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Not-for-profits & charities
Accounting for Ontario not-for-profits and registered charities.
Bookkeeping, financial statements, the T3010 or T1044, HST rebates and board reporting — for community organizations, faith-based organizations and charities that need their numbers right for the CRA, the funder and the members.
Why it's different
Two regulators, restricted money, and a board that has to sign.
A not-for-profit answers to the CRA and to Ontario at the same time, and usually to a funder as well. The bookkeeping has to serve all three without being redone for each.
- The CRA. Registered charities file the T3010 information return within six months of year-end, every year, or risk losing registration. Not-for-profits that aren't charities may need the T1044 — generally once assets pass $200,000 or investment income passes $10,000, and every year after a first filing.
- Ontario. Under the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) there's an annual return, and rules on whether your financial statements need an audit, a review engagement, or neither — set by revenue and by what your members approve.
- Restricted funds. Grants and designated donations have to be tracked separately from general money, and the funder's report has to tie to the financial statements.
- Donation receipts. What can be receipted, split receipting when the donor gets something back, and the disclosure that follows on the T3010.
- HST. Charities and qualifying not-for-profits can claim public service body rebates — for charities, 50% of the federal part and 82% of the Ontario part — and charities calculate net tax by a method of their own. Money is left on the table here more often than anywhere else.
- Payroll and honoraria. Who is an employee, who gets a T4A, and what counts as a taxable benefit.
Audits and reviews
Audit and review engagement reports are issued by a Licensed Public Accountant. We don't issue them — we keep the books and prepare the statements and schedules the reviewer or auditor works from, which is what keeps that engagement short and inexpensive.
We'll tell you which ONCA band you're in and whether your members can waive the audit or review.
Behind on filings?
A T3010 that's late, or a T1044 that was never filed, is fixable. Call or email and we'll tell you what needs to happen and in what order.
What we do for not-for-profits
Books the board can read and the CRA can follow.
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Bookkeeping with fund tracking
General, restricted and grant funds kept apart in the books and reconciled monthly, so a funder's report is a print-out rather than a project.
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Financial statements and board packages
Statements the board can approve with confidence, plus a short plain-language summary for the annual meeting.
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T3010, T1044 and the Ontario annual return
Filed on time, with the schedules and disclosures that keep a charity's registration in good standing.
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HST rebate claims
Public service body rebates claimed on schedule, and the charity net tax calculation done properly where it applies.
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Payroll, T4s and T4As
Staff, contractors and honoraria handled correctly, with source deductions remitted on time.
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Charity registration and CRA correspondence
Help preparing an application for charitable registration, and answers to CRA questions with the numbers behind them.
Common questions
What boards ask us first.
Do we need an audit?
Under ONCA it depends on your annual revenue and on what your members approve: larger organizations need an audit, mid-sized ones can often choose a review engagement, and small ones can waive both with the members' consent. Funders sometimes require more than the law does. We'll tell you which applies to you.
Can you file our T3010?
Yes. We prepare and file the T3010 from the year-end statements, including the schedules on compensation, fundraising and gifts to qualified donees, and we keep the filing deadline — six months after year-end — on our calendar, not just yours.
We're a mosque, church, temple or community group. Is that different?
Only in the details. A registered charity files the T3010 and can issue donation receipts; an unregistered community organization files the T1044 if required and can't receipt donations. We work with both, and can help with a charity application if registration makes sense.
Do we get HST back?
Usually some of it. Charities and qualifying not-for-profits can claim public service body rebates on the HST they pay, even if they aren't registered for HST. Many organizations have never claimed it; we can go back and file the periods that are still open.
Our books are a year or two behind.
That's common, and it's fixable. We rebuild the periods from bank statements and funder records, file what's late, and set up a monthly routine so it doesn't happen again.
General information for Ontario not-for-profits and registered charities, not advice for your organization.
Need the books ready for the board or the CRA?
Call 647-870-8498 or email info@ghayurtax.com.