Voluntary revocation

What is it?

Voluntary revocation is when registration as a charity is cancelled at the charity's request.

A charity may request voluntary revocation for a number of reasons, such as:

• It has wound up its operations due to a merger or a consolidation.
• It has achieved its goal (for example, the charity was established to build a playground and has completed that task).
• Financial and physical resources are no longer available.

Voluntary revocation is a discretionary process and cannot be used by a charity to avoid any ongoing enforcement action.

Before requesting voluntary revocation, a charity should consider the consequences of terminating registration.

How to request voluntary revocation

Once a charity has decided to end its operations, it sends a letter asking us to revoke its registration. The letter must be signed and dated by one of the charity's directors/trustees or by another person authorized to sign on behalf of the charity. However, a charity should check its governing documents to verify if more than one signature is required.

Mail or fax the letter to:

Charities Directorate
Canada Revenue Agency
Ottawa ON K1A 0L5

Fax: 613-954-8037

We will acknowledge in writing that we have received the charity's letter and confirm that the process for voluntary revocation has started.

The voluntary revocation process

About two weeks before the actual date of revocation, we will send the charity:

• a Notice of Intention to Revoke a Charity's Registration (T2051A) that states the proposed date of revocation; and
• Form T2046, Tax Return Where Registration of a Charity is Revoked.

The charity must complete the T2046 tax return and send it to us no later than one year after the date of the T2051A. The charity must also provide a complete Form T3010, Registered Charity Information Return with applicable worksheets, schedules, and financial statements that cover the same period as the T2046 tax return. For filing information, see Revocation tax and the T2046 tax return.

The charity's registration is officially revoked when a notice is published in Part I of the Canada Gazette.

The name of the charity and the reason for its revocation will also be posted in the List of charities on our Charities and giving webpages.

Related topics

• Consequences of revocation
• Filing the T3010 information return
• Revocation tax and the T2046 tax return

References

• CSP-D15, Dissolution clause
• CSP–R12, Revocation
• CSP-R24, Revocation Tax

Date modified:

2017-04-27