Effective date of registration

Policy statement

Reference number
CPS-017

Effective date
December 10, 2001

Purpose

This policy statement outlines the Directorate's policy on determining the effective date of registration of a charity.

Statement

The effective date of registration of a charity will, without exception, be at a point in time when, and at all times since, the organization operated as charitable within the meaning of the Income Tax Act and common law.

Implementation

1. This policy applies to applicant organizations that are registered for the first time. This policy does not apply to a previously registered charity that has been revoked and applies for re-registration.

2. The effective date of registration will be based upon the most recent of the following dates:

the date of the organization's incorporation, or if it is not incorporated, the date of inception indicated in its governing documents
the date of the most recent organizational change that makes an otherwise non-charitable entity charitable, for example, amendments modifying objects into exclusively charitable objects, undertakings to cease non-charitable activities, or the creation of separate trusts to carry out activities ^{Footnote 1}
the date of the organization's application ^{Footnote 2}
the first day of the charity's current fiscal period

3. An effective date of registration may be selected that is within an earlier fiscal period notwithstanding the above, and with discretion. ^{Footnote 3} For example, to compensate for any Charities Directorate internal delays such as backlog, response time, or other internal factors. However, despite this limited discretion, the date of registration may not be before the most recent of the first three bullets described above.

4. The effective date of registration should always reflect a period of time during which the organization actively sought to comply with the Charities Directorate requirements for registration as a charity.

Other considerations

5. A charity that is seeking to backdate its effective date of registration to a previous fiscal period must complete and file with the Charities Directorate, any and all information returns (Form T3010) that have become due under these circumstances before registration can be granted, otherwise the registration date cannot be backdated.

6. If the effective date of registration is not on the first day of a fiscal period of the organization, paragraph 149(10)(a) of the Act may apply. Paragraph 149(10)(a) applies when an organization that was not previously exempted from tax becomes exempted, for example, when it is registered as a charity. In this case, the taxation year that would have been included this period will be deemed to have ended at the date of registration, and the beginning of a new, short fiscal period will start at the date of registration. ^{Footnote 4}

References

Income Tax Act, R.S.C. 1985 (5^th supp.) c.1

Footnotes

Footnote 1

This does not include minor organizational changes such as name change, alterations to dissolution clauses, or compliance undertakings. If an organization's objects are broadly or vaguely worded, formal amendments to clearly define the charitable elements may be construed as a minor organizational change.

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Footnote 2

Paragraph 248(7)(a) of the Income Tax Act provides that "anything ... sent by first class mail or its equivalent shall be deemed to have been received by the person to whom it was sent on the day it was mailed." Accordingly, the date of application is the postmarked date as indicated on the envelope - not the Canada Revenue Agency stamp date or the date the directors/trustees signed the application. However, if the postmarked date is illegible, the Canada Revenue Agency stamp date will be used.

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Footnote 3

Some organizations may not wish to be registered to a previous fiscal period. Furthermore, a retroactive date will only be granted to organizations that have acted in good faith during the application process, have cooperated with the Canada Revenue Agency by responding to concerns in a timely manner, and answered questions thoroughly and diligently.

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Footnote 4

This consideration is noted to highlight a possible advantage of choosing the first day of a fiscal period as the effective date of registration. As the Directorate is not functionally responsible for non-charity returns, organizations to whom this paragraph applies should call 1-800-959-5525.

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Date modified:: 2017-09-27

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