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A corporate tax accountant files your T2 return, which is due six months after your tax year end. On $100,000 of small business profit in Ontario, the corporate tax bill is about $11,696 for a calendar 2026 year. Most of what you’re paying for is getting that return right and on time.
What does a corporate tax accountant actually do?
The core job is the T2 return and the financial statements behind it. Around that sit the things people forget until they’re late: GST/HST returns, payroll remittances, dividend slips and the yearly paperwork for shareholders. A good one also tells you when a plan won’t work, which is worth more than the filing.
What accountants charge can’t be pinned down here. Fees depend on your books, your number of transactions and how tidy your records are. Ask for a written scope and a price for the first year, and ask what’s extra. A clean set of bank statements and receipts, handed over on time, is the cheapest thing you can do to keep the bill down.
Which rates should your accountant be using?
Federally a Canadian-controlled private corporation pays 9% on its first $500,000 of active business income, and 15% on the rest. The province adds its own rate. This table shows the calculator’s answer on $100,000 of active business income.
| Province | Small business, total | General rate, total |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario (calendar 2026, blended) | $11,696 | $26,500 |
| British Columbia | $11,000 | $27,000 |
| Alberta | $11,000 | $23,000 |
| Saskatchewan | $10,000 | $27,000 |
The Ontario figure moves. Its small business rate drops from 3.2% to 2.2% on 1 July 2026, and the blend in the table is a day count for a calendar year, not a published number. Ask your accountant which rate they’re applying to your year end, because the dates decide which rate applies. You can test different provinces yourself in the corporate tax calculator.
When do you really need a corporate tax accountant?
Early, if you’re deciding whether to incorporate, because that’s the moment a wrong choice costs the most and nobody has yet sent you a bill you could blame on the accountant. Look at the gap on $80,000 in Ontario: the self-employed tax calculator gives $22,126.47 of tax and CPP, while the corporation pays $9,356.80. Then the owner takes money out and pays personal tax again, and the dividend tax calculator shows how that lands.
You also need help when things get complicated. Several companies with the same owners share one small business limit. A corporation with a lot of investment income loses part of that limit, which starts to shrink at $50,000 of adjusted aggregate investment income and reaches nil at $150,000. Owners often don’t see that coming.
How can you check an accountant before you hire?
Ask three plain things. Have they prepared T2 returns for a company like yours? Who signs the return, and who answers if the CRA writes back? How do they want your records delivered?
Then check the credential they claim with the body that issues it. No firm has been checked for this page, and it doesn’t rank or recommend one. A quick call to the regulator beats any review site.
Can you file it yourself instead?
Sometimes. A small company with no staff, a handful of transactions and tidy books can use tax software built for corporations. But a corporation files a T2 every year, even a dormant one, and a mistake in the first year tends to repeat in the next. Many owners hire an accountant for the first return, learn how it was put together, and then decide whether to keep going. That’s a sensible middle path, and you’ll still have the numbers fresh in front of you at tax time.
What are the filing and payment dates?
They aren’t the same day, and that catches people. The CRA says to file the return within six months of the end of each tax year. The tax itself is usually due sooner: two months after year end, or three months for a Canadian-controlled private corporation that meets the conditions on the CRA’s balance-due day page. Ask your accountant to put both dates on a calendar, and to tell you the payment amount well before the date arrives.
What goes wrong most often?
Late filing. Then mixed personal and company spending, and no record of shareholder loans, and missed payroll deposits. If you have staff, the payroll remittance calculator estimates what goes to the CRA each pay period.
Keep everything for six years from the end of the last tax year it relates to.
The calculator has limits. It ignores associated corporations, credits, and the taxable capital reduction, and Quebec has a paid hours test it doesn’t model. So use the numbers to ask better questions, not to replace the return.
Where do the numbers come from?
Rates come from the Canada Revenue Agency corporation tax pages and the T2 guide, for 2026. The Ontario change comes from the CRA’s what’s new page for corporations. Filing and payment dates are from the CRA pages linked above. This site isn’t affiliated with the CRA or any government.
Frequently asked questions
What does a corporate tax accountant do?
They prepare your T2 return and the financial statements behind it. Many also handle GST/HST, payroll remittances and shareholder paperwork.
When is my corporate return due?
Six months after your tax year end. Payment may be due sooner, so ask your accountant for both dates.
How much does a corporate tax accountant cost?
We couldn't confirm fee levels, so we won't quote any. Ask for a written scope and first-year price.
How much tax does $100,000 of profit attract in Ontario?
About $11,696 for a calendar 2026 year at small business rates. Ontario's rate changes on 1 July 2026, so a different year end gives a different figure.
How long should I keep company records?
Six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, unless the CRA allows earlier destruction.
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