We first noted the Directorate’s move toward online-by-default filing in our September blog, citing efficiency, effectiveness, and environmental benefits as key reasons for the shift.

In its recent announcement, the Directorate expanded on the problems with faxed filings. It explained that it “receives hundreds of thousands of pages through fax that must be manually entered before they can be processed. This process is slow, time-consuming, resource-intensive, and poses security risks.”

Need help with your T3010? CCCC offers a digital filing option using CRA-certified T3010 software. It is free for members and available to non-members for a nominal fee. We also provide additional T3010 resources to help you file accurately and on time.

The Charities Directorate is offering support to charities transitioning to digital filing, including:

• Online resources
  • Register to use online services for charities *NEW
  • Upcoming webinar on CRA digital services (dates TBD)
  • How to file – Filing a Registered Charity Information Return (T3010)
• Client services 1-800-267-2384

As always, CCCC members can also contact our Member Support Team by phone or email for additional guidance and support.

The post Charities Directorate Retiring Fax Line appeared first on CCCC Blogs.

It is always a good idea to check newsroom updates from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and sign up for the Charities newsletter. There, you will find suggestions on how to handle any disruptions caused by the strike. Below, you’ll find more information on two key issues that arise in a postal strike: reporting and receipting.

Reporting

CRA encourages charities to file annual information returns (T3010) online using My Business Account (MyBA). If your charity does not have a MyBA account, you can register online.

If that is not possible, alternative filing options may be available. Contact CRA to discuss the best option for your organization.

Receipting

Again, charities can contact CRA with questions about receipting gifts and issuing donation receipts. However, it is helpful to understand the general rules regarding receipting donations received by mail first.

Receipting Regulation

The starting point for any receipting question is to look at the Income Tax Regulations, Regulation 3501. It explains that:

• Where the gift is a cash gift, the receipt must show the date on which, or the year during which, the gift was received
• Where the gift is a gift of property, the receipt must show the date on which the gift was received (among other things)

Receipting Donations Sent by Mail With Postmark

When donations are received by mail, the Canada Revenue Agency considers the date of the donation to be the date of the postmark on the envelope. Your charity must retain the stamped envelope as part of its books and records.

Receipting Donations Sent by Mail Without a Postmark

When donations are received by mail without a postmark, your charity must be consistent and demonstrate good faith in how the donation is processed and recorded.

For example, at year-end, if the envelope arrives along with other envelopes all postmarked December 31, and the donation cheque is dated for the prior year, it may be reasonable to include it in the prior year. If the envelope arrives along with other envelopes that have mixed postmarked dates, it may be reasonable to include it in the new year.

Year-End Donations

The 2024 Canada Post strike created uncertainty for year-end donations and the receipting process. This year’s strike has started two months earlier, so hopefully it will also be resolved earlier. But if the strike is lengthy, two simple steps include (1) be consistent, (2) consider using cut-off dates.

Receipting Donations Consistently

It is up to your charity to set its own policy on how it will treat end-of-year donations. Your charity may choose to (1) determine, using postmarks, whether the donation should be receipted for the current year or (2) treat any gift delivered on or after January 1 as a gift for the new year.

Your charity should be consistent in this choice and should advise donors ahead of time. Your approach should be outlined in a gift acceptance policy, ensuring that staff, stewardship representatives, fundraisers, and donors are all aware and informed.

Cut-Off Dates

Your charity may also choose to incorporate a ‘cut-off’ date that is determined each year, depending on the calendar, holidays, and staffing – e.g. the Friday ahead of New Year’s Day when that day falls on a weekend. A simple addition to your gift acceptance policy can address year-end gifts.

The postal disruption will make determining the date of the donation challenging. It is possible that some gifts may not be postmarked until the new year, though intended for the 2025 tax year, or that some gifts may not be postmarked at all.

You can read more about receipting year-end donations in our 2024 blog post.

Additional Resources

We’ve got more information on official donation receipts in our Member Knowledge Base, and you can catch up on conversations about MyBA in The Green.

The post Canada Post Strike appeared first on CCCC Blogs.

It emphasizes the need to use digital services, highlights sector outreach and support activities, and summarizes the Directorate’s modernization initiatives.

Digital Services

The newsletter is clear that online filing will be the default method for submitting the T3010 and that this change will be “in the near future.” As a result, charities still using paper returns should take any necessary steps to move to digital filing.

Why digital? The CRA update gives reasons including efficiency, effectiveness, and environment.

The public portion of the return is available online the next day, there is no need to manually enter the information from a paper form into a digital platform which reduces the possibility for errors, and it presumably helps reduce costs for this process, allowing CRA to operate “responsibly and resourcefully” and in alignment with the federal government’s fiscal priorities.

