The Complete Guide to Quebec CO-17 and Alberta AT1
Quebec and Alberta each collect their own corporate tax, so each has a separate return. CO-17 and AT1 are not part of the federal T2 and are not covered by the fee. 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 29, 2026 · All nil T2 filing guides
On this page
- Most Provinces Collect Through the Federal Return
- Separate Means Separate
- A Quiet Year Is Quiet on Both Returns
- Neither Is Covered by the Fee
- What Decides Whether a Province Is Involved
- The Registry Annual Return Is a Different Thing
- Alberta: AT1
- Quebec: CO-17
- The Federal T2 Is Still Required
- Both Matter at a Wind-Up
- The Whole of It, in Five Lines
- 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.
Most Provinces Collect Through the Federal Return
In most of Canada a corporation files one corporate income tax return. The province levies its own corporate tax, but it is collected through the federal T2, so the federal return settles both and there is nothing separate to send.
Quebec and Alberta are the exceptions. Each administers its own corporate income tax and each has its own return. Quebec’s is CO-17, filed with Revenu Quebec. Alberta’s is AT1.
| Where the corporation operates | Corporate income tax returns |
|---|---|
| Quebec | The federal T2 and CO-17 |
| Alberta | The federal T2 and AT1 |
| Everywhere else | The federal T2 on its own |
Separate Means Separate
CO-17 is a separate provincial return. AT1 is a separate provincial return. That phrasing is deliberate and it is worth taking literally: neither is a schedule attached to the T2, neither is produced as a by-product of filing federally, and filing the T2 does not file either.
Each has its own form, its own filing, and its own deadline. A corporation that files a perfect T2 and nothing else has met one of its two obligations.
The provincial return requirement checker answers which of them apply to a particular corporation, in two questions.
A Quiet Year Is Quiet on Both Returns
A corporation with no activity has nothing to report provincially either, so the provincial return for that year is nil in the same way the federal one is.
Being nil does not make it optional. The obligation follows from the corporation having a permanent establishment in the province, not from there being something to report, so a nil year is still a return to file.
This is the same logic as every other obligation on a dormant corporation, and it is the single most useful thing to understand about nil filing: the question is never whether anything happened, it is whether an obligation exists. The guide to zero-activity corporate tax returns works through that distinction.
Neither Is Covered by the Fee
The fee of $300.00 plus HST per tax year covers one nil federal T2 return for one corporation for one tax year. CO-17 is not covered by it, and neither is AT1.
Stating that plainly is better than leaving it to be discovered. A corporation with a Quebec or Alberta permanent establishment needs work this service does not price, and pretending otherwise would be worse than saying so.
Where a provincial return is needed it is handled by Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year. The nil T2 filing cost page sets out the whole boundary of what sits inside the fee.
Nil T2 Filing, $300.00 plus HST per tax year
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What Decides Whether a Province Is Involved
The test is a permanent establishment in the province, not where the corporation was incorporated and not where the director happens to live. A federally incorporated corporation operating only in Quebec files CO-17; an Ontario corporation with no Quebec presence does not.
Where that test lands for a particular corporation is a question of fact rather than something a web page can settle, and it is not a question to answer by guessing. What this page can do is say which returns exist and what each one is.
A dormant corporation is usually the straightforward case: a corporation that has never operated anywhere has no permanent establishment anywhere, and the federal T2 is the whole of its corporate income tax filing.
The Registry Annual Return Is a Different Thing
This is the commonest confusion on the subject, and it is worth separating carefully, because the two obligations share the words “annual” and “provincial” and nothing else.
| A provincial tax return | A registry annual return | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | CO-17 in Quebec, AT1 in Alberta | A filing confirming the directors and the registered office |
| What it reports | Income and provincial corporate tax | No income at all |
| Who it goes to | The provincial tax administration | The registry the corporation is incorporated with |
| What missing it does | An outstanding return | A striking: the registry dissolves the corporation |
Every corporation owes a registry annual return somewhere, including the 11 provinces and territories that have no separate tax return. The guide to provincial and federal annual returns covers that obligation, and the involuntary dissolution risk checker covers what missing it produces.
Alberta: AT1
AT1 is Alberta’s corporate income tax return, and it is a separate provincial return filed with Alberta rather than part of the federal T2.
