Clearance Certificate Requirement Checker
Three questions that set out whether a clearance certificate belongs in the plan and what has to be filed before one can be issued.
Written and reviewed by Sharad Gondaliya, CPA (Ontario), CPA Ontario Membership 61040184.
Last reviewed: October 27, 2026
Answer all three and the position appears here.
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 the Certificate Is For
A clearance certificate confirms the Canada Revenue Agency has no further claim against the corporation before its property is handed out. It is not a filing and it is not a tax return. It is a confirmation sought at the end, once everything that had to be filed has been.
Its purpose is personal rather than corporate. Distributing property without one leaves the person who distributed it exposed for amounts the corporation turns out to owe, and the corporation is by then gone or going.
An Unfiled Year Is the Usual Blocker
A certificate cannot be issued while a tax year is outstanding, because the position it is confirming is not yet known. That applies to nil years exactly as to any other: a year with nothing in it still has to be filed before it stops being outstanding.
The unfiled years checker lists which years are owed and the tax years since incorporation calculator lists every year the corporation has ever had. Each outstanding nil year is $300.00 plus HST per tax year, and several are transmitted in one sitting.
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.
The Order These Steps Fall In
Filing comes first, the certificate second, distribution third and dissolution last. Taken out of order the sequence stalls: a distribution made before the certificate cannot be undone by getting the certificate afterwards.
The dissolution readiness checker runs the full list, and the final T2 return due date calculator dates the last return.
Each Step, What It Needs First and What Goes Wrong Without It
The sequence only works in one direction. This is what each step depends on and what happens when it is taken early.
| Step | Cannot happen until | Taken out of order |
|---|---|---|
| File every outstanding tax year | Nothing. This is the first step | Everything after it stalls |
| File the final T2 for the period ending on dissolution | The dissolution date is known | The corporation has an unfiled final year |
| Request the clearance certificate | Every year, the final one included, is filed | The request cannot be granted while a year is outstanding |
| Distribute property to shareholders | The certificate is issued | Personal exposure for whatever the corporation turns out to owe |
| Complete the dissolution | The property is distributed | Property is left in a corporation that no longer exists, and recovering it means reviving the corporation first |
The second row is the one most often missed. The final T2 covers the period ending on the dissolution date, so it cannot be filed before that date is fixed, and the certificate cannot be requested before that return is in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Clearance Certificate Always Needed?
It belongs in any wind-down where property is being distributed, because that is the step it protects. With no distribution and no dissolution there is nothing for it to clear.
Do Nil Years Have to Be Filed First?
Yes. A nil year is an outstanding year until it is filed, and an outstanding year blocks the certificate.
Can Property Be Distributed First and Cleared Afterwards?
The exposure arises at the distribution, so a certificate obtained afterwards does not undo it. The order is the point.
How Many Returns Does a Dissolution Need?
Every unfiled earlier year, plus a final return for the short period ending on the dissolution date. Each nil one is $300.00 plus HST per tax year.
Does the Certificate Cover the Annual Return as Well?
No. The federal and Ontario annual returns go to a registry rather than to the Canada Revenue Agency and are separate from this. The inactive corporation filing checker sets out which filings go where.
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.
Start Nil T2 Filing NOW