27 November 2025 Internal T.I. 2025-1072771I7 - Schedule 15 - Subsection 143(1) - Deemed Trust

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.

Principal Issues: Whether a trust deemed to be created pursuant to subsection 143(1) (Deemed Trust) must file Schedule 15 with its T3 Return for the December 31, 2023 tax year.

Position: Where a Deemed Trust, which is not otherwise structured as an express trust, is not required to file a T3 Return for a particular tax year pursuant to paragraph 150(1)(c), but is required to do so pursuant to section 204 of the Regulations, it will not be required to complete Schedule 15 for the year. However, where a Deemed Trust is required to file a T3 Return pursuant to paragraph 150(1)(c), subsection 204.2(1) of the Regulations will apply to the Deemed Trust such that it would be required to include Schedule 15 with its T3 Return for the year, unless the Deemed Trust is one of the trusts described in paragraphs 150(1.2)(a) to (r).

Reasons: see below.

November 27, 2025

Appeals Branch							Income Tax Rulings
XXXXXXXXXX							Directorate
								Katie Robinson

2025-107277

Application of the Trust Reporting Rules to a Trust Deemed to be Created Pursuant to Subsection 143(1)

We are writing in response to your correspondence of July 17, 2025, wherein you asked for our comments regarding whether a trust which is deemed to be created pursuant to subsection 143(1) (footnote 1) (the “Deemed Trust”) was required to file Schedule 15 (Beneficial Ownership Information of a Trust) with its T3RET Trust Income Tax and Information Return (“T3 Return”) for the taxation year ended December 31, 2023.

More specifically, you asked us to consider a situation where the Deemed Trust had no Part I tax payable, it did not have a taxable capital gain, nor did it dispose of capital property in the 2023 taxation year. You also advised that the Deemed Trust filed a T3 Return for the 2023 taxation year since the trust received income or profit, and had total income from all sources of more than $500 that was fully allocated to its members.

Our Comments

Subsection 143(1) deems a communal organization, if specific conditions are met, to be a trust for tax purposes and the members of the congregation are deemed to be the beneficiaries under the Deemed Trust. Income earned by the congregation or its business agencies is included in computing income at the trust level, with provision to elect the allocation of the modified taxable income to the participating members of the congregation. Where the communal organization files an election to allocate its income, in respect of a taxation year, each participating member must include their allocated amount when computing their individual income for tax purposes.

Based on the understanding that a Deemed Trust is a trust other than an express trust, subsection 150(1.2) will not operate to prevent the potential application of subsection 150(1.1). Accordingly, a Deemed Trust would be required to file a T3 Return pursuant to paragraph 150(1)(c) unless the exception in paragraph 150(1.1)(b) applies. In this particular case, you indicated that the Deemed Trust had no Part I tax payable, it did not have a taxable capital gain, nor did it dispose of capital property in the 2023 taxation year. Consequently, the Deemed Trust met the exception in paragraph 150(1.1)(b) and was therefore not required to file a T3 Return pursuant to paragraph 150(1)(c).

As the T3 Return is both a return of income and an information return, the statutory requirement to file a T3 Return exists where the trustee has control of, or receives income, gains or profits in the trustee’s fiduciary capacity, or in a capacity analogous to a fiduciary capacity. As such, notwithstanding that the Deemed Trust was not required to file a T3 Return pursuant to paragraph 150(1)(c), a filing obligation nevertheless arose pursuant to section 204 of the Income Tax Regulations (“Regulations”) since the trustee is deemed to control the property of the Deemed Trust, and the Deemed Trust had total income from all sources of more than $500 that was fully allocated to its members.

Subsection 204.2(1) of the Regulations applies in respect of a trust that is required to file a T3 Return pursuant to subsection 150(1). Since the Deemed Trust was not required to file a T3 Return pursuant to subsection 150(1), it was also not required to file Schedule 15. Accordingly, where a Deemed Trust is not required to file a T3 Return for a particular taxation year pursuant to paragraph 150(1)(c) but is required to do so pursuant to section 204 of the Regulations, the Deemed Trust will not be required to file Schedule 15.

However, it is important to note that, where a Deemed Trust is required to file a T3 Return pursuant to paragraph 150(1)(c), subsection 204.2(1) of the Regulations will apply to such Deemed Trust. Consequently, the Deemed Trust in that case would be required to include Schedule 15 with its T3 Return in order to provide the information outlined in subsection 204.2(1) of the Regulations, unless the Deemed Trust is one of the trusts described in paragraphs 150(1.2)(a) to (r).(footnote 2)

Unless exempted, a copy of this memorandum will be severed using the Access to Information Act criteria and placed in the Canada Revenue Agency’s electronic library. After a 90-day waiting period, a severed copy will also be distributed to the commercial tax publishers for inclusion in their databases. You may request an extension of this 90-day period. The severing process removes all content that is not subject to disclosure, including information that could reveal the identity of the taxpayer. The taxpayer may ask for a version that has been severed using the Privacy Act criteria, which does not remove taxpayer identity. You can request this by e-mailing us at: ITRACCESSG@cra-arc.gc.ca. A copy will be sent to you for delivery to the taxpayer.

We trust that these comments will be of assistance.

Yours truly,

Marina Panourgias, CPA, CA, TEP
Manager
Trust Section I
Financial Industries and Trusts Division
Income Tax Rulings Directorate
Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch

FOOTNOTES

Note to reader: Because of our system requirements, the footnotes contained in the original document are shown below instead:

1. Unless otherwise stated, every reference herein to a part, section, subsection, paragraph, or a subparagraph is a reference to the Income Tax Act (the “Act”)

2. On November 17, 2025, the Minister of Finance and National Revenue tabled a Notice of Ways and Means Motion to introduce a bill entitled An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on November 4, 2025 (“Bill C-15”). The references made herein reflect proposed amendments to the Act in Bill C-15, which are proposed to be applicable to taxation years that end after December 30, 2025.