Need help? CCCC has a digital filing option with CRA-certified T3010 software that is free for members and is available to non-members for a nominal fee. We have additional T3010 resources to help you complete the return accurately and on time!

As the newsletter notes, “voluntary compliance is the cornerstone of the Canadian tax system” and that includes T3010 filing. Filing accurately and on time might seem like just another administrative task, but it can also be an important witness for Christian charities. It demonstrates accountability, diligence and both operational and financial integrity.

Sector Outreach and Support Activities

The newsletter links to Directorate outreach activities, including the Technical Issues Working Group (of which CCCC is a member!), presentations, and meeting with international counterparts. Its support activities include recorded webinars (the next topic will be disbursement quota), an updated page for donors, and new statistics about compliance and audits for 2024-2025.

These numbers always make for an interesting read.

In 2024-2025 there was a total of 6,595 non-audit interventions including education letters (5,373), phone calls (1,200), and visits (22). The overall number is a slight decline from 2022-2023 where there were 6,714 non-audit interventions.

Looking at audit outcomes for 2024-2025, the majority result in education letters (125), followed by compliance agreements (51) and a moderate number of notices of intention to revoke (21; “NITR”). The numbers were similar for 2023-2024 though NITRs were lower at 8 and in 2022-2023 the NITR numbers were quite a bit higher at 40, even though the overall number of audit outcomes (222) was virtually the same as 2024-2025 (220).

If you’re wondering how the audit process works you can take a deeper dive with a January 2025 report from the CRA’s Audit, Evaluation and Risk branch. You can also take a look at CRA’s heavily redacted Leads Screening Procedures manual. There is a of content you can’t see, but you can still get a general sense of how CRA handles leads about non-compliance.

Modernization

CRA’s stated goals for modernization are supporting transition to online services, improving timeliness of service (e.g. reduce decision time for charitable registration applications), streamline audit processes, and strengthen educational efforts.

It’s helpful to know what the Charities Directorate has planned, like more digital services and a webinar on the disbursement quota. But if you want to know more now, check out our T3010 resources and the disbursement quota section of our Knowledge Base.

The post Charities Directorate Quarterly Update appeared first on CCCC Blogs.

First, check newsroom updates from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and sign up for the Charities newsletter. There you will find some suggestions about how to handle any disruptions caused by the strike.

Reporting

CRA encourages charities to file annual information returns (T3010) online using My Business Account (MyBA). If your charity does not have a MyBA account you can register online.

If that is not possible, alternative filing options (e.g. by fax) are available. Contact CRA to discuss the best option for your organization.

Receipting

Again, charities can contact CRA with questions about receipting gifts and issuing donation receipts. But it is helpful to first understand the general rules around receipting year-end donations received by mail.

Receipting Regulation

The starting point for any receipting question is to look at the Income Tax Regulations, Regulation 3501. It explains that:

• Where the gift is a cash gift, the receipt must show the date on which, or the year during which, the gift was received
• Where the gift is a gift of property, the receipt must show the date on which the gift was received (among other things)

Receipting Donations Sent By Mail With Postmark

When donations are received by mail, the Canada Revenue Agency considers the envelope’s postmark date to be the donation date. Your charity needs to keep the stamped envelope as part of its books and records.

This means that if a cheque dated December 31 is received January 5, it can still be receipted for the December 31 date, so long as the envelope is postmarked prior to the new year.

Charities need to be mindful of the date written on the donation itself to ensure a cheque is not post-dated into the new year.

Receipting Donations Sent by Mail Without Postmark

When donations are received by mail without a postmark, your charity needs to be consistent and show good faith in how the donation is processed and recorded.

If the envelope arrives along with other envelopes all postmarked December 31, and the donation cheque is dated for the prior year, it may be reasonable to include it in the prior year.

If the envelope arrives along with other envelopes that have mixed postmarked dates, it may be reasonable to include it in the new year.

Receipting Donations Consistently

It is up to your charity to set its own policy on how it will treat end-of-year donations. Your charity may choose to (1) determine, using postmarks, whether the donation should be receipted for the current year or (2) treat any gift delivered on or after January 1 as a gift for the new year.

Your charity should be consistent in this choice and should advise donors ahead of time. Your approach should be set out in a gift acceptance policy so that staff, stewardship representatives, fundraisers, and donors are all aware and informed.

Your charity may also choose to incorporate a ‘cut-off’ date that is determined each year, depending on the calendar, holidays, and staffing – e.g. the Friday ahead of New Year’s Day when that day falls on weekend. A simple addition to your gift acceptance policy can address year-end gifts.

