EU

Following a ruling by the European Court of Justice tax relief for charitable donations should be available across the EU. So if you live in the EU and donate to a charity also in the EU you may be able to claim tax back. (For instance, Germany has updated its law to allow tax-free donations anywhere inside the EU, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein).

Different countries will implement this policy in different ways, so be sure to see the tax law in your own country (or within your own region if your country is federal) for any conditions around this.

This ruling does not apply to Switzerland. Depending on the Canton it may be very expensive to donate to other countries. However even if there is no tax deductibility arrangement there are still ways to give better. The organisation Transnational Giving Europe can transfer money within the EU and Switzerland for a fee that may be less than the tax rate.