Payroll Nil Remittance Checker
Three questions that set out whether an open payroll account still needs nil remittances, what the nil T2 does not cover and how the account is closed.
Written and reviewed by Sharad Gondaliya, CPA (Ontario), CPA Ontario Membership 61040184.
Last reviewed: October 27, 2026
Answer all three and the payroll 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.
Reporting Nothing Is Not the Same as Reporting Nil
An open payroll account expects to hear from the corporation on each of its due dates. Where no wages were paid, what it expects to hear is a nil remittance, and that is a positive statement rather than an absence of one.
Silence on an open account is what draws correspondence. The account has no way to tell the difference between a corporation that paid nothing and a corporation that paid something and did not report it, so it assumes the second.
The Nil T2 Does Not Touch It
Payroll and corporation income tax are separate programme accounts under one Business Number, each with its own filings. Filing the nil T2 settles the corporation income tax account for that tax year and does nothing at all about payroll.
The fee of $300.00 plus HST per tax year covers the corporation income tax account only. The Business Number status checker sets out which accounts are open and what each one still needs.
Closing It Rather Than Keeping Up With It
Where the account is not going to be used again, the obligation ends by closing the account rather than by meeting it indefinitely. Form RC145 closes a Business Number programme account once that account has its own final remittance in.
An account left open can keep drawing correspondence after the corporation itself is gone, which is the usual reason a closed-down corporation keeps hearing from the Canada Revenue Agency.
Three Situations and What Each One Owes
The answers split three ways, and the middle one is the case most people are in and least expect.
| Situation | Payroll obligation | Effect on the tax year |
|---|---|---|
| No payroll account on record | Nothing to remit and nothing to close | None. The year can still be nil |
| Account open, no wages paid | A nil remittance on the account’s own cycle, for as long as it stays open | None. The year can still be nil |
| Account open, wages paid | A real remittance of source deductions, not a nil one | Wages are an expense, so the year is not nil |
The third row has two consequences rather than one. The payroll remittance is real, and the tax year it falls in is not a nil year either, because paying wages is incurring an expense.
| Account | What it carries | Covered by the fee here |
|---|---|---|
| Corporation income tax | One T2 for every tax year until the corporation is formally dissolved | Yes |
| Payroll | A remittance on its own cycle, nil ones included, until closed with Form RC145 | No |
| GST/HST | A return on its own cycle, nil ones included, until closed with Form RC145 | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an Open Payroll Account With No Employees Still Need Filing?
Yes. While the account is open it expects a remittance on its own cycle, and where no wages were paid that remittance is a nil one.
Does Filing the Nil T2 Cover the Payroll Account?
No. They are separate programme accounts. The fee of $300.00 plus HST per tax year covers the corporation income tax account only.
How Is a Payroll Account Closed?
With Form RC145, once the account has its own final remittance in.
Does Paying One Month of Wages Make the Year Not Nil?
Yes. Wages are an expense, so the tax year they fall in has a figure to report and is not a nil year.
What If the Account Was Opened and Never Used?
It is still open, so it still carries the obligation. Closing it with Form RC145 is what ends that.
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