CRA has just released it’s 2018 T3010 annual return form for Canadian registered charities

CRA has just released the 2018 T3010 Registered Charity Information Return.  The T3010 is a form that Canadian registered charities need to file each year within six months of their fiscal year-end. Failure to file the return can quickly result in revocation.

There are no major changes this year.  Some of the minor changes include:

1) Links to the old CRA website have been changed to the new government of Canada website.

2) References to "your" charity are now "the" charity.  References to "tick" in a number of parts are now "select".  

3) Instead of suggesting that you look at the TF725, Registered Charity Basic Information Sheet, to confirm the designation, CRA is suggesting "To confirm the charity’s designation, go to the CRA’s List of charities and refer to the charity’s detail page."

4) The privacy statement has been updated.

5) References to "the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)" have been changed to Global Affairs Canada.

6) They have clarified certain questions eg. in Schedule 2  "Is the charity exporting goods as part of its charitable activities?" it now asks "Did the charity export goods as part of its charitable activities?" which is more accurate as the form relates to the past fiscal year and not the current activities.

7) In terms of the list of countries "Columbia" is changed to Colombia!  

8) With the Schedule 4 dealing with "Confidential Data" there are more insertions of the word "confidential" just in case it was not clear enough that the information in Schedule 4 is confidential.  

Very important that Canadian registered Charities file the correct T3010 form. At the moment filings can only be done through paper-based forms but in November 2018 Charities will have the option to be able to also file their T3010s online.

For those who are concerned about their charity's T3010 filing they may find this course Fundamentals of the T3010 and Transparency for Canadian charities offered by Blumbergs helpful.   CRA notes that with many charities who are revoked or enter into compliance agreements that the charities, in addition to other issues, had inaccurate T3010 filings.  For some charities, especially larger charities, it makes sense every few years to have a review of your T3010 filings by a lawyer who is knowledgeable about the form.