Disbursement quotas for Charities

CRA to review the “disbursement quota” for charities

The “disbursement quota” for charities is under review by the CRA. The “disbursement quota” rule, contained in the Income Tax Act, has been applied since 1976 to the assets of charities not used for charitable activities or administration, which are most often endowments. It requires charities to spend a minimum amount each year on their own charitable programs or on gifts to qualified recipients.

The purpose of the quota is to prevent undue accumulation of these assets and to ensure that assets are disbursed for charitable purposes and activities. The current quota applies mostly to charities that are foundations, which follow a model of annual distribution of grants to other charities, in amounts ranging from the mandated minimum 3.5 per cent of capital assets set by the disbursement quota to four per cent or more, depending on a foundation’s approach. The current minimum was set in 2004 and has not been reviewed publicly since then. Most foundations, both private and public, have met or exceeded the minimum and the flow of charitable giving has steadily increased over the last 15 years as more donors create foundations or donor-advised funds.

Finance Canada stated, in a background paper released this summer, that an “effective disbursement quota should also ensure that adequate funding is available to support the current needs of the charitable sector”.

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