The Complete Guide to Numbered Company Tax Filing
Why a numbered company files exactly like a named one, how the CRA identifies it, what shelf and holding corporations need, and what the filing costs. Nil T2 filing is $300.00 plus HST per tax year.
Written and reviewed by Sharad Gondaliya, CPA (Ontario), CPA Ontario Membership 61040184.
Last reviewed: October 21, 2026 · All nil T2 filing guides
On this page
- What a Numbered Company Is
- The Obligation Is Identical
- The CRA Identifies It by Business Number
- Shelf Corporations
- Numbered Holding Corporations Are Often Not Nil
- The Registry Record and the Annual Return
- Numbered Companies Are the Ones Most Often Forgotten
- Unfiled Years on a Numbered Company
- Adding a Business Name Later
- Dissolving a Numbered Company
- Deadlines
- What the Fee Covers
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 Numbered Company Is
A corporation whose legal name is the number the registry assigned it, in the form 1234567 Ontario Inc. or 9876543 Canada Inc. Nothing was chosen; the registry issued a number and the corporation kept it.
Owners pick a numbered name to incorporate quickly, to avoid a name search, or because the corporation was never meant to trade under a name of its own.
The Obligation Is Identical
A numbered company is an ordinary corporation. It files a T2 within six months of each fiscal year-end, every year, until it is formally dissolved, on exactly the same terms as a corporation with a chosen name.
There is no lighter regime for a numbered company, no different deadline and no different form. The numbered name affects nothing about the filing.
The CRA Identifies It by Business Number
The Canada Revenue Agency works from the nine-digit business number and its RC corporation income tax account, not from the corporate name. For filing purposes the name is a label on a record the number already identifies.
That is why a numbered company is no harder to file for. See whether a business number is needed to file a nil T2.
Shelf Corporations
A shelf corporation is one registered and then left unused, held in case it is wanted later. Most are numbered, because no name was needed for a corporation that was not going to trade.
A shelf corporation is the textbook nil filer: no revenue, no expenses, no payroll, a return every year reporting nil amounts. What it is not is exempt.
Nil T2 Filing, $300.00 plus HST per tax year
One price for every year and every province. CPA reviewed and transmitted electronically.
Numbered Holding Corporations Are Often Not Nil
A holding corporation with investment income, a rental corporation and a corporation that paid or received a dividend are not nil. Those are handled by Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year.
Many numbered corporations are holding companies, and a holding company earning investment income has no operations, no staff and no customers while still falling outside a nil return. The portfolio earns income that belongs on the return.
A numbered holding corporation that genuinely holds nothing and earns nothing is nil. One holding investments is not.
The Registry Record and the Annual Return
A numbered company files an annual return with its registry in exactly the way a named one does, confirming directors and the registered office. Filing the T2 does not satisfy it.
The full set is in the guide to provincial and federal annual returns.
Numbered Companies Are the Ones Most Often Forgotten
A numbered corporation has no brand, no website and no letterhead to remind anyone it exists. It generates no mail the owner recognises and appears on no invoice.
That is why unfiled years cluster on numbered companies. The obligation did not stop; the reminder did.
See whether nil T2 returns can be filed for a forgotten corporation.
Unfiled Years on a Numbered Company
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.
Each year is a separate return with its own fiscal year-end and its own due date. Filing several at once is routine and closes the years in a single pass; the sequence is in the guide to catching up on unfiled corporate tax returns.
Adding a Business Name Later
A numbered company can register a business name and trade under it while keeping the number as its legal name. The corporation does not change and neither does its business number.
The T2 is filed under the legal numbered name whatever the corporation trades as. A registered business name is a separate registry filing, not a change to the corporation.
Dissolving a Numbered Company
Identical to dissolving a named one. Every earlier year must already be filed, the final T2 is due within six months of the dissolution date, and a clearance certificate cannot be issued while any tax year is open.
Because a numbered company usually has no name worth keeping, dissolution is more often the right answer than it is for a named corporation. The sequence is in the guide to the final T2 and dissolution.
Deadlines
Six months after the fiscal year-end, every year. Where a due date falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday recognised by the Canada Revenue Agency, a return received the next business day is on time.
Every fiscal year-end and its due date is listed on T2 filing deadlines.
What the Fee Covers
The fee is $300.00 plus HST per tax year, covering one nil T2 return for one corporation for one tax year:
| Included | Detail |
|---|---|
| The T2 return | Including the T2 Short where the corporation qualifies |
| GIFI Schedules 100, 125 and 141 | Where they are required |
| Schedule 24 | On a first return |
| Schedule 50 | For every shareholder at 10% or more |
| Schedule 8 and loss continuity | Recorded |
| Form T183CORP package | With single-use secure e-signing |
| CPA review | Before transmission |
| Electronic transmission | By a registered EFILE electronic filer |
| One corrected transmission | If the Agency rejects the first one |
| CRA confirmation | Emailed within 3 business days |
See the full nil T2 filing cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Numbered Company File a Different Return?
No. It files the same T2, on the same deadline, with the same schedules. The numbered name affects nothing about the filing obligation.
How Does the CRA Know Which Corporation It Is?
By the nine-digit business number and its RC corporation income tax account. The corporate name is a label on a record the number already identifies.
Is a Shelf Corporation a Nil Filer?
Usually yes. A corporation registered and left unused has no revenue and no expenses, so it files a nil return every year until it is dissolved.
Is a Numbered Holding Company Nil?
Not where it earns investment income. A holding corporation with investment income, a rental corporation and a corporation that paid or received a dividend are not nil, and are handled by Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year.
Can I Trade Under a Name Instead of the Number?
Yes, by registering a business name with the registry. The corporation and its business number do not change, and the T2 is still filed under the legal numbered name.
Why Do Numbered Companies End Up With Unfiled Years?
Because nothing reminds the owner they exist. No brand, no letterhead, no invoices. The filing obligation continues whether or not anything prompts it.
Questions Answered in Full
- What Happens if I Don’t File a Nil T2 for a Numbered Company?
- Can I File Nil T2 Returns for a Corporation I Forgot About?
- Do I Need to File a T2 Every Year if My Corporation Is Inactive?
- Do I Need to File a T2 if My Corporation Had No Activity?
- Do I Need a Business Number to File a Nil T2?
- Can I Dissolve My Corporation With Unfiled T2 Returns?
The Other Nil T2 Filing Guides
- The Complete Guide to T2 Late Filing Penalties
- The Complete Guide to Responding to a CRA Demand to File
- The Complete Guide to Inactive Holding Company Filing
- The Complete Guide to T2 Schedules on a Nil Return
- The Complete Guide to Shelf Corporation Compliance
- The Complete Guide to T2 Filing Deadlines
- The Complete Guide to Zero-Activity Corporate Tax Returns
- The Complete Guide to Corporate Tax Arrears and Interest
- The Complete Guide to Winding Up an Inactive Corporation
- The Complete Guide to Small Business Corporate Filing
- The Complete Guide to the Corporate Compliance Calendar
- The Complete Guide to Numbered Company Maintenance
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.