Non-Profit and Charity Filing Requirement Checker
Being exempt from tax does not mean being exempt from filing. Find out which returns your organisation actually has to file, when each is due, what the penalties are, and why the T1044 obligation never goes away once it starts.
everything due
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What You Must File
| Return | Required | Why | Due |
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The Three T1044 Tests
| Test | Threshold | Your Position | Met |
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Penalties
| Return | Penalty | Your Exposure |
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What It Costs to File
| Return | Basis | Fee |
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Points That Decide This
What to Do Next
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Disclaimer: An incorporated non-profit organisation exempt under paragraph 149(1)(l) must still file a T2 corporation income tax return within six months of its fiscal year end, even though no tax is payable. Form T1044 is required where the organisation received or was entitled to receive taxable dividends, interest, rentals or royalties totalling more than $10,000 in the fiscal period, or its total assets at the end of the immediately preceding fiscal period exceeded $200,000, or it was required to file a T1044 for any previous fiscal period. The T1044 late penalty is $25 a day with a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $2,500. A registered charity files Form T3010 within six months of its fiscal year end rather than a T2, with a $500 late penalty and the risk of revocation. Incorporated organisations also file an annual return with their incorporating jurisdiction. Whether an organisation qualifies as a non-profit under paragraph 149(1)(l) is a question of fact. This page is general information, not tax advice.
Exempt From Tax Is Not Exempt From Filing
This is the misunderstanding that causes almost every problem in this area. A non-profit organisation pays no income tax under paragraph 149(1)(l). It still has to file, and being incorporated is what makes the T2 mandatory.
| Organisation | T2 | T1044 | T3010 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incorporated non-profit | Required | If any test is met | No |
| Registered charity | No | No | Required |
| Unincorporated club or association | No | If any test is met | No |
The most common finding is an incorporated club that has never filed a T2 in twenty years. Nobody told them, no tax was ever owing, and nothing happened. Then a grant application, a bank, or an insurer asks for evidence of compliance and the whole history has to be caught up at once.
A Charity and a Non-Profit Are Not the Same Thing
People use the words interchangeably and the filing consequences are completely different. A registered charity has applied to the CRA, has a registration number, can issue donation receipts, and files a T3010. A non-profit organisation has done none of those things, cannot issue receipts, and files a T2 and possibly a T1044.
An organisation cannot be both. Registering as a charity removes you from the non-profit rules entirely, and the compliance regime that follows is considerably heavier.
The Three T1044 Tests
The Non-Profit Organization Information Return is required where any one of three conditions is met. Not all three, any one.
| Test | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Income from property in the fiscal period | More than $10,000 of dividends, interest, rentals or royalties |
| Total assets at the end of the previous fiscal period | More than $200,000 |
| Having filed a T1044 for any previous period | No threshold at all |
The third test is the one that catches people, and it is permanent. Once an organisation has been required to file a T1044 for any fiscal period, it must file one every year afterwards regardless of whether the income or asset tests are ever met again. A club that had a good year in 2019 and crossed the asset threshold is still filing today.
Note that the asset test looks at the END of the PREVIOUS fiscal period. An organisation that received a large bequest this year does not trigger the test this year, but will next year, which gives a full year of warning to anyone who knows to look.
Everything Is Due Six Months After the Year End
| Return | Deadline | Late Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| T2 | Six months after year end | A percentage of unpaid tax, so usually nil for an exempt organisation |
| T1044 | Six months after year end | $25 a day, minimum $100, maximum $2,500 |
| T3010 | Six months after year end | $500, plus revocation of registered status |
| Annual return to the incorporating jurisdiction | Varies, usually six months | Dissolution for repeated failure |
The T2 penalty is worth understanding properly. It is calculated as a percentage of unpaid tax, and an exempt organisation has none, so a late T2 usually carries no monetary penalty. That is not a reason to skip it, because the CRA can issue a demand and the return is what evidences the exemption in the first place.
Revocation Is the Real Charity Risk
The $500 late penalty on a T3010 is not what should worry a charity. Failure to file leads to a notice and then revocation of registered status. A revoked charity cannot issue donation receipts, loses its exemption, and faces a revocation tax of 100% of its remaining assets.
Reinstatement is possible but slow, expensive and public, and the CRA maintains a searchable list of revoked charities that funders check.
Keeping the Non-Profit Exemption
Paragraph 149(1)(l) requires that the organisation be operated exclusively for social welfare, civic improvement, pleasure, recreation or any other purpose except profit, and that no part of its income be payable to or available for the personal benefit of any member.
- Accumulating large surpluses with no stated purpose can suggest a profit purpose.
- Paying members beyond reasonable compensation for actual services puts the exemption directly at risk.
- Distributing assets to members on winding up is fatal to the exemption.
- Substantial commercial activity unrelated to the purpose attracts scrutiny.
- Income from property can be taxable to an NPO in some circumstances even where the exemption otherwise holds.
Ontario Corporations Have a Second Set of Obligations
An Ontario not-for-profit corporation under the ONCA files an annual return with the Ontario Business Registry, maintains a register of directors and members, and holds annual meetings. These are corporate obligations rather than tax ones, and repeated failure can lead to dissolution.
Federal corporations under the CNCA have an equivalent annual return to Corporations Canada. Neither replaces the CRA filings, and organisations frequently believe filing one covers the other.
Catching Up Years of Non-Filing
- Establish what the organisation actually is. Many groups calling themselves charities are non-profits and vice versa.
- Get the incorporation status confirmed, including whether the corporation has been dissolved for non-filing.
- Work out which years the T1044 tests were met, remembering that once triggered it stays triggered.
- File the oldest years first, because the daily penalty caps per return rather than in total.
- Apply for taxpayer relief where the circumstances support it, after the returns are in.
Most of these files have no tax owing at all. The exposure is penalties, dissolution and, for a charity, revocation. All three are avoidable and none of them requires the organisation to find money it does not have. Our charities and non-profits service covers the assessment and the filings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions from non-profits, clubs and charities.
Related Calculators and Guides
More tools for organisations catching up on filings.
No Tax Owing, and Still Worth Fixing
Tell us what the organisation is, when its year ends and how far behind it is. We will confirm exactly what is required, file the outstanding years oldest first, and deal with the corporate registry at the same time.