Dormant Corporation Test
Ten questions decide whether your corporation is nil for the tax year or has activity that puts it outside a nil return.
Written and reviewed by Sharad Gondaliya, CPA (Ontario), CPA Ontario Membership 61040184.
Last reviewed: October 23, 2026
Answer all ten and the result 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 Counts as Activity
No revenue of any kind, no expense claimed, no payroll, no asset bought or sold, no dividend paid or received, and no inter-company transaction. Interest credited on a bank balance is income, so a year with interest in it is not a no-activity year, however small the amount.
Share capital, cash, a shareholder loan, an incorporation cost or a bank charge does not stop the year being nil. It does make GIFI Schedules 100, 125 and 141 required, and those are included in the fee.
Where the Corporation Is 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.
Other cases that are not nil include a corporation that is not a Canadian-controlled private corporation, an amalgamation, or a corporation already dissolved or struck. We route you to our sister office at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year before you pay. If we find it after you pay, we refund you in full.
Dormant Does Not Mean Exempt
A dormant corporation files a T2 within six months of each fiscal year-end, every year, until it is formally dissolved. There is no dormancy form, no status to elect and no threshold below which the obligation stops.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Bank Interest Make a Year Not Nil?
Yes. Interest credited on a bank balance is income, so a year with interest in it is not a no-activity year, however small the amount.
Is There a Form That Tells CRA a Corporation Is Dormant?
No. There is no dormancy form and no way to pause the T2. The annual return is the only thing that reports the year, and it reports nil amounts where there was no activity.
Does Share Capital Stop a Year Being Nil?
No. Share capital, cash, a shareholder loan, an incorporation cost or a bank charge does not stop a year being nil. It does make GIFI Schedules 100, 125 and 141 required, and those are included in the fee.
What Happens If the Test Says Not Nil?
We route the work to our sister office at gondaliyacpa.ca at $350.00 plus HST per year, before you pay. If we find it after you pay, we refund you in full.
Can a Corporation Be Dormant for Many Years?
Yes. There is no limit on consecutive nil years. What causes trouble is a dormant year left unfiled, not the dormancy itself.
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