Form T1240: Correcting a Filed T3010 Charity Return

TL;DR: If you find an error in a T3010 your charity has already filed, do not file a second return. Complete Form T1240, Registered Charity Adjustment Request, and upload it through your CRA account under your registered charity (RR) account by selecting "Adjust a return." Use one T1240 per fiscal year. A charity must file an accurate information return under subsection 149.1(14) of the Income Tax Act, so correcting a known error promptly is a compliance step, not just good housekeeping.

The T3010, Registered Charity Information Return, is the annual return every registered charity files with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for each fiscal period, meaning the charity's 12-month financial year. The return goes in, the confirmation arrives, and a week later the treasurer notices that total receipted donations were entered on the wrong line, or a director who left in March is still listed, or the financial statements attached were the draft rather than the approved set. The instinct is to file the return again. The CRA's instruction is the opposite: never file a second T3010 for the same year. The correction goes on Form T1240, the Registered Charity Adjustment Request, and this page explains how that works.

Why Can't You Simply Refile the T3010?

Once a T3010 is filed, the CRA treats it as the return for that fiscal period. If filed online, its public portion is posted the next day to the List of charities and certain other qualified donees, the CRA's public database where donors, funders and journalists look up a charity's filings. A second return creates a duplicate the Charities Directorate has to reconcile by hand. The CRA's After you file page says to complete an adjustment request instead and not to file a new return for the same year.

The charity is responsible for the accuracy of what it filed. Subsection 149.1(14) of the Income Tax Act requires every registered charity to file its information return in prescribed form, and a return the charity knows to be materially wrong is arguably not filed as required. That responsibility does not end at submission, and the CRA expects a charity that discovers an error to correct it. In our experience, a prompt and well-explained T1240 is read as evidence of a functioning board; an error left uncorrected until an audit is read the other way. Our post on avoiding mistakes when filing your charity's T3010 covers the errors that most often need this form.

What Can Form T1240 Fix, and What Can't It?

The form covers the T3010 itself and the schedules and documents filed with it. Three worksheets often travel with the return:

• Form T1235, Directors/Trustees and Like Officials Worksheet, which lists the charity's directors and officers. Every charity files it.
• Form T1236, Qualified Donees Worksheet, which lists gifts made to other qualified donees such as registered charities. It is filed only by charities that made such gifts.
• Form T2081, Excess Corporate Holdings Worksheet for Private Foundations, which applies only to private foundations. Public foundations and charitable organizations do not file it.

The form does not cover everything a charity might want to change with the CRA, and some requests that look like corrections have their own route.

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On disbursement quota reductions: the disbursement quota (DQ) is the minimum amount a charity must spend each year on its own charitable activities or on qualifying gifts and grants. A charity that falls short can ask the CRA to reduce it for that year using Form T2094, Registered Charities: Application to Reduce Disbursement Quota, under subsection 149.1(5) of the Income Tax Act. The CRA generally will not approve a reduction until it has issued the T3010 summary for the fiscal period following the shortfall year, so the T1240 comes last in the sequence, not first.

On purposes: under the CRA's current process for changing purposes and activities, the charity is responsible for confirming that new purposes are charitable at law before adopting them. The CRA may review the change later and follow up if it has concerns.

Permission to accumulate property is no longer available. Subsection 149.1(8) of the Income Tax Act was repealed, and the CRA stopped considering accumulation requests after December 31, 2022. A T1240 cannot add an accumulation approval the charity never received. A charity that already held approval reports the amounts on lines 5500 and 5510 as before, until the approved period expires.

How Do You Complete Form T1240?

1. Download the current Form T1240 from canada.ca.
2. Enter the charity's legal name and registration number (for example, 123456789RR0001) and the fiscal period being corrected.
3. In Section C, list each T3010 line being changed with its original and corrected amounts. If the change affects a total elsewhere on the return, list that line too.
4. For changes to worksheets or financial statements, describe the change under "Other details or explanations" and attach the corrected document.
5. Write a plain explanation of what was wrong, why, and what the correct figure is.
6. Have a director, trustee, like official or authorized representative sign the certification.
7. Keep a copy of the form and all attachments with the charity's books and records.

Use one Form T1240 for each fiscal year being amended. A charity that finds the same error in three years' returns files three requests.

We write the explanation in plain terms: what was wrong, why, and what the correct figure is, because a bare "see attached" draws a follow-up letter.

How Do You File a T1240 Online or by Mail?

The fastest route is the charity's CRA account. Sign in, open the registered charity (RR) account, select "Adjust a return," and upload the completed T1240 and any attachments. A charity that has never used online services registers first, which takes a few days. Authorized representatives can file through Represent a Client. Our post on the T3010 return and its deadline explains the account setup.

Paper is still accepted. The request is mailed to the Charities Directorate, Canada Revenue Agency, 105-275 Pope Road, Summerside PE C1N 6E8. The CRA says plainly that mail adds processing time, and its fax line for charities was discontinued on April 1, 2026, so older instructions that mention faxing no longer apply.

What If the Correction Isn't the Real Problem?

A T1240 fixes what was reported. It does not fix what happened. If the error was a receipt issued for something that was not a gift, or a grant to a non-qualified donee that did not satisfy the Income Tax Act accountability and documentation requirements, correcting the T3010 is necessary but the compliance issue underneath it remains. If the CRA has already sent a letter, the adjustment should be part of the response, not a substitute for it.

If the problem is a T3010 that was never filed at all, the stakes are higher. The CRA can revoke a charity's registration for failure to file under paragraph 168(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act, and subsection 188.1(6) imposes a $500 penalty for failing to file an information return. Our post on what to do when a charity is revoked for not filing a T3010 is the one to read.

If you have found an error in a filed return, or the CRA has asked you to amend one, we can prepare the adjustment and the explanation that goes with it. Call us at 416-488-5888, email us at ask@charitylawgroup.ca, or schedule a free meeting with our legal team. Form T1240 is on our forms and statutes page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to the questions we hear most often about Form T1240.

Is there a deadline for filing a T1240?

The CRA does not set a fixed deadline. It expects a charity to correct an error once it becomes aware of it. Because subsection 149.1(14) of the Income Tax Act requires the charity to file its information return as prescribed, a return the charity knows is materially wrong should be corrected promptly. Leaving it can become a compliance issue if the CRA reviews the file.

Can we use a T1240 to add financial statements we forgot to attach?

Yes. Describe the omission in the explanation section and attach the statements. A return filed without financial statements is incomplete, so this correction should be made promptly.

Who has to sign the form?

A director, trustee, like official or other authorized representative of the charity. An authorized representative can also file it through Represent a Client.

Can a T1240 change our fiscal year end?

No. A charity must get the CRA's approval before changing its fiscal period end, through its CRA account or by letter. Once approved, the charity files a separate transition-period return covering the shortened period.

How do we correct more than one year?

File a separate Form T1240 for each fiscal year you are amending. If the same error appears in three returns, you file three requests, each identifying its own fiscal period and the lines being changed for that year.

Will the correction appear on the List of Charities?

Yes. Once the CRA processes the adjustment, the public information shown for that fiscal period on the List of charities and certain other qualified donees reflects the corrected figures. Processing takes longer for requests sent by mail.

This article provides general information about CRA filing requirements and is not legal advice. Speak with a charity lawyer about your organization's specific circumstances.

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