Incorporate a Business in Toronto

Incorporate your Toronto business in Ontario or federally, with a CPA reviewing the share structure for tax before anything is filed. Packages from $499.

  • Ontario (OBCA) or federal (CBCA) incorporation, named or numbered
  • Flat fee from $499 + government fees and HST, agreed before we start
  • Reviewed by a CPA with your tax in mind, not just the paperwork
  • CRA business number plus corporate tax (RC), payroll (RP) and GST/HST (RT) accounts
  • Online across Canada, or in person by appointment in Etobicoke and Mississauga

Incorporating a business in Toronto

Most Toronto owners who call us about incorporating are already earning well as sole proprietors: consultants, developers, designers, contractors and clinic owners. The questions are always the same. Will it save tax? Ontario or federal? Should my spouse own shares? What happens to the condo or the equipment I already have? A Toronto incorporation also touches the City: licences may need to move to the company, and property transferred into it can attract both Ontario and Toronto land transfer tax.

I’m Wajahat Ajmal, CPA, FCCA. T-Ledgers is a CPA-led accounting firm practising since 2020, and our home office is on Skyway Avenue in Etobicoke, inside the City of Toronto. Most Toronto incorporations are handled entirely online and certified the same or next business day once filed.

Toronto businesses we incorporate most often: IT and marketing consultants moving from sole proprietor to a corporation, renovation contractors, restaurant and retail owners, and professionals setting up a professional corporation (quoted separately).

What our incorporation service includes

  • Articles filed in Ontario or federally, named or numbered (a named Ontario company needs an Ontario NUANS report, +$25; a federal word name is searched inside Corporations Canada’s Online Filing Centre, with no separate NUANS report)
  • Ontario initial return for federal corporations included
  • CRA business number and tax accounts opened

Share structure and the full process are on our main incorporation services page.

Toronto rules to check when you incorporate

← Swipe to compare →

Local ruleWhat changes when you incorporateOfficial source
Registered officeMust be a street address in Ontario where records are kept; if that’s a rented condo, check your lease and building rules before listing it publicly on the corporate registry.Ontario Business Corporations Act
City of Toronto business licencesBuilding renovators, food businesses, personal service settings and many other types need a City licence. We check whether it must be reissued to the company.Toronto licence and permit types
Land transfer tax on property moved into the companyUsually payable even with a section 85 rollover. In Toronto, the municipal land transfer tax can apply as well.Ontario land transfer tax

Law: City of Toronto Act, 2006 s.86(1) (business licensing); Land Transfer Tax Act s.2(1) (Ontario land transfer tax).

A typical Toronto incorporation

An illustrative example (not a client story). A Toronto UX consultant earns $200,000 a year from four clients and lives on about half of that. We incorporate an Ontario numbered company, set up share classes so a holding company or family shareholders can be added later, register the business number with corporate tax, payroll and GST/HST accounts, and move her HST registration to the corporation. Her laptop and equipment move in with a section 85 rollover (quoted separately). Because no single client controls her work, the personal services business risk is low, which we document before she signs.

Incorporation pricing in Toronto

← Swipe to compare →

PackagePrice (+ HST/GST)
Incorporation only✓$499 + government fees
Incorporation + minute book and legal documents✓$999 + government fees
Annual minute book maintenance✓$500 per year, Ontario annual return included
Other provinces, section 85 rollovers, holding companies, professional corporationsQuoted separately

Government fees are passed through at cost: $300 to incorporate in Ontario or $200 online federally, as published on October 13, 2026 (see Ontario fees and Corporations Canada fees).

Ontario or federal?

Ontario and federal corporations are taxed the same; we usually recommend Ontario for a business selling mainly in Ontario. A qualifying corporation pays 11.2% combined on its first $500,000 of active business income (9% federal plus 2.2% Ontario from July 1, 2026).

Law: Ontario Business Corporations Act s.4 (articles of incorporation); Ontario Business Corporations Act s.14 (registered office in Ontario); Canada Business Corporations Act s.105(3) (resident directors); Corporations Information Act s.3.1 (annual return); Income Tax Act s.85(1) (rollover of assets to a corporation).

Meetings in person are at our Etobicoke office (inside the City of Toronto) or our Mississauga office, by appointment.

Reviewed by Wajahat Ajmal, CPA, FCCA. Last updated: October 15, 2026. Official sources checked October 2026.

Incorporating in Toronto: FAQs

Yes. A numbered corporation can operate under your existing name once it registers that name as its own business name, or the corporation can be named after it, which needs a NUANS search.

For most Toronto businesses that sell mainly in Ontario, Ontario: one registry, no director residency rule and the same tax. Federal makes sense if you’ll soon operate in several provinces or need a name checked across Canada. Either way the price is $499 or $999 plus government fees.

Yes, by appointment at our Etobicoke office on Skyway Avenue, inside the City of Toronto, or at our Mississauga office. Most incorporations are done online.

Usually not without advice. Moving property into a corporation can trigger Ontario and Toronto land transfer tax, even if a section 85 rollover defers the income tax. We review it first, and any rollover is quoted separately.

It depends on the licence. We check with you when the corporation is set up and make sure the renewal goes on its calendar.

Ready to get started?

Online across Canada, or in person by appointment in Etobicoke and Mississauga.