Personal vs Corporate Donations - The Alberta Perspective

In December 2014, my colleague Regan Exner wrote a blog titled ' Should I Make Charitable Donations Personally or Through My Company?' The blog you're about to read is an Alberta perspective on the same issue, as there is a significant difference in how this analysis should be handled for Alberta residents.

In Alberta, there is an added incentive to make donations personally, as each dollar of donations (in excess of $200) results in a 50% charitable donation tax credit. In most other provinces, the donation credit is the highest personal tax rate on employment income.

To demonstrate this in action, say you want to donate $10,000 to your favourite charity. You can decide to either make the donation through your company or take the funds from the company, pay personal tax on them and then make a personal donation.