Information available to the public when filing the Registered Charity Information Return

Most of the charity's information return and all of the financial statements filed with it are available to the public, including the information provided on Form T1236, Qualified Donees Worksheet/Amounts Provided to Other Organizations, and parts of Form T1235, Directors/Trustees and Like Officials Worksheet. The public parts of the charity's return, a list of its directors, trustees, and like officials, a list of its recipient qualified donees, and certain information from its Registered Charity Basic Information Sheet (BIS) are posted on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Web site. This information can be accessed through the Charities Listing section.

Confidential information is marked as such and includes the information provided in Section F, Schedule 4, and parts of Form T1235, Directors/Trustees and Like Officials Worksheet, and Form RC232-WS, Director/Officer Worksheet and Ontario Corporations Information Act Annual Return. Form T2081, Excess Corporate Holdings Worksheet for Private Foundations, also collects some confidential information, which is discussed in Guide T2082, Excess Corporate Holdings Regime for Private Foundations. Confidential information is only available to authorized representatives of the charity or in specific circumstances as follows:

• Under the Income Tax Act, the CRA can share some confidential information with other government departments and agencies.
• The CRA also may be required to release confidential information in connection with certain legal proceedings.

Public information from the Registered Charity Basic Information Sheet includes:

• designation
• fiscal period end
• registration date
• registration number
• telephone number
• fax number
• email address
• Web site address
• contact name or position
• name the charity is known by other than its registered name
• program areas

Public information from the Registered Charity Information Return includes:

• Section A - Identification
• Parts of Section B - Directors/trustees and like officials
• Section C - Programs and general information
• Section D - Financial information or Schedule 6, Detailed Financial Information
• Section E - Certification (not available online)
• Schedule 1, Foundations
• Schedule 2, Activities Outside Canada
• Schedule 3, Compensation
• Schedule 5, Non-Cash Gifts

Public information from attachments includes:

• Form T1235, Directors/Trustees and Like Officials Worksheet (public portion only)
• Form T1236, Qualified Donees Worksheet/Amounts Provided to Other Organizations
• Form RC232-WS, Director/Officer Worksheet and Ontario Corporations Information Act Annual Return, or Form RC232, Ontario Corporations Information Act Annual Return (public portion only)
• Form T2081, Excess Corporate Holdings Worksheet for Private Foundations (public portion only)
• Financial statements

It is the charity's responsibility to ensure that the annual information return is accurately completed. A charity's return is posted on our Web site as received, and may not have had its contents verified.

The annual information return is a way for charities to inform the public about its activities and finances. The more complete a return is, the easier it is for the public to understand. Conversely, a return that is not complete or not accurate could affect a charity's public image.