Canada Revenue Agency Clarifies Volunteer Expense Policy

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has released a policy commentary on out-of-pocket expenses to clarify whether an official donation receipt can be issued in place of a cheque, in order to reimburse volunteers for expenses incurred on behalf of a charity. This is now possible, but the registered charity must have written direction from the volunteer confirming their wish for a receipt versus reimbursement. If the charity issues a receipt for income tax purposes upon the transfer of a right to reimbursement, it should report the amount of the gift on the Registered Charity Information Return (Form T3010) both as revenue, and as an expenditure.