Political Contributions

If you contributed money to a registered federal political party or to a candidate for election to the House of Commons during the year, you might be able to claim the federal political contribution tax credit.

To claim your federal political contribution, you must have received an official contribution receipt. You can claim 75% of the first $400 you contributed, 50% for any amount contributed between $400 and $750, and 33.33% for amounts over $750. The maximum amount you can claim is $650 per year.

Unlike other donations, your political contributions can’t be carried forward. This means you’ll need to claim your political contributions in the year you made them.

Note: You can claim contributions either you or your spouse or common-law partner made in the year. Remember, however, the contribution amount can’t be split between the two of you if only one receipt was issued.

To maximize your tax credit, if you and your spouse both made political contributions during the year, it’s best to claim your contribution amounts on your own return, instead of combining them on one return.

For example, let’s say you and your spouse each contributed $400 in 2023, your federal tax credit would be $300 each, if you each claimed your contributions on your own returns. If, instead, you combined the contributions and claimed them on a single return, you would only get $491.66.

If you or your spouse contributed money to any of the following, you can claim the provincial political contribution tax credit on your provincial tax return:

  • Registered provincial or territorial parties
  • Constituency associations for candidates seeking election in a provincial or territorial election

This non-refundable tax credit is available in all provinces and territories except Ontario and Nunavut; Ontario and Nunavut have a different, refundable tax credit for political contributions. Refer to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website for more information on your provincial or territorial political contribution tax credit.

If you’re a Québec resident, you can claim your tax credit for contributions to authorized Québec political parties if you made contributions in cash or by cheque to the:

  • Official representatives of municipal political parties or independent candidates
  • Financial representatives of municipal party leadership candidates

Note: Remember to keep your official contribution receipts on file in case the CRA or Revenu Québec asks to see them.

Follow these steps in H&R Block’s 2023 tax software:

  1. On the left navigation menu, under the Credits & deductions tab, click Other.

  2. Under the POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND CAPITAL PROPERTY DONATIONS heading, select the checkbox labelled Political Contributions, then click Continue.

  3. When you arrive at the page for the Political Contributions, enter your information into the tax software.