Taxes and donation receipts

Brand your messages

Open Profile Settings, enter your organization name and upload its PNG or JPEG logo under email branding. This is separate from your personal profile photo. Save before creating the auction. New receipts preserve the event’s branding; later profile changes do not rewrite financial records. A readable organization name remains when images are blocked.

Sales tax before bidding

1. Enter the organization’s legal name and full address in Profile Settings.
2. Select Canada or United States. Choose included sales tax, an explicit no-collection setting, or leave taxes unconfigured.
3. For included taxes, enter the applicable tax names, exact rates and registration numbers. Use one combined Canadian HST rate; QST supports three decimal places. Enter applicable US state and local taxes separately.
4. Create a new auction. Its setup is fixed and disclosed before bidding. Bid and Buy Now prices include configured taxes; no extra tax is added after bidding.

CAD 113.00 with 13% HST included records CAD 100.00 before tax and CAD 13.00 HST. The organizer determines its registrations, rates, exemptions, place of supply and US sales-tax obligations. All payments currently remain CAD. An existing auction without recorded settings shows “tax breakdown not recorded”; it does not claim zero tax.

Refunds retain actual refunded and remaining paid amounts. A partial refund does not invent a new tax allocation; reconcile any necessary tax adjustment or credit note separately.

CRA sales-tax invoice guidance

Charity receipt review is separate

An item’s “Charity receipt review” checkbox starts review; it does not verify eligibility. A sports club fundraiser is not automatically a qualified charity. The eligible organization needs its status evidence, donor identity/address, settled payment and date, and any goods or services provided and their value. Keep original, replacement and cancellation records. A pickup code is not a charitable receipt serial number.

Canada: official donation receipt format

Only an eligible charity or other qualified donee can issue the applicable official receipt. For an auction buyer, fair market value must be established and disclosed before bidding; the advantage cannot exceed 80% of the winning bid. The eligible gift is after the advantage, not the entire purchase. Someone who donates property to the auction is a separate donor with separate valuation rules.

Preparation checklist — not an issued receipt:

• The final authorized document’s statement: Official receipt for income tax purposes.
• Registered charity legal name, address and CRA registration number.
• Unique serial number and issuing city/town/municipality.
• Gift received date/year and receipt issue date.
• Donor’s full name, including middle initial where applicable, and address.
• Gift amount; amount and description of the advantage; eligible amount.
• Authorized signature; Canada Revenue Agency and canada.ca/charities-giving.
• For non-cash gifts: gift date, property description and appraiser name/address if appraised, using the appropriate fair/deemed market value.

OutbidX does not automatically issue signed official receipts. The charity validates and approves the final document. CRA required fields · CRA auction rules

United States: charitable acknowledgment format

The eligible organization prepares its acknowledgment. IRS written acknowledgment rules apply to contributions of USD 250 or more; quid pro quo payments over USD 75 need the charity’s disclosure. Do not apply USD thresholds to the same numeric CAD amount or invent an exchange rate.

Preparation outline — not an issued acknowledgment:

• Eligible organization name and identity.
• Donor identity, contribution date and reference for matching the record.
• Cash contribution amount and currency.
• Description, without an organization-assigned donor deduction value, of non-cash property.
• A truthful statement that no goods/services were provided, or a description and good-faith estimate of what the donor received.
• For auction buyers, disclose the benefit’s value and that any potential deduction is limited to the payment exceeding fair market value, subject to eligibility.

The Canadian 80% test is not a US rule. Vehicle donations and other property may need additional forms; this general outline does not cover them. IRS requirements · IRS charity auctions

What buyers receive now

A branded payment receipt with the recorded CAD total, payment state, item, reference, date, available supplier information, configured tax lines and refund/pickup records. Ask the organizer for its separately authorized charitable document after review.