S23. Our registered charity sold lottery tickets. Can we issue donation receipts for the ticket and if so, for how much?

Short answer

No. A gift requires an intention to make a gift.

Long answer

Participants in lotteries, while perhaps influenced by the identity of your charity, are mainly motivated by the chance to win prizes. In some cases, while there may be an element of an intention to make a gift, the advantage cannot be reasonably quantified. Therefore, no part of the cost of a lottery or raffle ticket is a gift that may be receipted for income tax purposes.