The Complete Guide to the Corporate Compliance Calendar
Every recurring date a Canadian corporation owes, which ones derive from your year-end, and the shortest calendar a dormant corporation keeps. Nil T2 filing is $300.00 plus HST per tax year.
Written and reviewed by Sharad Gondaliya, CPA (Ontario), CPA Ontario Membership 61040184.
Last reviewed: October 27, 2026 · All nil T2 filing guides
On this page
- What Belongs on a Corporate Compliance Calendar
- The T2 Deadline
- The Annual Return Deadline
- Provincial Returns and Their Own Dates
- GST/HST Filing Dates
- Payroll Remittance and the T4
- Changing a Fiscal Year-End
- Registered Office and Director Changes
- The Minute Book and Annual Resolutions
- The Shortest Calendar a Dormant Corporation Can Keep
- Building Your Own Calendar From Your Year-End
- What the Fee Covers
Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation is a registered EFILE electronic filer. Returns are prepared and transmitted in Canada. Credentials are never shared and never used offshore.
What Belongs on a Corporate Compliance Calendar
A compliance calendar holds the dates a corporation owes something to somebody, whether or not it traded. Two kinds of date sit on it, and they behave differently.
| Kind of date | Derived from | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Year-end driven | The corporation’s own fiscal year-end | The T2 deadline |
| Anniversary driven | The date of incorporation | The annual return in some registries |
| Fixed calendar | The calendar year | The T4 deadline at the end of February |
No two corporations have the same calendar unless they share a year-end and an incorporation date, which is why a calendar has to be derived rather than copied.
The T2 Deadline
Six months after the fiscal year-end, every year, for every corporation. This is the one date on the calendar that never has an exception.
A balance of tax, where there is one, is due earlier: two months after the year-end, or three for a Canadian-controlled private corporation meeting the conditions. A corporation with no activity has no balance.
Every year-end and its due date is listed on the deadlines page, and the rules behind them are in the guide to T2 filing deadlines.
The Annual Return Deadline
The annual return is a registry filing. It confirms the directors, the registered office and that the corporation still exists, and it reports no income.
Its date is set by the registry rather than by the tax year, and it is commonly tied to the anniversary of incorporation. A federally incorporated corporation files one with its own fee.
This is the filing whose absence gets a corporation struck from a registry. A corporation can be perfectly current on tax and still be dissolved involuntarily for missing it.
See the guide to provincial and federal annual returns.
Provincial Returns and Their Own Dates
Two provinces collect corporate income tax on their own returns, filed separately from the T2 and on their own deadlines.
| Province | Return | Relationship to the T2 |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | AT1 | A separate return with its own deadline |
| Quebec | CO-17 | A separate return with its own deadline |
| Elsewhere | None | Provincial tax is calculated within the T2 |
Neither the AT1 nor the CO-17 is covered by the fee on this page, and neither is satisfied by filing the T2.
Nil T2 Filing, $300.00 plus HST per tax year
One price for every year and every province. CPA reviewed and transmitted electronically.
GST/HST Filing Dates
A corporation with a GST/HST account files on the frequency assigned to it: monthly, quarterly or annually. The frequency determines the dates, and the account generates them whether or not there was any activity.
A nil GST/HST return is still a return. It does not disappear because there was nothing to report, and it is not covered by the fee for a nil T2.
The account is closed with Form RC145, which is the only thing that stops the dates recurring.
Payroll Remittance and the T4
A payroll account carries two kinds of date: the remittance dates through the year and the annual information return.
| Obligation | Timing | With no employees |
|---|---|---|
| Source deduction remittances | On the assigned frequency | Nil remittances expected |
| T4 information return | The end of February | Still expected while the account is open |
Remittance amounts are the ones that can be assessed against directors personally, which makes an unused open payroll account worth closing rather than ignoring.
Changing a Fiscal Year-End
A year-end is fixed by the first return filed and changing it needs the written approval of the Canada Revenue Agency. The change is not made by filing a return with a different date on it.
An approved change produces a short tax year, and the whole calendar moves with it: the T2 date, the balance date and the instalment pattern all shift.
Registered Office and Director Changes
These are not annual dates. They are event-driven, and the clock starts when the change happens rather than at a year-end.
A registry has to be told within a set period of a change of registered office or of directors. A corporation whose registered address is stale is a corporation that does not receive the registry notice warning it is about to be struck.
A dormant corporation is the most likely to have a stale address, because nobody is checking the post at an office nobody uses.