Impact of the Strike

The postal disruption will make determining the date of the donation challenging. It is possible that some gifts may not be postmarked until the new year, though intended for the 2024 tax year, or that some gifts may not be postmarked at all.

We have written to the CRA to ask for clarity and guidance for charities in these situations and will keep you updated if and when we receive a response.

Additional Resources

We’ve got more information on official donation receipts in our Member Knowledge Base, and you can stay up to date with discussions on the strike and MyBA in The Green.

The post Canada Post Strike appeared first on CCCC Blogs.

You can share your feedback through CRA’s research survey on the T3010.

The survey begins with some expected demographic questions about the respondent’s age and role, the charity’s location and size (by employee) and whether the respondent has completed the T3010 in the past five years.

Make sure your respondent actually has completed the T3010 within the past five years – if not, the survey will automatically end.

The questions go on to ask about your method of filing and your answer may prompt a series of multiple-choice questions. These questions look for answers to the “why” of your filing choices and whether you had any difficulties. There are also questions about your other use (or not) of CRA’s online services and electronic devices generally.

Finally, respondents can give open ended comments and suggestions.

If there are things you love or loathe about the T3010 Information Return, now is your opportunity to give your feedback directly to CRA. There is no survey close or end date listed online, but if you intend to do so, better to complete the survey sooner rather than later.

For more information on the latest version of the T3010, see New T3010 for January 2024.

The post T3010 Survey appeared first on CCCC Blogs.

The Essentials

Charities with fiscal year ends on or before December 30, 2023 need to file their T3010 using the current form – version 23.

Charities with fiscal year ends on or after December 31, 2023 need to file their T3010 using the new form – version 24.

It’s important to use the correct form. If you use the wrong form, CRA will send it back to you and you’ll need to complete and file your return using the correct form.

Version 23 of the T3010 made updates to account qualifying disbursements, including Form T1441, Qualifying Disbursements: Grants to Non-Qualified Donees.

Version 24 of the T3010 makes updates to Disbursement Quota requirements (an entirely new schedule), asks Foundations additional questions, requires specific information about donor advised funds, updates some language and makes adjustments to Schedule 6, Detailed Financial Information . Form T1441 has also been updated – if activities were carried on outside of Canada, it now asks for the country code.

The Details

What are the main changes to T3010 version 24?

Section C, Programs and General Information

In Section C there are some minor revisions and a bit of restructuring to improve readability.

There are also two new questions:

• C17 asks about the average value of the charity’s property. This helps charities calculate the Disbursement Quota. As of January 1, 2023 the disbursement quota increased from 3.5% to 5% for the portion of property not used in charitable activities or administration that exceeds $1M.
• C18 asks about donor advised funds (DAFs). CRA’s guide, Completing Form T3010 defines DAFs as “a fund segregated into donor accounts, owned and controlled by a registered charity” where “each account is comprised of contributions made by individual donors” and where “donors may provide ongoing non-binding suggestions on payouts from DAFs.”

Section D, Financial Information

In Section D, line 4505 for 10year gifts received has been removed and line 5045 has been revised from “Total grants made to non-qualified donees (grantees)” to “Total amount of grants made to all non-qualified donees (grantees).”

Schedule 1, Foundations

Schedule 1 adds a new question for public and private foundations about the value and spending of restricted funds.

• What was the total value of all restricted funds held at the end of the fiscal period? Restricted funds means generally “those where a funder (including a donor, grantor, lender, or payer) limits how the funds can be spent.”
• Of that amount, what amount was the foundation not permitted to spend due to a funder’s written trust or direction? This refers to when “a funder requires the foundation to preserve the capital (principal), and the foundation is only permitted to spend the income.”

Schedule 2, Activities Outside Canada

Schedule 2 has a minor revision. Instead of asking for total expenditures on activities/programs/projects carried on outside of Canada, “excluding gifts to qualified donees”, it now reads “excluding qualifying disbursements”.

