What can trigger the Canada Revenue Agency to revoke a charity's registered status?

The most common trigger is simply failing to file the charity's annual T3010 information return — this accounts for a large share of all revocations and is entirely avoidable. Beyond that, the Canada Revenue Agency can revoke registration where a charity no longer meets the requirements for registration at all: it has stopped operating for exclusively charitable purposes, is devoting resources to activities that aren't charitable, has engaged in prohibited partisan political activity, has issued donation receipts improperly, or has been found on audit to have significant governance or recordkeeping problems.

Revocation can also happen voluntarily, where a charity winds up its affairs and asks CRA to revoke its own registration, or involuntarily following an audit that identifies serious non-compliance. Before an involuntary revocation for cause, CRA generally issues a notice of intention to revoke, giving the charity an opportunity to respond, though a failure to file returns can move more quickly to actual revocation.

Losing registered status has serious consequences beyond simply no longer being able to issue receipts — it also triggers a tax obligation on the charity's remaining assets, discussed elsewhere. Charities should treat T3010 filing deadlines and audit responses as top priorities, not administrative afterthoughts.