What Happens if I Don’t Respond to a CRA Demand to File a T2?
$300.00 Plus HST Per Tax Year
We are a registered EFILE electronic filer. Your return is transmitted to the Canada Revenue Agency electronically.
Written and reviewed by Sharad Gondaliya, CPA (Ontario), CPA Ontario Membership 61040184.
The Canada Revenue Agency can assess the corporation arbitrarily, without waiting for the return. A demand to file is a formal request, and the return remains due within six months of the fiscal year-end regardless. Filing the real return replaces an arbitrary assessment with the corporation’s actual figures.
What Happens if I Don’t Respond to a CRA Demand to File a T2?
| Point | Figure |
|---|---|
| Months after the fiscal year-end the T2 is due | 6 |
| Tax owing on a true nil return | $0.00 |
| Percentage late-filing penalty on a true nil return | $0.00 |
| Non-resident-owned corporation penalty | $25.00 per day, to $2,500.00 |
| Fee to file | $300.00 plus HST per tax year |
A true nil return carries no percentage late-filing penalty, because that penalty is a percentage of tax owing and the corporation owes $0.00. The unfiled year still stays open forever, invites a demand to file and an arbitrary assessment, blocks a clearance certificate and dissolution, and costs a non-resident-owned corporation $25.00 per day up to $2,500.00.
An arbitrary assessment is the Agency assessing on its own figures because no return was filed. It does not close the year in the way a filed return does, and it is replaced once the real return is assessed.
Filing a Nil Return
This service is for a corporation with no activity in the tax year. A corporation with investment income, rental income, or dividends paid or received is not nil.
We are a registered EFILE electronic filer. Your return is transmitted to the Canada Revenue Agency electronically, and your CRA confirmation is emailed within 3 business days. You sign Form T183CORP before we transmit. The fee is $300.00 plus HST per tax year. See the full nil T2 filing cost, every T2 filing deadline, and catch-up nil T2 filing for outstanding years.
For the whole subject in one place, see the complete guide to the nil T2 return.
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Last reviewed: October 16, 2026