Schedule 6, Detailed Financial Information

Schedule 6 has a number of changes:

Under Statement of Financial Position: Assets

• Line 4100, Cash, bank accounts and short-term investments, is broken down into two subsections:
  • New line 4104 for cash and bank accounts
  • New line 4102 for short-term investments (meaning that the original term to maturity not greater than one year)
• Line 4155, Land and buildings in Canada, is broken down into two subsections:
  • New line 4157 for “used for charitable programs or administration”
  • New line 4158 for “used for other purposes”
• Removed line 4180 for 10-year gifts
• Revised line 4200 to reflect the lines contributing to “total assets”

Under Statement of Operations: Revenue

• Line 4580, Total interest and investment received or earned, separates two specific categories:
  • New line 4576 for “total interest and investment income from impact investments”, defined as “investments in companies or projects with the intention of having a measurable positive environmental or social impact, and generating a positive financial return.”
  • New line 4577 for “total interest and investment income from persons not at arm’s length”
• Removed line 4505 for total amount of 10-year gifts

Under Statement of Operations: Expenditures

• Revised line 4890: “Fair market value of all donated goods used in charity’s own activities charitable services”
• Revised line 4910 for “Research grants and scholarships as part of charity’s own charitable activities”
• Revised line 5045 for “total amount of grants made to all non-qualified donees (grantees)”

Schedule 8 is an entirely new schedule for Disbursement Quota; it is only completed if a charity answers yes to C17.

CRA T3010 Guide

You can find the T3010 forms from CRA’s T3010 Registered Charity Information Return Page. CRA’s Guide T4033, Complete Form T3010 Registered Charity Information Return has been updated to provide instructions on how to complete the new T3010 and T1441.

CCCC’s Fillable T3010

Did you know that CCCC has developed a CRA-approved, fillable, saveable T3010 to assist you in completing your T3010? CCCC has both version 23 and version 24 ready for your use! If you’d like, you can print out a blank T3010 as a working copy. We also recommend that you consult the CRA’s guide when completing your return.

CCCC’s online return includes:

• the T3010 and accompanying schedules
• the Directors/Trustees Worksheet (T1235)
• the Qualified Donees Worksheet (T1236)
• the Qualifying Disbursements: Grants to Non-Qualified Donees Worksheet (T1441)
• helpful information pop-ups and validation checks to reduce errors when completing your return

Members can also access CCCC’s T3010 Guidance for additional information and support.

The post New T3010 for January 2024 appeared first on CCCC Blogs.

The T3010 requires charities to report grants made to non-qualified donees. The T1441 requires charities to report detailed information about grants made to non-qualified donees. You must use the updated version of the T3010 unless you have already filed a return for your charity’s fiscal period end. If you have already filed, you don’t have to refile.

*UPDATED* T3010 Registered Charity Information Return

Section C relates to your charity’s programs and general information. New section C16 addresses qualifying disbursements.

You must answer:

• Whether your charity made qualifying disbursements by way of grants to non-qualified donees (grantees) in the fiscal period (line 5840);
• Whether the grants your charity made to any grantees totaled more than $5,000 in the fiscal period (line 5841);
• The number of grantees that received grants less than $5,000 in the fiscal period (line 5842); and,
• The total amount paid to grantees that received grants totaling less than $5,000 in the fiscal period (line 5843).

If your charity made grants to any grantees totalling more than $5,000 in the fiscal period, you have to complete Form T1441.

*NEW* T1441 Qualifying Disbursements: Grants to Non-Qualified Donees

The new T1441 Form requires charities to provide more detailed information about grants made to non-qualified donees, and the grant recipients (grantees), including:

• Name of grantee
• Purpose of the grant
• Amount of non-cash disbursements
• Amount of cash disbursements
• If outside of Canada, the country where the activities were carried on

Each grant must be reported individually, and all grants disbursed in the fiscal period must be reported even if the grant activities aren’t complete.

What about the guides?

CRA’s Guide T4033, Complete Form T3010 Registered Charity Information Return has not yet been updated, but CRA has noted it will “in the near future” and it “will provide instructions on how to complete the [revised] T3010 and T1441.”

We are also waiting for CRA to release its updated guidance, CG-032, Registered charities making grants to non-qualified donees which is currently still in draft form. We understand that the revised CG-032 is a high priority for CRA, but we do not yet have a release date. In terms of reporting, the draft guidance (para 80) explains that:

A charity can apply to the CRA to make a special request that certain information not be made available to the public if its release would place the charity, grantee, their staff, or volunteers in danger.

This has been one significant concern for charities that want to make grants. We will have to wait for the final guidance to see whether there is additional clarity and certainty on this application, how they will be assessed, how application is made, etc.

CCCC Fillable T3010 – Updated & Ready!

Did you know that CCCC has a CRA-approved fillable, saveable T3010 to help you with your filing?

We’ve already made updates to Section C, added the new Form T1441, and received approval from CRA, so it is updated and ready for you to use!

Want More Info?

