# converted air miles to tax write off



## swoop_ds (Mar 2, 2010)

So I donated 25$ to haiti via airmiles(I think it was 250 miles) and then I just received a tax slip in the mail!

I guess that's what you can do with your miles if you can't find anything else to do with them. 

I was surprised by the tax slip but I guess I did donate.

Can you donate random stuff to charities (like old computers) and get tax back? How the heck would this be valued for tax purposes?

-Dave


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## DavidJD (Sep 27, 2009)

Good for you. Almost anything of value can be donated to a charitable organziation so long as the value is considered fair markte value - and the charitable org actually accepts it. A common activity is for a charitable org to seek out donations (in-kind items are normal) for a silent auction type event/fundraiser. Businesses often donate items or services which are easy to evaluate for tax purposes. Art or 'slightly used' items are less simple. THe CRA expects a decent rationale for how the value was determined.

This is a great idea that I have forgotten about. I am going to look over my tools and see what may of benefit to some local organizations (with charitable tax status). If I paid $125 for a saw and donate it in exchange for a $50 tax receipt, everyone wins.


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## swoop_ds (Mar 2, 2010)

Yeah, I'm going to look into it further. Does anyone know whether you can donate a service to be auctioned off and then get a write off for the auctioned amount? 

I do photography on the side so that could be a service that I could offer. Or maybe some farm help, or something to that effect.

-Dave


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