Permanent Establishment Checker
A permanent establishment is a fixed place through which a corporation carries on business. Quebec and Alberta collect their own corporate income tax.
Written and reviewed by Sharad Gondaliya, CPA (Ontario), CPA Ontario Membership 61040184.
Last reviewed: November 9, 2026
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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 a Permanent Establishment Is
A fixed place through which the corporation carries on business. For a dormant corporation that is generally its registered office, which is why a company that does nothing all year still has an establishment somewhere.
It matters because two provinces collect their own corporate income tax. An establishment in either one brings that province’s return with it, in addition to the federal T2, and the guide to the Quebec CO-17 and the Alberta AT1 sets out both.
Which Provinces Collect Their Own
| Where the establishment is | The provincial return | Is it separate from the T2 |
|---|---|---|
| Quebec | CO-17 | Yes, a separate return |
| Alberta | AT1 | Yes, a separate return |
| Ontario | Collected with the federal return | No separate provincial income tax return |
| Anywhere else | Not named on this site | This site states no other provincial return |
The last row is deliberate. This site publishes the Quebec and Alberta position because those two administer their own corporate income tax, and it does not state a position for provinces it has not published.
What That Means for the Fee
A corporation with a Quebec or Alberta permanent establishment needs work this service does not price, and pretending otherwise would be worse than saying so.
So this page is a boundary rather than a quotation. Where the answers bring a CO-17 or an AT1 into play, the work is outside nil T2 filing at $300.00 plus HST per tax year. Where they do not, the federal return is the whole of it. The provincial return requirement checker asks the same question from the other end.
Where the corporation has its fixed place of business is a different question from whether the year was nil, and this page answers only the first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a permanent establishment?
A fixed place through which the corporation carries on business. For a dormant corporation that is generally its registered office.
My corporation is dormant. Does it have one?
Generally yes, at its registered office. Being dormant does not remove the address, and the address is what the test turns on.
Why only Quebec and Alberta?
Because those two administer their own corporate income tax, so each has its own return. Ontario corporate tax is collected with the federal return instead.
Is the CO-17 part of the T2?
No. Quebec administers its own corporate income tax, so the CO-17 is a separate return filed in addition to the federal one.
Is the AT1 part of the T2?
No. The same applies in Alberta: the AT1 is a separate provincial return.
Do you file the CO-17 or the AT1?
No. A corporation with a Quebec or Alberta permanent establishment needs work this service does not price, and pretending otherwise would be worse than saying so.
I am registered in Quebec but have no office there.
Registration and a fixed place of business are different questions. What this page asks about is the fixed place.
Does an establishment make the year not nil?
Not by itself. Where the corporation has its fixed place of business and whether it did anything in the year are two separate questions.
What if I have establishments in two provinces?
Then each province that collects its own corporate income tax wants its own return. The table above names them one at a time.
What is the federal position either way?
The T2 is owed within six months of the fiscal year-end wherever the establishment is.
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.
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