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The CRA doesn’t require a registered charity to have its financial statements audited. It does recommend an audit once your income is over $250,000. Below that, the treasurer signs the statements instead. The catch is that other rules can force an audit anyway, and that’s where most charities get caught.
What does the CRA ask for?
Every registered charity files a T3010 information return within six months of its fiscal year end. Financial statements go in with it, even if the charity did nothing all year or ended with a zero balance.
If you have income over $250,000, the Charities Directorate recommends that you get your financial statements professionally audited; otherwise, the treasurer for the charity should sign them.
CRA, Financial statements for registered charities, canada.ca
That’s a recommendation, not a filing rule. But a funder, a head body or another level of government may want audited statements, and that’s often the real reason a small charity pays for one.
If you’re thinking of a missing statement as a small slip, it isn’t. The CRA treats a T3010 without financial statements as an incomplete return, so the filing hasn’t really been made. Treasurers sometimes find that out only when a letter arrives, and by then the deadline has passed.
Does corporate law make a charity get an audit?
Often, yes. A charity set up as a federal not-for-profit corporation follows the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, and that Act has its own audit thresholds. They depend on whether the corporation is a soliciting one, which is the Act’s term for a corporation that asks the public for funds, so check the exact definition with Corporations Canada.
| Type | Annual revenue | What the Act requires |
|---|---|---|
| Soliciting | $50,000 or less | Review engagement; members can waive the accountant by unanimous resolution |
| Soliciting | $50,000 to $250,000 | Audit; a special resolution can switch to a review |
| Soliciting | Over $250,000 | Audit |
| Non-soliciting | $1 million or less | Review engagement; members can waive the accountant by unanimous resolution |
| Non-soliciting | Over $1 million | Audit |
A review is cheaper. The accountant gives limited assurance rather than a full opinion. Where no accountant is appointed at all, only a compilation is needed.
Corporations set up under a provincial act, and charities that are trusts or unincorporated, follow other rules. We didn’t confirm those, so look at your governing law and your bylaws before you decide.
What does an audit change for a small charity?
Say your charity is a federal soliciting corporation with $180,000 in revenue. The table puts you in the audit band, but the members could pass a special resolution, which the Act sets at two thirds of the votes, to accept a review instead. At $260,000 that door closes.
The audit work also starts well before the auditor arrives. Payroll is usually the biggest line, and it has to reconcile to what was remitted. With one Ontario employee paid $3,000 per pay period, the payroll remittance calculator shows $961.03 to remit each period, and a full cost of $3,228.41 once your $228.41 employer share is added. An auditor will want to see those figures agree with the bank and the T4 totals.
Donors care about a different number. To see what a gift is worth to them, use the tax credits calculator, which handles federal donation credits only. For the tax on staff pay, the take-home pay calculator is a quick check. Charities don’t pay tax like a company, but a business that supports them can test its own bill with the corporate tax calculator. More tools sit in the business tax hub.
What should a treasurer do first?
Find out which law the charity lives under. It’s usually in the articles or letters patent, or the certificate you got when you incorporated. Then look at every funding agreement, because those can set a stricter bar than either the CRA or the Act.
Once you know the answer, put it in the board minutes with the revenue figure you used. Next year, when a grant pushes you across a line, you’ll see it coming instead of finding out in the spring. A few bucks spent on a quick chat with your accountant in the fall beats a rush in March.
Where do charities slip up?
- Filing the T3010 without financial statements attached. It’s required even for a quiet year.
- Reading the CRA’s $250,000 as a legal audit trigger. It’s a recommendation, while the corporate thresholds above are the legal ones.
- Forgetting that a grant agreement can demand audited statements at any size.
- Skipping the special resolution paperwork. If you want a review instead of an audit, the members have to vote for it, and the vote has to be recorded.
- Assuming last year’s answer holds. Revenue moves, and one good fundraising year can push you across a line.
We couldn’t confirm what provincial charity laws require, and we didn’t check every funder’s terms. For a real decision, ask your board’s accountant which set of rules your charity falls under.
Sources, and how we checked them
The T3010 deadline and the $250,000 recommendation come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s guidance for registered charities, quoted above. The audit and review thresholds come from Corporations Canada, part of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, in its financial statements guidance for not-for-profit corporations, read in 2026. Payroll figures use 2026 data in the calculators. No government body is connected to this site.
Frequently asked questions
Does the CRA require a charity audit?
No. The CRA recommends an audit when income is over $250,000. Below that, the treasurer signs the financial statements.
When is the T3010 due?
Within six months of the end of the charity's fiscal year, with the financial statements attached.
What is the difference between an audit and a review engagement?
A review gives limited assurance and no opinion on fairness. An audit is a full examination and costs more.
Can members choose a review instead of an audit?
For a federal soliciting corporation with revenue between $50,000 and $250,000, a special resolution can switch to a review.
Who else can ask for audited statements?
Funders, a charity's head body or other government authorities may require them, whatever the size.
- Dealing with the CRA: letters, audits and payments
Dealing with the CRA: what to do when a letter arrives, how a review differs from an audit, how My Account helps, and what to do if you can't pay