Ontario Annual Return vs the T2
Two filings are both called a return. One goes to the Ontario Business Registry and one to the Canada Revenue Agency, and neither satisfies the other.
Two Filings, Both Called a Return
Two different things are called a return, and confusing them is the most common compliance gap a dormant corporation has. One is a tax return and one is a registry filing, and they go to different bodies on different dates for different reasons.
Until 2021 the Ontario annual return was filed alongside the T2, so one act covered both and nobody had to know the difference. Since October 2021 it is filed through the Ontario Business Registry instead, and a corporation that has not looked at the rules since then is probably not filing it.
That is the whole problem in one sentence. Because the filing moved out of the T2, nothing in the corporate tax return now prompts an owner to do it. The prompt has to come from the owner or the adviser.
The Comparison, Row by Row
Prices checked November 5, 2026. Our own published fee is for the nil T2. We file nil T2 returns only, so the left column carries no fee of ours.
| Item | Ontario Annual Return | Nil T2 Return |
|---|---|---|
| Our published fee for a quiet year | Not offered. We file nil T2 returns only | $300.00 plus HST per tax year |
| What the filing itself costs the corporation | No tax and no payment | No tax on a quiet year, because the corporation owes $0.00. The fee above is for preparing, reviewing and transmitting the return |
| Which body receives it | The Ontario Business Registry | The Canada Revenue Agency |
| What it reports | The registered office address, the directors and the officers | The corporation’s income and financial position for the tax year |
| When it is due | At the tax year-end, through the Ontario Business Registry | Six months after the fiscal year-end |
| Whether filing one satisfies the other | No. Filing an annual return does not satisfy the T2 | No. Filing the T2 does not satisfy an annual return |
| Whether a dormant corporation owes it | Yes. It confirms directors rather than income, so having no activity does not excuse it | Yes. Every resident corporation files for every tax year, whether or not it did anything |
| Where it was filed before October 2021 | Alongside the T2, which is why many owners believe it still travels with it | On its own, as it always has been |
| What a missed year causes | A registry record that is out of date, and after enough missed years a corporation the registry treats as abandoned | A tax year that stays open, a demand to file and an arbitrary assessment |
| Whether this fee covers it | No. A registry filing is not part of nil T2 filing | Yes, at $300.00 plus HST per tax year |
Nine rows differ and one does not. The one that does not is the row owners most often get wrong: a dormant corporation owes both, because an annual return confirms who the directors are rather than what the corporation earned.
This comparison sets a registry filing we do not offer against the tax return we do, and names no other provider. Where a comparison on this site does name one, it states that provider’s published prices and published features only.
The Two Trails Are Independent
Being current on one says nothing at all about the other:
- Filing the T2 does not satisfy an annual return, and filing an annual return does not satisfy the T2. A corporation needs both, every year, for as long as it exists.
- A corporation can be fully current on its T2 filings and still be struck from its registry.
- It can be in good standing at the registry while owing ten years of T2 returns.
- An annual return is not a tax filing, so having no income does not excuse it. A dormant corporation confirms its directors and its registered office every year exactly as an active one does.
- A missed annual return does not create tax. It creates a registry record that is out of date, and after enough missed years a corporation the registry treats as abandoned.
- Where annual returns go unfiled for long enough, the registry may dissolve or strike the corporation. That is not dissolution for tax purposes, and it cancels no outstanding T2 return.
A corporation struck from a registry with unfiled tax years is in the worst of both positions: it cannot trade and it still owes returns.
The annual return versus tax return checker separates the two for your own corporation, the involuntary dissolution checker takes being struck from the registry, and the complete guide to provincial and federal annual returns sets out every registry and every date.
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.
The T2 Is the Part We File
Nil T2 filing covers the federal corporate return for a quiet year, at $300.00 plus HST per tax year. The registry filing stays with the corporation.
Reviewed by a CPA
The return is prepared and reviewed by a CPA Ontario member before it is transmitted.
What the fee covers
The T2 itself, GIFI Schedules 100, 125 and 141 where required, Schedule 50, Schedule 24 on a first return, Schedule 8 and loss continuity, and electronic transmission.
What it does not cover
Registry annual returns are separate filings and are not included. So are the Alberta AT1 and the Quebec CO-17, each a separate provincial return where the corporation is in that province.
An Ontario corporation with six years of filed T2 returns and no annual returns since 2021
Its tax record is clean: six quiet years, each filed, each with a CRA confirmation. Its registry record is four years out of date, because the annual return stopped travelling with the T2 in October 2021 and nothing in the tax return prompted anyone to file it. The two trails are independent, so the clean tax record does not help at the registry, and after enough missed years the registry may strike the corporation. Being struck is not dissolution for tax purposes and cancels no outstanding T2 return. We file the T2 side at $300.00 plus HST per tax year; the annual returns are filed through the Ontario Business Registry by the corporation. The figures here illustrate how the rules apply and are not drawn from a client file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Ontario annual return the same as the T2?
No. The T2 is a tax return filed with the Canada Revenue Agency. The annual return is a registry filing that confirms the registered office address, the directors and the officers.
Does filing my T2 cover the annual return?
No, and the reverse is also true. Filing an annual return does not satisfy the T2. A corporation needs both, every year, for as long as it exists.
Do you file the Ontario annual return for me?
No. We file nil T2 returns only. The annual return is filed through the Ontario Business Registry.
Is it included in the $300.00 plus HST per tax year fee?
No. Registry annual returns are separate filings. The fee covers the federal nil T2 corporate tax return.
What does the Ontario annual return cost?
It carries no tax and no payment. What it costs is the filing itself, through the Ontario Business Registry.
Did it used to be filed with the T2?
Yes. Until 2021 it was filed alongside the T2. Since October 2021 it goes through the Ontario Business Registry instead, which is why many owners believe it still travels with the tax return.
Why did nobody tell me it changed?
Because the filing moved out of the T2, nothing in the corporate tax return now prompts an owner to do it. The prompt has to come from the owner or the adviser.
Does a dormant corporation have to file an annual return?
Yes. An annual return is not a tax filing, so having no income does not excuse it. A dormant corporation confirms its directors and registered office exactly as an active one does.
What happens if I miss an annual return?
It does not create tax. It creates a registry record that is out of date, and after enough missed years a corporation the registry treats as abandoned.
Can I be struck from the registry while my taxes are current?
Yes. The two trails are independent. A corporation can be fully current on its T2 filings and still be struck from its registry.
Can it work the other way round?
Yes. A corporation can be in good standing at the registry while owing ten years of T2 returns.
If the registry strikes my corporation, do the T2 returns go away?
No. Being struck is not dissolution for tax purposes and it cancels no outstanding T2 return.
When is each one due?
The T2 is due six months after the fiscal year-end. The Ontario annual return goes at the tax year-end, through the Ontario Business Registry.
What about Alberta and Quebec?
Those are a different thing again. Alberta administers its own corporate income tax through the AT1 and Quebec through the CO-17, each a separate provincial return rather than an annual return.
Which tool should I run first?
The annual return versus tax return checker, which separates what this service covers from what the registry wants.
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.