The federal government is extending the deadline for making charitable donations that can be claimed on tax returns through to the end of February, the Department of Finance announced in a press release Monday.
“The federal government intends to amend the Income Tax Act to extend the deadline for making donations eligible for tax support in the 2024 tax year, until February 28, 2025,” the press release said.
The department said this was being done to “mitigate the impacts of the four-week Canada Post mail stoppage by providing donors with sufficient time to ensure their contributions are received and processed, helping charities ensure they can deliver vital services to the communities that depend on them.”
The statement said the government will introduce legislation in the new year.
“This extension recognizes the impact that the Canada Post service disruption had on their (charities) fundraising campaigns, and will give charities additional time to receive and process donations so that they can continue their vital work,” Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a statement.
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The announcement comes just days after Canada’s premiers called on the federal government to extend the deadline.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the request in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week, sent in his capacity as chair of the Council of the Federation.
Ford said the premiers are echoing calls from charities to help account for a decline in mail-in donations due to the Canada Post strike, which brought letter mail to a standstill for a month starting in mid-November.
The Salvation Army reported last week that holiday donations had fallen by 50 per cent this year, which it attributes to the strike.
–with files from The Canadian Press
