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The Canada Revenue Agency often tells us to de-register. What does that mean?

The Canada Revenue Agency assumes your organization no longer has any taxable activities and no intent of engaging in taxable activities in future. If this assumption is accurate, then you are no longer required to be registered, and the CRA can cancel your GST registration. However, Canada Revenue Agency’s assumption may not be correct because:

  • Your organization may be involved in taxable activities the CRA is not aware of;
  • You may be planning some taxable activities in the foreseeable future, such as developing another subsidized housing project; or
  • You may have completed a building but have not yet claimed all the input tax credits by the interest adjustment date (IAD). As long as your organization is registered, you can continue to claim input tax credits on the construction costs, generally up to four years. (Certain registrants with more than $6 million per year in taxable revenues have between two and three years to claim input tax credits.)
In these situations, you should insist your organization remain registered.