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You can file a corporation federally online for $200, and Corporations Canada lists the processing time as 1 day. Express service adds $100 and takes 4 hours. That’s the government fee only, and it’s the small part of the bill.
What does it cost to file a corporation?
Federal incorporation under the Canada Business Corporations Act is the route with a published price, and the Corporations Canada fee and processing times page shows the $200 and $100 figures. You pick a name, fill in the articles, list a registered office and your directors, and pay. The name search is now part of the online form when you choose a word name, so you no longer order a Nuans report first. If you don’t care about the name, you can take a numbered one.
Provincial incorporation is a different filing with its own fee. The current provincial fees weren’t confirmed for every province, so check your province’s registry before you budget. The same goes for extra registrations if you plan to operate outside the province where you incorporate.
What a lawyer or accountant charges to do it for you is a separate matter, and this page can’t quote it. Ask for the price in writing before you start.
Is it worth it for a small business?
Sometimes. The main tax reason is the low rate on the first $500,000 of active business income that a Canadian-controlled private corporation earns. Federally it nets to 9%, against 15% on everything above. The table shows what the calculator gives on $100,000 of profit in a few provinces.
| Province | Federal tax | Provincial tax | Total | Share of profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario (calendar 2026, blended) | $9,000 | $2,696 | $11,696 | 11.7% |
| British Columbia | $9,000 | $2,000 | $11,000 | 11.0% |
| Alberta | $9,000 | $2,000 | $11,000 | 11.0% |
| Nova Scotia | $9,000 | $1,500 | $10,500 | 10.5% |
| Saskatchewan | $9,000 | $1,000 | $10,000 | 10.0% |
Picture Priya, a designer in Halifax who clears $100,000 a year and wants to leave about half of it in the business to build a cushion. Her corporation would pay about $10,500 of tax on that profit, per the table. The part she takes home still gets taxed on her own return, though, so the real comparison is the whole path from profit to pocket, not the corporate bill alone. It’s a ballpark, not a quote.
Ontario needs a warning. Its small business rate falls from 3.2% to 2.2% on 1 July 2026, so a corporation with a calendar year gets a blend. The 2.70% behind the $2,696 is a day count, not a published figure, and a different year end gives a different answer. From 2027 the Ontario total should be 11.2%. Run your own numbers in the corporate tax calculator.
What does a corporation save compared with working for yourself?
Less than the table suggests. Say you clear $80,000 in Ontario. As a sole proprietor, the self-employed tax calculator shows $22,126.47 of income tax and CPP, which is 27.7%, and it leaves EI out. The same $80,000 inside a corporation pays $9,356.80 of corporate tax.
Now the catch. That money is in the company, not in your pocket. When you pay it out as salary or dividends, you pay personal tax again. You can see the dividend side in the dividend tax calculator. A corporation helps most when you can leave profit inside for a while, for example to pay down debt or invest through the company. If you need every dollar of that $80,000 to pay the mortgage and groceries, the gap mostly disappears.
What do you owe after you file a corporation?
A tax return every year, even with no profit. The T2 is due six months after your year end, and the same day of the sixth month if your year end isn’t the last day of a month. Keep your records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to.
The return deadline and the payment deadline are different dates. Most corporation tax is due two months after year end. A Canadian-controlled private corporation that claimed the small business deduction can get three months if it meets the conditions on the CRA’s balance-due day page. Miss it and interest starts, even if the return isn’t due for months.
If you hire staff, add payroll. The payroll remittance calculator estimates what you send in each pay period. GST/HST registration applies once you pass the small supplier threshold of $30,000 of taxable sales, and you can check the tax on a sale in the GST/HST calculator.
What mistakes cost people money?
Incorporating too early is the common one, and it’s an easy trap because everyone talks about the low rate and nobody mentions the paperwork. If you earn $30,000 part time, the extra filings, bookkeeping and accountant time can eat the tax you save. Another is forgetting that the $500,000 limit is shared with associated corporations, and it shrinks when the corporation earns a lot of investment income. The calculator ignores that, along with credits and the taxable capital reduction.
Quebec adds a paid hours test for its full reduction, which isn’t modelled here. If you’re in Quebec or Newfoundland and Labrador, read the provincial page for your year before you trust any figure on this one.
Where do these figures come from?
Corporate rates come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s corporation tax pages and the T2 guide, dated 2026. Incorporation fees come from Corporations Canada. The Ontario change comes from the CRA’s what’s new page for corporations. Provincial figures for Alberta and Quebec rest on partial official pages, so treat them as good estimates rather than final answers. This site isn’t affiliated with the CRA or any government.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to file a corporation federally?
Corporations Canada lists $200 for online incorporation, with a processing time of 1 day. Express service adds $100 and takes 4 hours.
Do I need a Nuans report first?
Not for an online word name. The name search is part of the federal application. A numbered name skips the choice altogether.
What tax rate does a small corporation pay?
The federal rate is 9% on the first $500,000 of active business income for a Canadian-controlled private corporation, plus a provincial rate. On $100,000 the total is between 10.0% and 11.7% in the provinces we checked.
When is the corporate tax return due?
Six months after your tax year end. Payment can fall due earlier, so check the CRA dates page for your year.
Is provincial incorporation cheaper?
We couldn't confirm provincial fees for every province, so we can't say. Look at your provincial registry page before you decide.
- Self-employed taxes in Canada: income, CPP and GST
How tax works when you are self-employed in Canada: reporting income and expenses, paying both halves of CPP, instalments and when to register for GST