Nil T2 vs Ontario and Federal Annual Returns
Three filings, three recipients, and none of them satisfies the others. What the T2, the Ontario annual return and the federal annual return each report and when each is due.
Three Filings That Share a Word
Two of these three are called a return and all three are called annual, which is most of the reason they are confused. They have almost nothing else in common: a different body receives each one, each reports something different, and each is dated by something different.
The T2 is a tax return. The other two are registry filings, and an annual return is not a tax filing, so having no income does not excuse it. A corporation can be fully current on its T2 and still be struck from a register for missing one.
Which of the two registry filings you owe depends on where the corporation is incorporated and registered, not on which you have heard of. A federally incorporated corporation operating in Ontario can owe both, because federal incorporation does not remove the provincial obligation.
The Comparison, Row by Row
Prices checked November 6, 2026. The only fee of ours on this page is our own published fee. The $12.00 Corporations Canada charge is a government fee and sits in the table as one; the Ontario charge is not stated here because this site does not publish it.
| Item | Nil T2 Return | Ontario Annual Return | Federal Annual Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our published fee for this filing | Nil T2 filing, at $300.00 plus HST per tax year | Not offered. We file the corporate tax return; this one goes through the Ontario Business Registry | Not offered. We file the corporate tax return; this one goes to Corporations Canada |
| What our fee covers here | The return itself, its schedules where they are required, and electronic transmission | Not offered. Filing the T2 does not satisfy an annual return, so nothing on this column is inside the fee | Not offered. The same applies, and federal incorporation does not remove the provincial obligation either |
| Who receives it | The Canada Revenue Agency | The Ontario Business Registry | Corporations Canada |
| What it reports | Income, which on a nil year is $0.00 across the return | The registered office address, the directors and the officers | The directors and the registered office |
| What dates it | The fiscal year-end, with the return due within six months of it | The tax year-end, rather than an anniversary. No filing window for it is published on this site | The anniversary of incorporation, with 60 days to file |
| The government fee | None. The only fee on this filing is ours | A registry charge, which this site does not state | $12.00 a year, with no HST on a government fee |
| What a missed filing produces | The year stays open, invites a demand to file and an arbitrary assessment, and blocks a clearance certificate | The registry record goes out of date, and after enough missed years the corporation can be struck | The same exposure: the corporation can be struck from the federal register |
| Whether a dormant corporation still owes it | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Whether filing one satisfies another | No | No | No |
| Where it sits against the fee on this site | Inside nil T2 filing | Outside it | Outside it |
Six rows differ and two do not, and the two that do not are the ones most often got wrong: every one of the three is owed by a dormant corporation, and filing any one of them satisfies neither of the others. Two columns are filings we do not sell, so their price cells say so rather than carrying a figure.
This comparison sets three filings against each other, one of which we file, 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.
Why Filing One Does Nothing for the Others
A registry and the Canada Revenue Agency keep separate records and neither reports a filing status to the other. Everything below follows from that:
- A corporation can be in good standing at its registry while owing ten years of T2 returns, and it can be current on every T2 and still be struck from the register.
- The T2 is due within six months of the fiscal year-end. The federal annual return is due within 60 days of the anniversary of incorporation, at a $12.00 government fee. Those are two unrelated dates, and a corporation that files on one of them has not answered the other.
- Until 2021 the Ontario annual return travelled with the T2, which is why so many owners still expect the T2 to carry it. Since October 2021 it has been filed through the Ontario Business Registry instead, and nothing in the corporate tax return now prompts anyone to file it.
- A missed annual return gets a corporation struck rather than charged. A missed T2 leaves the tax year open, invites a demand to file and an arbitrary assessment, and blocks a clearance certificate. Two different consequences with two different cures.
- Being struck settles nothing on the tax side: the tax years survive it, and the outstanding returns are still outstanding.
- A dormant corporation confirms its directors and its registered office every year in exactly the way an active one does, so none of the three goes away for want of activity.
Only one of the three is inside the fee on this site. Nil T2 filing at $300.00 plus HST per tax year covers the corporate tax return. Neither annual return is a filing we make, and neither is covered, which the two price rows above state rather than price.
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.
Which of the Three You Owe Is a Short Question
The checker sets the annual return against the tax return and names which of them a given corporation still owes.
Reviewed by a CPA
Each return is prepared and reviewed by a CPA Ontario member before it is transmitted.
What the fee covers
The T2 itself, GIFI Schedules 100, 125 and 141 where required, Schedule 50, Schedule 24 on a first return, Schedule 8 and loss continuity, and electronic transmission.
What sits outside it
The Ontario annual return, the federal annual return, extra-provincial registrations, and closing a GST/HST or payroll account with Form RC145.
A corporation incorporated federally in 2019, registered in Ontario, dormant since 2021
It owes three separate things for each year since. A T2 for every tax year, each at $300.00 plus HST per tax year, due within six months of its year-end and still owed however quiet the year was. A federal annual return for each year, $12.00 each, due within 60 days of the 2019 anniversary date. And an Ontario annual return for each tax year, through the Ontario Business Registry, because registering in Ontario brought that obligation and federal incorporation did not remove it. Filing the T2 returns clears the first column only: the corporation can come fully current with the Canada Revenue Agency and still be struck off by either registry. The figures here illustrate how the rules apply and are not drawn from a client file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the annual return the same as the T2?
No. The T2 is a tax return filed with the Canada Revenue Agency. An annual return is a registry filing that confirms the registered office and the directors, and it reports no income at all.
Does filing my T2 cover the annual return?
No, and not since 2021 for Ontario. The two go to different bodies and neither carries anything to the other.
Do I owe both annual returns, or one?
It depends where the corporation is incorporated and registered. A federal corporation registered in Ontario can owe both, because federal incorporation does not remove the provincial obligation.
What does the federal annual return cost?
$12.00 a year, with no HST on a government fee. It is due within 60 days of the anniversary of incorporation.
What does the Ontario annual return cost?
This site does not publish a figure for it, so this page does not state one. The Ontario Business Registry is where the filing is made and what it charges is a question for the registry.
When is the Ontario annual return due?
It is tied to the tax year-end rather than to an anniversary. No filing window for it is published on this site, so this page gives none.
My corporation is dormant. Do I still owe all three?
Each one that applies to it, yes. A dormant corporation confirms its directors and its registered office every year in exactly the way an active one does.
What happens if I miss an annual return?
The registry record goes out of date and, after enough missed years, the corporation can be struck. That is a different consequence from a missed T2, and it has a different cure.
What happens if I miss the T2?
The year stays open, invites a demand to file and an arbitrary assessment, and blocks a clearance certificate until it is filed.
My corporation was struck off. Are the tax years gone?
No. Being struck settles nothing on the tax side: the open years survive it, and every outstanding return is still outstanding.
Can I be current with one body and behind with the other?
Easily, and it is common. A registry and the Canada Revenue Agency do not share a filing status, so being current in one place proves nothing about the other.
Why did the Ontario filing change?
Until 2021 it travelled with the T2. Since October 2021 it has gone through the Ontario Business Registry separately, and nothing in the corporate tax return prompts an owner to file it any more.
Which of the three do you file?
The T2, at $300.00 plus HST per tax year. Neither annual return is a filing we make, and neither is covered by the fee.
How many annual returns am I behind on?
One falls due for each tax year since the last one filed. The Ontario missed annual returns calculator counts the Ontario side, and the federal annual return anniversary calculator dates the federal one.
Where is all of this set out in full?
In the guide to provincial and federal annual returns, which covers the Ontario Business Registry, the $12.00 federal annual return, and where the Alberta AT1 and Quebec CO-17 sit.
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.