T4 Box 46 — Charitable donations
Charitable donations made through payroll deduction — claim them as part of your charitable donation tax credit.
At a glance — Box 46
- Box name
- Charitable donations
- T1 line
- Line 34900 (via Schedule 9)
- Check against
- Your final pay stub or the employer's donation summary. Employer matching is not included.
What Box 46 means
Box 46 is the total your employer deducted from your earnings for donations to registered charities in Canada and forwarded on your behalf. It stands in place of the official receipts you would otherwise have received from each charity, so keep the T4 with your records.
Only what came out of your pay belongs in box 46. If your employer matched your giving, the matched portion was the employer's donation and not yours, and it does not appear on your slip.
The credit is worked out on Schedule 9. The federal credit uses the lowest personal income tax rate on the first $200 of eligible donations for the year and a higher rate on the balance, with a further increase to the extent your income falls in the top bracket. The provincial or territorial credit is calculated separately on the same schedule and reported at line 58969.
Because the first $200 attracts the lower rate, a couple usually does better claiming everything on one return rather than splitting it, and a small year of giving is often better carried forward and claimed together with the next year's donations.
Tax return implications
- Enter box 46 on Schedule 9 with any other receipted donations. The calculated credit flows to line 34900 federally and line 58969 provincially or territorially.
- You do not have to claim in the year you gave. Eligible amounts may be carried forward for any of the next 5 years, and for 10 years in the case of a gift of ecologically sensitive land.
- Carried-forward amounts must be claimed before current-year donations.
- Your total claim for the year is generally limited to 75% of your net income, with higher limits for certain gifts of capital property and for gifts in the year of death.
- This is a non-refundable credit. It reduces tax payable but cannot by itself create a refund.
Common pitfalls & things to check
- Do not claim box 46 and a charity receipt for the same gift. Payroll giving already reached the charity, so a matching receipt would be a duplicate.
- Splitting donations between two spouses' returns usually costs money, because each return then loses the higher rate on its own first $200.
- Donations to a foreign charity, a political party or a crowdfunding campaign are not eligible even where payroll processed them. Only gifts to qualified donees count, and the CRA's List of Charities is where to check.
- Where you received something in return for the gift, such as tickets, a meal or merchandise, only the eligible amount net of that advantage is creditable, and a payroll figure will not always have that netting built in.
FAQ
Do I need a separate receipt for box 46 donations?
No. The amount on the T4 is your support for the claim, which is why payroll giving is convenient. Keep the slip with your records in case the CRA asks.
Can I carry my box 46 donations forward?
Yes. You may carry eligible amounts forward for any of the next 5 years, or 10 years for a gift of ecologically sensitive land. Amounts carried forward from a previous year must be claimed before current-year donations.
My employer matched my donations. Do I claim the total?
No. Only the amount deducted from your pay is in box 46 and only that amount is yours to claim. The matched portion is the employer's own gift.
Is there a limit on how much I can claim?
Generally 75% of your net income for the year, with exceptions that allow up to 100% for certain gifts of capital property and for gifts in the year of death.
Related T4 boxes
Box 40 — Other taxable allowances and benefits
Taxable benefits and allowances that have no T4 code of their own — group term life insurance, car allowances, taxable gifts. Already included in Box 14.
Box 42 — Employment commissions
Commission income portion of your Box 14 total — important if you want to claim commission-employee expenses on Form T2200/T777.
Box 44 — Union dues
Annual union or professional-association dues paid through payroll deduction — fully deductible from employment income.
Box 14 — Employment income
Your total gross employment income for the year before any deductions — salary, wages, bonuses, commissions, taxable benefits and most other pay.
Filing your return? Use the payroll deductions calculator to verify the amounts on your T4 match expected CPP, EI and income tax withholdings, and the income tax calculator to estimate your refund or balance owing.
Sources
T4 box definitions from CRA T4 employer guide. Rates and thresholds current for 2025; file your 2025 T1 by April 30, 2026 (self-employed June 15).
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