Donor Care

Monthly donors receive one tax receipt in February, which consolidates the amount of monthly gifts in the previous financial year—after the tax year has closed. Your consolidated tax receipt will be mailed or emailed to you, based on your communications preferences with us.  

If you give online or over the phone, the tax receipt will be emailed to you. If you give through the mail, you will receive your tax receipt in the mail.  

For one-time donations made online, a tax receipt will be sent to you within 24 hours to the email address you signed up with. 

If you haven’t received your receipt for a gift made online, please check your junk mail inbox, it may have landed there. You can also download your tax receipt from our Donor and Supporter Preference Centre. If you cannot locate it, please contact donorcare@unhcr.ca and we can reissue the receipt.  

For donations sent through the mail, please allow 2-3 weeks for your tax receipt to arrive in the mail or via email depending on the option you selected.  

According to Canadian tax law and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), UNHCR Canada is a Qualified Donee. This means UNHCR Canada can issue tax receipts for donations received, despite not being a registered charity with a charitable registration number.  

When it comes time to file your taxes, submit the total amount of eligible donations for the year. You can get more information about claiming donations from the CRA website.  

It is important to keep copies of all donation receipts, in case you are asked to provide proof to the CRA. Check to see if your donation is eligible for credit before you file your claim.  

Your donation is eligible for a tax credit.  

It is important to note the difference between a tax credit and a tax deduction before filing your taxes. Donors can claim those gifts on their taxes in exchange for tax credits (both federal and provincial).  

Even though people often use the words interchangeably, a tax credit is different than a tax deduction (or ‘deductible’). A deduction is taken off your total income, lowering the overall amount you would be charged taxes on; a credit is taken off the total taxes you owe.  

Charitable donations can help reduce, or even cancel out, the tax you would otherwise have to pay to the government.  

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website provides a handy online tax credit calculator you can use to predict what your credit could be when you file your taxes.  

At UNHCR, our mandate is to make sure that resources are used efficiently, which is why we’re able to allocate 84 cents of each dollar donated directly to the field to support refugees.  

Our cash assistance program achieves an even higher rate with 93 cents of each dollar going directly to a refugee family in need.  

For more information, visit our Where Your Money Goes page.

UNHCR supports refugees and displaced people in 135 countries around the world.  

From major capitals to remote, difficult locations, our over 17,000 field staff are directly helping the most vulnerable people who have fled war, disaster or persecution. Please visit the Our Work page for more information on specific countries and how you can help.