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A Canadian corporation files its T2 return within six months of its tax year end. Miss that date and the CRA charges 5% of the unpaid tax plus 1% for each full month late. The tax itself is due sooner, two months after year end for most corporations.
What are the filing requirements for Canadian corporations?
There are four layers, and they run on different clocks. The income tax return goes to the CRA. GST/HST and payroll filings run on their own schedules. Then there’s the corporate registry, which is a separate body from the tax office. Owners often mix these up, since a company can be fully compliant on one and behind on another.
| Filing | Deadline | Who receives it |
|---|---|---|
| T2 corporate return | 6 months after tax year end | CRA |
| Tax owing | 2 months after year end; 3 months for a qualifying CCPC | CRA |
| Federal annual return (CBCA) | Within 60 days after the incorporation anniversary | Corporations Canada |
| GST/HST registration | When taxable sales pass $30,000 over four quarters | CRA |
| Business records | Keep for 6 years after the last tax year they relate to | You |
When is a corporation’s T2 return due?
The date follows your year end. The CRA’s page on when to file your corporation income tax return says to file within six months of the end of each tax year. If the year ends on the last day of a month, the return is due on the last day of the sixth month after. The CRA’s example is a March 31 year end, with a return due September 30. If the due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the next business day counts.
The balance is separate. A Canadian-controlled private corporation gets three months instead of two if it was a CCPC all year, claimed the small business deduction this year or last, and has taxable income within the business limit. Miss one of those and it’s two.
What if the company earned nothing? A dormant company’s duties depend on its situation, and the CRA pages we read don’t give a blanket answer. Check with the CRA before assuming you can skip the return.
What does the return cost you in tax?
The federal rate is 9% on the first $500,000 of active business income for a qualifying CCPC, and 15% above that. Provinces add their own. On $100,000 in Ontario, the corporate tax calculator gives about $11,700 of combined tax at the small business rate, against about $26,500 at the general rate.
Now the hedge. Ontario moved its small business rate from 3.2% to 2.2% from July 1, 2026, per the CRA. The calculator blends the two for a calendar 2026 year, and that blend is a derived figure, not a published one. The tool covers associated corporations and the passive income limit only through optional boxes, so a company with investments or sister companies should ask an accountant.
Once profit leaves the company, the owner pays personal tax too. The dividend tax calculator shows that second layer.
What does the annual return with Corporations Canada involve?
Only federal corporations file it. If you incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act, you file within 60 days after each anniversary of incorporation, except for the year you incorporated. The anniversary is on your certificate. An early filing is rejected. Since January 22, 2024, the return also carries information on individuals with significant control.
Provincial corporations answer to their own registries, and the timing differs by province, so look at your registry’s site.
What does a late filing actually cost?
Take a corporation with $8,000 of tax unpaid on the due date. If it files three full months late, the penalty is 5% plus 3%, so 8% of $8,000, or $640, on top of interest. File twelve months late and it’s 5% plus 12%, 17%, or $1,360. The CRA sets out the rule on its page on avoiding penalties, and the cap on months is 12 for a first offence.
Filing on time even when you can’t pay in full is almost always cheaper. The penalty is a percentage of what’s unpaid, so paying part by the due date shrinks it.
Common mistakes with corporate filings
Treating the T2 date as the payment date is the classic one. A December 31 year end means a June 30 return, but the tax is due at the end of February or March.
The next is forgetting sales tax. Once your taxable revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive quarters (or in one quarter), you’re no longer a small supplier and must register. The GST/HST calculator shows what you’d collect. Payroll is a third trap, and the payroll remittance calculator estimates what you send in.
Repeat late filers pay more. If the CRA demanded a return and assessed a penalty in any of the last three years, the rate goes to 10% plus 2% a month, up to 20 months.
Where this information comes from
Dates, penalties and the small supplier limit come from Canada Revenue Agency pages, and the annual return rules from Corporations Canada, all checked in October 2026. Tax rates are from the CRA’s corporation tax pages. Because 2026 due dates depend on your own year end, none of them is a fixed calendar date. This is an independent guide, separate from any government body.
Frequently asked questions
When must a Canadian corporation file its T2?
Within six months after its tax year ends. A March 31 year end gives a September 30 due date.
When is corporate tax due?
Two months after year end for most corporations. A qualifying CCPC has three months.
What is the penalty for filing late?
5% of the unpaid tax plus 1% for each full month, up to 12 months. Repeat late filers face 10% plus 2% a month.
Do federal corporations file an annual return?
Yes, with Corporations Canada within 60 days after the incorporation anniversary, except in the year of incorporation.
When must a corporation register for GST/HST?
When taxable revenues pass $30,000 in one quarter or over four consecutive quarters.
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