A corporation with an Alberta permanent establishment files both. A nil year produces a nil AT1 rather than no AT1, on the same reasoning as everything else here: the obligation follows the permanent establishment rather than the activity.
AT1 is not covered by the fee of $300.00 plus HST per tax year.
Quebec: CO-17
CO-17 is Quebec’s corporate income tax return, filed with Revenu Quebec. It is a separate provincial return, not a schedule of the federal T2 and not produced by filing federally.
A corporation with a Quebec permanent establishment files both. A nil year produces a nil CO-17 rather than no CO-17.
CO-17 is not covered by the fee of $300.00 plus HST per tax year.
Quebec is also the province where the two obligations on this page are most often conflated, because the registry filing and the tax return both sit with Quebec institutions. They remain separate filings with separate consequences.
The Federal T2 Is Still Required
Worth saying because the logic occasionally runs backwards: a corporation that files CO-17 or AT1 has not thereby dealt with the federal return. The T2 is required of every resident corporation, in every province, every tax year, until the corporation is dissolved.
So a Quebec corporation files two returns and an Alberta corporation files two returns. Neither replaces the other, and a nil year means two nil returns rather than one.
A true nil return carries no percentage late-filing penalty, because that penalty is a percentage of tax owing and the corporation owes $0.00. The unfiled year still stays open forever, invites a demand to file and an arbitrary assessment, blocks a clearance certificate and dissolution, and costs a non-resident-owned corporation $25.00 per day up to $2,500.00.
Both Matter at a Wind-Up
A corporation being wound up has to be current on everything, and a provincial return is part of everything. An outstanding CO-17 or AT1 is an outstanding return in the same way an unfiled T2 is.
Where a clearance certificate is being sought, the request rests on a complete filing record. The federal side of that is what this service covers; the provincial side, where it exists, is handled at gondaliyacpa.ca.
The guide to winding up an inactive corporation sets out the order the steps have to happen in, and the clearance certificate requirement checker covers the certificate itself.
The Whole of It, in Five Lines
If nothing else on this page is remembered, these are the five facts that matter.
| The fact | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Quebec collects its own corporate tax: CO-17 is a separate provincial return |
| 2 | Alberta collects its own corporate tax: AT1 is a separate provincial return |
| 3 | Everywhere else the province collects through the federal T2, so the T2 is the only corporate income tax return |
| 4 | A nil year still produces a return on each one that applies, because the obligation follows the permanent establishment |
| 5 | The fee of $300.00 plus HST per tax year covers the federal nil T2 only; CO-17 and AT1 are handled at gondaliyacpa.ca |
The complete guide to the nil T2 return is the pillar for the federal return this service does cover.
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
Does Quebec have a separate corporate tax return?
Yes. CO-17 is a separate provincial return, filed with Revenu Quebec. It is not part of the federal T2, and filing the T2 does not file it.
Does Alberta have a separate corporate tax return?
Yes. AT1 is a separate provincial return in the same way, filed with Alberta rather than as part of the federal T2.
What about the other provinces and territories?
Elsewhere the province or territory collects its corporate income tax through the federal return, so the T2 is the only corporate income tax return the corporation files.
Is a nil CO-17 or AT1 still required?
The obligation follows from having a permanent establishment in the province rather than from there being something to report, so a nil year still produces a return on each one that applies.
Are CO-17 and AT1 covered by the fee?
No. The fee of $300.00 plus HST per tax year covers one nil federal T2 return for one corporation for one tax year. Provincial returns are handled by Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year.
Is this the same as the provincial annual return?
No, and they are easy to confuse. A registry annual return confirms the directors and the registered office and reports no income; a provincial tax return reports income and tax. Missing the registry one gets a corporation struck.
Questions Answered in Full
- Do I Need to File a T2 if My Corporation Had No Activity?
- How Do I File a Nil T2 Return in Canada?
- Do I Need to File a T2 Every Year if My Corporation Is Inactive?
- Can I File a Nil T2 Myself Without an Accountant?
- Do I Need Financial Statements for a Nil T2 Return?
- How Do I Know if My Corporation Counts as Dormant?
The Other Nil T2 Filing Guides
- 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
- The Complete Guide to GIFI Schedules 100, 125 and 141
- The Complete Guide to Schedule 8 and Loss Continuity
- The Complete Guide to First-Year T2 Filing
- The Complete Guide to Numbered Company Tax Filing
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.