DIY Filing vs a CPA-Filed Nil T2
A corporation may file its own nil T2. What it takes on by doing so is the GIFI coding, the schedule selection and the year-end accuracy.
Nothing Here Is a Requirement
A corporation is entitled to file its own corporate tax return. There is no rule reserving a nil T2 for an accountant, and this page is not going to suggest there is. Our own published answer to the question puts it plainly: CPA preparation is what the fee buys rather than something the rules demand.
So the comparison is not permission against prohibition. It is about which of three jobs the corporation does itself: the GIFI coding, the schedule selection and the year-end accuracy. A corporation filing on its own with commercial tax software takes on the same checks a CPA would run.
One thing is the same on both sides and worth saying early. For a tax year beginning after 2023, electronic filing of the T2 is mandatory for virtually all corporations, so a self-filed return goes through certified software rather than through the post.
The Comparison, Row by Row
Prices checked November 5, 2026. Our own published fee is for the return we prepare. We do not sell a self-filing route, so the left column carries no fee of ours and no third party’s.
| Item | Filing It Yourself | CPA Filed |
|---|---|---|
| Our published fee for a quiet year | Not offered. We file nil T2 returns only | $300.00 plus HST per tax year |
| A second quiet tax year | Not offered. We file nil T2 returns only | $300.00 plus HST per tax year |
| Whether the rules require a CPA | No. A corporation may file its own return | No. CPA preparation is what the fee buys rather than something the rules demand |
| Who does the GIFI coding | The corporation | A CPA Ontario member, from what sits on the books |
| Who selects the schedules | The corporation | A CPA Ontario member: GIFI Schedules 100, 125 and 141 where required, Schedule 50, Schedule 24 on a first return, Schedule 8 and loss continuity |
| Who checks the fiscal year-end against the Agency’s record | The corporation | Checked before transmission, because a year-end that differs from the one the Agency holds rejects the transmission |
| Review before the return is sent | Whatever the corporation does for itself. Commercial tax software takes on the same checks | CPA review before transmission |
| Electronic filing for a tax year beginning after 2023 | Mandatory, through certified software | Mandatory, by a registered EFILE electronic filer |
| If the first transmission is refused | The corporation reads the error and corrects the return itself | One corrected transmission is included in the fee |
| Several unfiled years | Each is its own return for its own tax year, prepared oldest first by the corporation | Each is its own return for its own tax year, prepared oldest first, at $300.00 plus HST per tax year |
Two rows do not differ, and they are the two worth reading first. The rules do not require a CPA: a corporation may file its own return. And electronic filing is mandatory either way for a tax year beginning after 2023. What differs is who does the GIFI coding, who selects the schedules, who checks the year-end, and what happens when a transmission is refused.
This comparison sets filing a return yourself against the service we sell, and names no other provider and no software. Where a comparison on this site does name one, it states that provider’s published prices and published features only.
The Three Jobs That Move, and Where They Go Wrong
These are the checks that sit with whoever prepares the return:
- The fiscal year-end is the first step and the one that most often goes wrong. The Canada Revenue Agency already holds a fiscal year-end for the corporation, taken from the incorporation record, and the return must carry that same date.
- Owners usually remember the date the business started trading rather than the date on the incorporation record. A year-end that differs from the one the Agency holds rejects the transmission.
- A zero-activity return is not an empty return. The balance sheet carries share capital issued on incorporation, any shareholder loan and retained earnings brought forward even where the income statement is all zeroes.
- Interest credited to a corporate account is investment income whatever the amount, so a year that looked quiet may not be one.
- Which schedules the return carries follows what sits on the corporation’s books, not what kind of year it was.
- Where the first transmission is refused, the error has to be read, the return corrected and the transmission sent again.
CPA preparation is what the fee buys rather than something the rules demand. A corporation may file its own return, and nothing on this page should be read as saying otherwise.
Our answer to whether a nil T2 can be filed without an accountant is the short version, the nil T2 document checklist builds the list of what the return needs, and the complete guide to filing a nil T2 return sets out the whole sequence either route follows. Where the question is what a provider charges rather than which route to take, the published-price pages set six of them beside our own fee: CloudTax, BluePeak, TurboTax, T2inc, TaxDeep and H&R Block.
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 the Fee Buys
A CPA preparing and reviewing the return and transmitting it as a registered EFILE electronic filer, at $300.00 plus HST per tax year.
Reviewed by a CPA
The return is prepared and reviewed by a CPA Ontario member before it is transmitted.
The schedules are inside the fee
GIFI Schedules 100, 125 and 141 where required, Schedule 50, Schedule 24 on a first return, Schedule 8 and loss continuity.
What is not inside the fee
A year that was not quiet. A holding corporation with investment income, a rental corporation and a corporation that paid or received a dividend are not nil, and those years are handled at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year.
A corporation filing its own quiet year, using the date it started trading as the year-end
The return is otherwise right: no revenue, no expenses, nothing disposed of, and $0.00 throughout the income statement. The transmission is refused, because the Canada Revenue Agency holds a fiscal year-end taken from the incorporation record and the return carries a different date. A refused transmission is not a filed return, so the tax year stays exactly as open as it was. Nothing is charged for the refusal, and the fix is to correct the date and send it again. That is the check the fee covers rather than a rule the corporation broke: it may file its own return, and the year-end is simply the step that most often goes wrong. The figures here illustrate how the rules apply and are not drawn from a client file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I file my own nil T2?
Yes. A corporation may file its own corporate tax return. Nothing in the rules requires a CPA.
Then what does the fee buy?
A CPA preparing and reviewing the return and transmitting it. That is what the fee buys rather than something the rules demand.
What do I take on by filing it myself?
The GIFI coding, the schedule selection and the year-end accuracy. A corporation filing on its own with commercial tax software takes on the same checks.
Do you offer a cheaper self-filing option?
No. We file nil T2 returns only, at $300.00 plus HST per tax year. There is no self-serve version of it.
Can I post a paper return instead?
For a tax year beginning after 2023, electronic filing is mandatory for virtually all corporations. Either route transmits electronically.
What goes wrong most often on a self-filed return?
The fiscal year-end. The Agency already holds one for the corporation, taken from the incorporation record, and the return must carry that same date.
Why would the year-end be wrong?
Owners usually remember the date the business started trading rather than the date on the incorporation record. A year-end that differs from the one the Agency holds rejects the transmission.
Is a nil return just zeroes all the way through?
No. A zero-activity return is not an empty return. The balance sheet carries share capital, any shareholder loan and retained earnings brought forward.
Could my quiet year not be nil at all?
It is possible. Interest credited to a corporate account is investment income whatever the amount, so a few dollars takes the year out of it.
Which schedules does the return need?
It follows what sits on the corporation’s books rather than the kind of year it was. The nil T2 document checklist builds the list from four answers.
What happens if my own transmission is refused?
A refused transmission is not a filed return, so the year stays open. The error has to be read, the return corrected and the transmission sent again.
Is a corrected transmission included in your fee?
Yes. One corrected transmission is included where the Agency rejects the first one.
Can I file several unfiled years myself?
Yes. Each is its own return for its own tax year, prepared oldest first so the closing balances of one open the next.
What if the year turns out not to be nil?
A holding corporation with investment income, a rental corporation and a corporation that paid or received a dividend are not nil. Those years are handled by Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year.
Which tool should I run first?
The nil T2 document checklist, which names what the return needs before either route starts.
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.