Yes. A bequest to a registered Canadian charity generates a donation tax credit that can offset tax on the final return.
The Canadian position
Use the charity's exact registered name and number. Percentage gifts adjust with the estate's value; fixed sums do not.
Donations of publicly traded securities can be especially efficient.
The Islamic position
This makes the sadaqah jariyah portion of the wasiyyah tax-efficient as well as religiously meaningful.
The one-third cap still applies to the bequest as a whole.
The four Sunni schools are not recorded as differing materially on this point in the sources reviewed. Where your own case turns on it, put it to a scholar of your school.
This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to one of the references below. Legislation and dollar thresholds change — verify against the primary source before relying on any figure.
- Surah al-Baqarah 2:180 — the bequest verse — Quran.com
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 55: Wills and Testaments (Wasaya) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Wills — Sunnah.com
- Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
- Research — Cambridge Muslim College
- Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- What to do when someone has died — Canada Revenue Agency
- Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp) — Justice Laws Canada
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