Schedule 546 Ontario Annual Return Checker
The Ontario annual return travelled with the T2 until 2021 and goes through the Ontario Business Registry from October 2021.
Written and reviewed by Sharad Gondaliya, CPA (Ontario), CPA Ontario Membership 61040184.
Last reviewed: November 5, 2026
Enter the tax year-end 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 Changed in October 2021
Until 2021 the Ontario annual return was filed alongside the T2. 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 of it. The filing did not go away and it did not change what it reports: it changed where it goes, and the T2 stopped carrying it.
The Two Routes, Either Side of the Cutover
| Tax year ending | Where the annual return went | What prompted it |
|---|---|---|
| Before October 2021 | Alongside the T2 | Preparing the T2, because the two travelled together |
| From October 2021 | Through the Ontario Business Registry | Nothing in the T2. The prompt has to come from the owner or the adviser |
The Ontario Business Registry filing checker names what else goes through the registry.
The Annual Return Is Still Owed Either Way
An annual return confirms the registered office address, the directors and the officers, and it carries no tax and no payment. An annual return is not a tax filing, so having no income does not excuse it.
So a dormant corporation owes one for every year, on whichever route applied to that year. Filing the T2 does not satisfy it, and filing it does not satisfy the T2.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the T2 still carry the Ontario annual return?
Not for a tax year ending from October 2021. Until 2021 it was filed alongside the T2; since then it goes through the Ontario Business Registry.
Why do people still think it travels with the T2?
Because it did until 2021, and because nothing in the corporate tax return now prompts an owner to file it separately.
Does a dormant corporation still owe one?
Yes. An annual return confirms directors and the registered office rather than income, so having no activity does not excuse it.
What was Schedule 546?
The Ontario annual return in the form it took while it travelled with the T2: a schedule inside the corporate tax return rather than a filing of its own.
My tax year straddles the change. Which route applies?
The calculator reads the year-end, because the year-end is what dates the return. Enter it above and it names the route that applied to that year.
Did what the annual return asks for change as well?
No. It confirms the directors and the registered office either way. What changed is where it is filed, and that it is no longer part of the tax return.
My accountant files the T2. Does that cover it?
Not for a year ending from October 2021. Once the schedule left the return, filing the T2 stopped producing an annual return, and nothing in the return now prompts anyone to file one.
Is the Ontario annual return inside the filing fee?
No. Nil T2 filing at $300.00 plus HST per tax year covers the corporate tax return. An annual return is a registry filing and sits outside it.
Can an annual return that was missed still be filed?
An outstanding annual return goes through the registry whichever year it belongs to. How many are outstanding is a separate question, and the missed annual returns calculator counts them.
Does a skipped year before 2021 matter now?
It leaves the registry record out of date for that year. An annual return that was never filed stays unfiled, and a later one does not stand in for it.
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