Rectification is an equitable remedy that asks a court to correct a written instrument so that it reflects the parties' true, agreed intention where the document, as drafted, records something different. In the tax context, taxpayers have sought rectification to fix drafting errors in corporate or trust documents that produced unintended tax results.
The Supreme Court of Canada has narrowed this remedy for tax purposes. Rectification is available to correct a document that fails to record a prior, specific, and common agreement, but it cannot be used simply to achieve a more favourable tax outcome or to rewrite a transaction the parties did not actually agree to. A taxpayer who establishes only a general intention to minimize tax, without a precise prior agreement, will generally not obtain rectification.