Nil T2 vs a Loss T2
A nil year had no activity, so no loss arises. A loss year had real expenses exceeding real revenue. Only one of them is a nil return.
A Quiet Year Produces No Loss
These two are often confused, and the confusion is reasonable: both years end with no tax to pay. They get there differently. A nil year had no revenue, no expenses, no income of any kind and no disposition of property, so net income is nil and there is nothing to carry anywhere.
A loss year had real figures that went the wrong way. Expenses exceeded revenue, which creates a non-capital loss, and that loss is an asset of a kind: it can be carried twenty years forward or three years back against income in another year.
That is also why the two are priced differently. A corporation that claims expenses is not nil, so a loss year is not what this service files. It is prepared at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year, and we say so before anything is charged.
The Comparison, Row by Row
Prices checked November 5, 2026. Both figures are our own published fee.
| Item | Nil T2 Return | Loss T2 Return |
|---|---|---|
| Our published fee for the tax year | $300.00 plus HST per tax year | Not nil. Prepared by Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year |
| A second tax year | $300.00 plus HST per tax year | The same, at $350.00 plus HST per year |
| What happened in the tax year | No revenue, no expenses, no income of any kind and no disposition of property | Real expenses exceeding real revenue |
| Net income for the year | Nil, so no loss arises | A non-capital loss to carry forward |
| Whether this service covers it | Yes, at $300.00 plus HST per tax year | No. A corporation that claims expenses is not nil |
| Schedule 4, Corporation Loss Continuity and Application | Filed where there is anything to record. The running total usually carries forward unchanged | Filed, with the year’s new non-capital loss added to the record |
| Schedule 8, capital cost allowance | Filed where the corporation holds depreciable property, usually claiming nil | Filed, and the size of the claim is a decision taken against real revenue |
| How long a non-capital loss lasts | None arises, so nothing is carried and nothing expires | Twenty years forward and three years back |
| What happens to the capital cost allowance pool | It carries forward, reduced by what is claimed and by anything sold | The same pool, on the same rules |
| Why the years are filed oldest first | Each return’s closing balances are the next one’s opening balances | The same, because continuity only runs forwards |
Six rows differ and two do not. The two that do not are the mechanics both years share: pools and continuity run forwards either way. What separates them is simpler than the schedules suggest. A nil year had no activity at all, so net income is nil and no loss arises. A loss year had real expenses exceeding real revenue, which creates a non-capital loss to carry forward.
This comparison sets two of our own filing routes against each other 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.
What the Two Schedules Actually Carry
The numbering is the part most easily got wrong, because the two schedules are filed together and spoken of as one:
- Schedule 8 is the capital cost allowance schedule. It records the corporation’s depreciable property, the class each asset sits in, and how much depreciation is claimed for the year.
- Loss continuity is reported on Schedule 4, Corporation Loss Continuity and Application, not on Schedule 8.
- Capital cost allowance is discretionary. A corporation may claim anything from nil up to the maximum the class allows, and the choice is made each year.
- On a nil year the usual answer is to claim nil, because claiming against no income creates a non-capital loss, and a non-capital loss expires.
- Leaving the claim unmade keeps the undepreciated capital cost in the pool, where it lasts indefinitely while the pool exists.
- A non-capital loss is the ordinary kind, from expenses exceeding revenue, and runs twenty years forward and three years back. A net capital loss comes from selling capital property for less than it cost, and carries forward indefinitely.
- A year that was never filed is a gap in the record, so the continuity has to be rebuilt before the later years can be assessed correctly.
A corporation that claims expenses is not nil. This service is for a corporation with no activity in the tax year; a loss year is prepared by Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year.
The loss continuity checker takes what carries forward on a quiet year, the Schedule 8 requirement checker settles whether the corporation has depreciable property at all, and the complete guide to Schedule 8 and loss continuity sets out both schedules in full.
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 Quiet Year Is the One We File
Nil T2 filing covers a tax year with no activity, at $300.00 plus HST per tax year, with Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 where there is anything to record on them.
Reviewed by a CPA
The return is prepared and reviewed by a CPA Ontario member before it is transmitted.
Continuity is recorded, not ignored
Schedule 8 and loss continuity are inside the fee where the corporation has anything to record on them, so the pools and the running loss total carry forward correctly.
What is not inside the fee
A loss year, because a corporation that claims expenses is not nil. Nor is a holding corporation with investment income, a rental corporation or a corporation that paid or received a dividend. Those are handled at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year.
A corporation still holding a vehicle and a computer from its trading days, quiet for the tax year
It has depreciable property, so Schedule 8 is in play even though nothing happened. Claiming capital cost allowance against no income would create a non-capital loss, and that loss expires twenty years later; claiming nil keeps the undepreciated capital cost in the pool, where it lasts as long as the pool does. So the usual answer on a quiet year is to claim nil, and the year stays a nil return at $300.00 plus HST per tax year rather than becoming a loss year. The choice is made again each year, because capital cost allowance is discretionary. The figures here illustrate how the rules apply and are not drawn from a client file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a nil year the same as a loss year?
No. A nil year had no activity, so net income is nil and no loss arises. A loss needs real expenses exceeding real revenue.
Do you file a loss year?
No. A corporation that claims expenses is not nil. A loss year is prepared by Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year.
Can I claim my expenses on a nil return to create a loss?
A year with expenses in it is not a nil year. Claiming them makes the return a loss return, which is a different service at a different price.
How long does a non-capital loss last?
Twenty years forward and three years back. A net capital loss carries forward indefinitely and back three years.
Which schedule carries the losses?
Schedule 4, Corporation Loss Continuity and Application. Schedule 8 is the capital cost allowance schedule, and the two are filed together, which is why they are often spoken of as one.
Does a nil year need Schedule 8 at all?
Only where the corporation holds depreciable property. One that still has equipment, a vehicle or a computer from its trading days does, even in a year when nothing happened.
Should I claim capital cost allowance on a quiet year?
Usually nil. Claiming against no income creates a non-capital loss that expires, while claiming nothing keeps the undepreciated capital cost in the pool, where it does not.
Is that choice fixed for good?
No. Capital cost allowance is discretionary and the choice is made each year, anywhere from nil up to the maximum the class allows.
What happens to the pool if I claim nothing?
It stays. The undepreciated capital cost remains in the pool indefinitely, while the pool exists, and carries forward to a future year.
Are Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 included in your fee?
Yes, where the corporation has anything to record on them. Both are inside $300.00 plus HST per tax year.
What does an unfiled year do to the continuity?
It leaves a gap in the record. The losses and pools have no filed return carrying them forward, so the continuity has to be rebuilt before the later years can be assessed correctly.
Why are several years filed oldest first?
Because continuity only runs forwards. Each return’s closing balances are the next one’s opening balances.
Can a corporation have nil years and loss years mixed together?
Yes. Each tax year is assessed on its own, so a quiet year and a trading year that lost money can sit side by side in the same catch-up.
What if I am not sure which kind of year I had?
Any revenue, any expense, income of any kind or a disposition of property takes the year out of nil. The amount is irrelevant to that test.
Which tool should I run first?
The loss continuity checker, which takes what carries forward on a quiet year.
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.