Written by Gerald Goertsen
1. One of the best ways to give to charity is to review your non-registered holdings each year.
Look for the holding that has the largest unrealized capital gain. Do not cash it in. Instead, fill out this form with Home of Hope to donate a portion or all of the units or shares in-kind.
You will be exempt from tax on capital gain and will receive a donation receipt for the full amount donated!
2. Another method is to invest an amount monthly into a few equity non-registered investments.
Whenever you want to make a donation to charity you compare the investments to see which one has made the largest gain. Then donate that one to charity in-kind. This allows you to give more with less tax to pay!
3. Seniors often don’t have enough income to receive any tax benefits from their donations. They should gift the money that they normally give to charity to their adult children in a higher tax bracket. This would provide the money the adult child needs in order to donate to charity and provide the adult child with the tax credit. This way the tax benefits are not lost with low-income individuals.