Year-End Change Approval Checker
A year-end change needing approval is filed elsewhere. Three answers show whether yours is a nil return or a referral.
Written and reviewed by Sharad Gondaliya, CPA (Ontario), CPA Ontario Membership 61040184.
Last reviewed: November 2, 2026
Answer the questions above.
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 This Checker Actually Decides
It decides where your return is filed, not whether a year-end change is a good idea. There is one case in which a change takes a corporation outside nil filing: where the change still needs the Canada Revenue Agency to approve it. That case goes to our sister office instead.
Every other answer leaves you with ordinary tax years. A first year-end is chosen rather than approved, an unchanged year-end raises nothing, and a change already approved simply leaves two periods to file.
The Four Answers Side by Side
| Your situation | Approval | What you file |
|---|---|---|
| First tax year | Not applicable | One return, on a year-end you choose, capped at 53 weeks |
| Year-end unchanged | Not applicable | One return per year on the same date |
| Change already approved | Settled | Two periods, two returns, two deadlines, the fee on each |
| Change still needing approval | Outstanding | Filed by our sister office rather than here |
The year-end change impact calculator dates the periods a change creates once it is settled, and the fiscal period length calculator measures one against the 53-week limit.
The One Limit on a First Year-End
A first tax year cannot exceed 53 weeks. That is a length limit rather than an approval step, and it is the only constraint on the first year-end a corporation picks.
It still catches people, because a year-end chosen for tidiness can sit more than 53 weeks after the incorporation date. Where it does, the first period has to end earlier and a second period picks up the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does changing a fiscal year-end need CRA approval?
Some changes do. Where a change needs the Canada Revenue Agency to approve it, the filing is outside this service and we route you to our sister office at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year. Where the change is already settled, the periods it created are ordinary tax years and a quiet one is an ordinary nil return.
Does a year-end change mean two returns?
Yes. The old year-end closes one tax year and the new one opens the next, so there are two periods, each with its own return and its own deadline six months after it ends. Each carries $300.00 plus HST per tax year.
Can I choose any year-end for a first return?
Any date, with one limit: the first tax year cannot exceed 53 weeks. The year-end also has to match the record the Canada Revenue Agency holds, or the transmission is rejected.
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.
Start Nil T2 Filing NOW