Charities: Tax questions for Fundraising Dinners

As a charity, do you need to charge sales tax (GST, and PST in British Columbia) on tickets sold for fundraising dinners? What about issuing donation receipts, can the receipt include the entire ticket amount?

In short, the answer to each is no. If you’re a registered charity, you do not need to charge sales tax on tickets to fundraising dinners, while donation receipts should exclude any benefits the attendee receive from the event.

Let’s take a closer look at each below:

GST

According to the CRA, admissions to fund‑raising dinners, balls, concerts, shows, or similar fund-raising events are exempt when you are permitted to issue a donation receipt for income tax purposes for part of the admission price, or could issue a donation receipt if the recipient of the supply were an individual. This exemption does not require a charity to issue a donation receipt.

The CRA provides the following example:

You are a charity that sells tickets to a fund-raising dinner for $100. Of the ticket price, $75 qualifies for a charitable donation receipt for income tax purposes. You do not need to charge GST/HST on any part of the admission.

A link to the CRA site confirming this is available here. For more information regarding who is eligible to issue receipts, see below.

PST

In British Columbia, admission tickets sold for events, such as charity galas or dinners, are not subject to PST.

A link to the government publication confirming this is available here.

Issuing receipts

For questions regarding issuing receipts for charity dinner tickets, the CRA site is very informative. Rather than repeat the information here, we’d recommend going directly to the CRA page on fundraising dinners.

In general, charities can issue receipts for fundraising dinners equal to the donation received less any advantage received by the attendee. For example, if the attendees receive a meal, some complimentary swag, and entertainment, these benefits would be considered “advantages” received by attending the event. The price that would normally be paid for each ‘advantage’ are removed from the ticket price, and the resulting amount is quoted on the tax receipt as the attendee’s donation.

Note, there is a minimum threshold (the lesser of $75 or 10% of the ticket price). If the advantage received is below this amount, the value of the advantage does not need to be deducted from the ticket price.

If the total advantage is greater than 80% of the ticket price, the CRA considers the whole dinner to be one big advantage, and no tax receipt can be issued.

There are several exceptions to the above, so it is best to consult the CRA site regarding specific situations.