tier resets every year, spouses can pool receipts and one partner can carry donations forward and claim several years at once to clear the $200 hurdle only once instead of every year. Alberta is the exception: its first $200 earns 74% combined against 50% above it, so Albertans should claim at least $200 every year rather than pool.
Should I donate cash or appreciated stocks?
Donating publicly traded securities that have gone up in value is usually the best deal in Canadian tax: the capital gain on the donated shares is taxed at a 0% inclusion rate (no capital gains tax at all), and you still get the full donation credit on the fair market value. Selling first and donating cash triggers the taxable gain. See the capital gains calculator to compare.
How much can I claim in donations each year?
You can claim eligible donations up to 75% of your net income in a year (100% in the year of death or the year before). Unused donations carry forward for up to five years, and only gifts to CRA-registered charities or qualified donees generate a credit, check the charity's registration number on CRA's list.