Ontario Opportunities Fund lets you save on your taxes by helping pay province's debt
The Ontario Opportunities Fund allows Ontario taxpayers to directly reduce the province’s debt. In turn, you’ll receive a receipt that can be claimed as a non-refundable tax credit on the Personal Income Tax and Benefit Return.
I bet you didn’t know you could make a contribution to help reduce Ontario’s debt and claim a tax credit in return.
Who is eligible?
If you want to contribute to the fund, you’ll have to meet the following criteria:
- Be a resident of Ontario
- File a personal income tax return (whether you earned income that year or not)
How do I contribute?
There are two ways to contribute to the fund.
One option is to redirect your income tax refund. If you’re entitled to a refund, you can donate all or a portion of it to the Ontario Opportunities Fund.
To do this, you must complete the Ontario Opportunities Fund area on page four of your return. The donation won’t be processed if it is less than $2.
Option two is to contribute to the fund any time of year by sending a cheque or money order, payable to the Minister of Finance – Ontario Opportunities Fund to:
Ontario Financing Authority
1 Dundas Street West, Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1Y7
How do I claim a credit?
The government will send you a receipt for your fund contribution showing the tax year when the contribution was made.
You can use the dollar amount on the receipt to calculate federal and provincial donations and gifts non-refundable tax credit on your return.
You can either claim it on the return for the year the contribution was made or carry it forward and claim it on your return for any of the next five years.
The donations and gifts non-refundable tax credit from your Ontario Opportunities Fund contribution reduces the amount of tax you have to pay and may result in a refund.
If you made several donations throughout the year, they will all be included on the same receipt. However, you can only claim each contribution once.
You shouldn’t send your receipt to the Canada Revenue Agency when you file your return, but make sure to keep a copy of it in case they ask to see it down the line.
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