If you’re looking for more information on qualifying disbursements (and the developments that led up to this change), check out these resources…

Blog Posts

CRA Draft Guidance on Making Grants to Non-Qualified Donees

Bill C-19 Has Passed – Impact on Direction and Control (27 June 2022)

Direction and Control – Advocacy Update, Bill C-19 Amendments (6 June 2022)

Direction and Control – Advocacy Opportunity (26 May 2022)

Budget Implementation Act, Bill S-216 and Direction & Control (6 May 2022)

Update: Bill S-216 on Direction and Control (3 March 2022)

Bill S-216 on Direction and Control – Different Name, Same Aim (9 December 2021)

What’s Happening with Bill S-222? (30 June 2021)

Bill S-222: From Direction and Control to Reasonable Steps (10 February 2021)

Knowledge Base & Webinars

For more information on direction and control, see our Resource Page in CCCC Knowledge Base and our webinars Making Grants and the New Rules for Charities and our Fireside Chat where we provide an overview and assessment of qualifying disbursements along with answers to many of your questions.

The post CRA Updates T3010, Adds New Form T1441, for Qualifying Disbursements appeared first on CCCC Blogs.

Making Grants to Non-Qualified Donees – New Rules

Since June 23, 2022, charities have been legally allowed to make grants to non-qualified donees. This is due to legislative changes that, among other things, added the term “qualifying disbursements” to the Income Tax Act (ITA). For more details, see our post Bill C-19 Has Passed.

The ITA requires that for every grant over $5,000, the granting charity must report the name of the grantee, the purpose of the grant, and the total yearly amount granted to the grantee.

Reporting Grants to Non-Qualified Donees – Not Yet Required

Until the T3010, Registered Charity Information Return and the accompany guide T4033, Completing the Registered Charity Information Return are updated, you are not required to report your granting activities.

The T3010 and T4033 are being updated now. The CRA anticipates a spring 2023 release date.

Books and Records  – Still Required!

Even though CRA has clarified that you don’t have to report your granting activities (yet!), the CRA is also very clear that charities must keep adequate books and records to support all granting activities:

“Your books and records must contain enough information to allow the CRA to assess whether your charity is operating in accordance with the Income Tax Act.”

Of course, the books and records requirement applies all the time, to all of your charity’s operations. They must be sufficient to show your charity complies with applicable legislation.

Guidance CG-032, Registered charities making grants to non-qualified donees (DRAFT)

As we discussed in an earlier blog post, the CRA released draft guidance on making grants to non-qualified donees (November 2022). The formal deadline to submit your feedback is January 31, 2023.

Grants in The Green

We’ve got a space in The Green where you can chat with other charities about grants and working with non-qualified donees.

The post Making Grants to Non-Qualified Donees? CRA Clarifies Reporting Obligations appeared first on CCCC Blogs.

CRA reviewed public feedback about the complexity of the MyBA registration process and redesigned their web page. The page now has a clearer step-by-step guide on getting started with MyBA for registered charities.

Why MyBA? CRA explains that MyBA provides a faster, easier, and more convenient alternative to paper filing. CRA encourages you to register for MyBA to take advantage of these online services:

• apply for charitable registration
• submit the annual information return
• update your charity’s information
• correspond with CRA

Was it helpful? CRA wants feedback on whether the new instructions were helpful. You can respond by answering “yes” or “no” to the question “Did you find what you were looking for?” at the bottom of the instruction page.

CCCC is also interested in your experiences with MyBA! Part of CCCC’s role on CRA’s Technical Issues Working Group is to discuss, well, technical issues in the charitable sector, and to explore workable solutions. Let us know:

• Do the updated instructions help?
• Are you able to easily navigate?
• Are you able to complete your tasks by using it?
• If you could make any changes or improvements, what would those be?

Let us know by replying in The Green under CRA’s MyBA Updated Instructions.

The post CRA Updates MyBA Instructions appeared first on CCCC Blogs.

If you haven’t already filed, this is your friendly reminder to get your information ready. CRA encourages charities to file online through My Business Account (MyBA). CRA’s MyBA Quick Reference Guide can help you with your charity’s online registration and accessing your charity’s account. If you want, you can still file on paper – the postmarked date indicated on the envelope is used as the received date.

CCCC members can access our CRA-approved online fillable T3010 form. It has commentary and cross-checks to help you complete your T3010. You’ll need to know your charity’s basic information, Director/Trustee names and contact information, your charity’s activities, and financial information.

You can also check out Common Errors When Completing the T3010 (so you can avoid those!), and if you have any questions about the T3010 we’re here to help, whether by email or phone.

The post Reminder: T3010 Filing Deadline is June 30 for December 31 Fiscal Year-End! appeared first on CCCC Blogs.