Last week we heard that Canadians were leaving billions in RRSP contribution room untouched, but there’s word out today that they are finding other ways to reduce their tax-bill.
According to StatsCan, Canadian tax-filers made almost $8.3 billion in charitable donations in the 2010 tax year, up 6.5% from 2009.
These donations were made by more than 5.7 million donors, an increase of 2.2%. That accounts for 23.4% of all tax-filers, nationwide. Manitobans were the most likely to make a donation, and 26.3% did so. That province was followed by Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan, at 25.3% each.
Donors were rarer in the north, as only 9.5% of Nunavut tax-filers claimed a charitable donation, while 16.5% of tax-filers in the Northwest Territories and 20.7% of those in Yukon did so.
But the people of Nunavut made the largest median donation, at $470, followed by Alberta and PEI, each with a median donation of $390. The national median donation was $260, with only Quebec falling below that mark, with a median donation of $130.
For the ninth year in a row, residents of Abbotsford–Mission, British Columbia claimed the highest median donation, at $620. Calgary and Victoria were the next highest, with $390 each.
Every jurisdiction saw an increase in the percentage of tax-filers making donations. All but Nova Scotia posted a percentage increase in the total dollar value donated.
Read more on charitable planning in ’Tis the season for charitable planning.