If I make a donation by credit card, would it be considered a cash advance?

[bullionaire]

I want to donate to a charity and they accept credit cards.

I prefer credit cards since they are the most convenient, but I'm wondering if it would be considered a cash advance which begins accruing interest immediately

I use a BMO mastercard, BTW.

Thanks.

[Akitakara]

Was treated as a purchase for me in the past.

[gman]

I want to donate to a charity and they accept credit cards.

I prefer credit cards since they are the most convenient, but I'm wondering if it would be considered a cash advance which begins accruing interest immediately

I use a BMO mastercard, BTW.

Thanks.

The answer is no.

[WHO]

No and you'll get whatever cashback/points your card hands out. Give with confidence

[wiggy77]

I do it all the time. I have it set so that certain charities can automatically charge my card each month. Counts as a purchase :-)

[Super_Chicken]

Kind of semi-off topic, but I'm in my early 20's. How does the tax refund work for donating money? I've yet to donate anything, but I'm also trying to save as much as possible. So take me as a greedy saver, I'd assume there is no benefit for me to donate correct?

[KylerH]

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/...lmng1-eng.html

Provinicial follows similar rules, but for simplicity I'll just explain federal:

on the first $200 dollars claimed as donations in any given year, you get back 15%, anything past that you get back 29% on the rest.
IE if i donate $300 dollars, I'll get back 0.15*200 + 0.29*(300-200) = $59 in tax credits

you can also not claim for a couple of years and claim all of your donations at once, but they have to have been within the last 5 years for the donations. As one other poster on here taught me, don't just look at claiming every 5 years, it could be beneficial to claim every 2-3 years if you think time opportunities might be better.