The Minute Book and Annual Resolutions
The minute book holds the articles, the register of directors and shareholders, the share certificates and the resolutions. It is maintained whether or not the corporation traded.
Annual resolutions are passed each year even in a dormant corporation: the shareholders consider the year, appoint or reappoint directors, and record the decision. A nil year has a short minute, not no minute.
Shareholdings recorded there are what Schedule 50 reports. See the guide to Schedule 50 and shareholder reporting.
The Shortest Calendar a Dormant Corporation Can Keep
Once the unused accounts are closed, a dormant corporation’s calendar reduces to two recurring items and one maintained record.
| Item | Frequency | Consequence of missing it |
|---|---|---|
| The nil T2 | Annually, six months after year-end | The year stays open indefinitely |
| The annual return | Annually, per the registry | The corporation can be struck |
| The minute book | Maintained | Gaps in the corporate record |
That is the floor. It cannot be reduced further while the corporation exists, and the only way to end it is to wind the corporation up.
See the guide to winding up an inactive corporation.
Building Your Own Calendar From Your Year-End
Take the year-end on record, add six months for the T2, add the registry date for the annual return, and add the frequency dates for any account still open. Everything else is event-driven.
A holding corporation with investment income, a rental corporation and a corporation that paid or received a dividend are not nil. Those are handled by Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year.
Each nil T2 year is $300.00 plus HST per tax year. Years already past are worked out by finding out which years are outstanding.
What the Fee Covers
The fee is $300.00 plus HST per tax year, covering one nil T2 return for one corporation for one tax year:
| Included | Detail |
|---|---|
| The T2 return | Including the T2 Short where the corporation qualifies |
| GIFI Schedules 100, 125 and 141 | Where they are required |
| Schedule 24 | On a first return |
| Schedule 50 | For every shareholder at 10% or more |
| Schedule 8 and loss continuity | Recorded |
| Form T183CORP package | With single-use secure e-signing |
| CPA review | Before transmission |
| Electronic transmission | By a registered EFILE electronic filer |
| One corrected transmission | If the Agency rejects the first one |
| CRA confirmation | Emailed within 3 business days |
See the full nil T2 filing cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Dates Does a Dormant Corporation Actually Owe?
Once unused accounts are closed, two recurring filings: the nil T2 six months after each fiscal year-end, and the annual return on the registry’s date. The minute book is maintained alongside them.
Is the Annual Return on the Same Date as the T2?
No. The T2 is six months after the fiscal year-end. The annual return is set by the registry and is commonly tied to the anniversary of incorporation.
Can I Change My Fiscal Year-End to Make the Calendar Simpler?
Only with the written approval of the Canada Revenue Agency. Filing a return with a different date on it does not change the year-end on record.
Do I Still Owe GST/HST Returns With No Activity?
Yes, while the account is open. A nil GST/HST return is still a return, and it is separate from the nil T2. The account is closed with Form RC145.
Do I Need Annual Resolutions in a Dormant Year?
Yes. The shareholders still consider the year and record the decision. A nil year has a short minute rather than no minute.
Why Does the Registered Office Address Matter?
Because that is where a registry sends the notice warning that a corporation is about to be struck for a missed annual return. A dormant corporation is the most likely to have a stale address on file.
Questions Answered in Full
- Do I Need to File a T2 Every Year if My Corporation Is Inactive?
- How Do I Find Out Which T2 Years Are Outstanding?
- When Should I File My First T2 After Incorporating?
- When Should I File a Nil T2 for a Short First Tax Year?
- What Happens if I Don’t Report a Dormant Corporation to the CRA?
- How Do I Fix a Nil T2 Return I Filed With the Wrong Year-End?
The Other Nil T2 Filing Guides
- The Complete Guide to Numbered Company Maintenance
- The Complete Guide to Mandatory T2 Electronic Filing
- The Complete Guide to Schedule 50 and Shareholder Reporting
- The Complete Guide to Non-Resident-Owned Corporation Nil Filing
- The Complete Guide to the Nil T2 Return
- The Complete Guide to Dormant and Inactive Corporations
- The Complete Guide to Catching Up on Unfiled Corporate Tax Returns
- The Complete Guide to the Final T2 and Dissolution
- The Complete Guide to T2 Short Eligibility
- The Complete Guide to Provincial and Federal Annual Returns
- The Complete Guide to Form T183CORP Signing and Transmission
- How to File a Nil T2 Return
Nil T2 Filing, $300.00 plus HST per tax year
Type your corporation name, pick your unfiled years, pay, and sign Form T183CORP on a secure screen. Your CRA confirmation is emailed within 3 business days.