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PricingService areasAll services →Corporate Tax Return (T2) Filing Services in Canada
CPA-led T2 filing, fixed price before we start
CPA-led T2 preparation and e-filing for small corporations, at a published flat price
We prepare and e-file your corporation’s T2 return, with the schedules and GIFI reporting the CRA requires, for a flat fee agreed before we start. A nil T2 for a corporation with no activity at all starts at $249, and a simple T2 for an active corporation starts at $800 (plus HST/GST). We work with incorporated owners across Ontario and the rest of Canada.
- CPA-led by Wajahat Ajmal, CPA, FCCA
- Price matching, when agreed before you sign our proposal
- No surprise bills: the price is fixed before we start
- We reply within one business day
Last updated: October 18, 2026
The T2 itself is rarely the hard part. The trouble is everything around it: books that aren’t quite finished, a year-end that came and went, a CRA letter about instalments nobody mentioned, and an accountant who quotes “it depends” and then sends a bill that’s twice what you expected.
I’m Wajahat Ajmal, CPA, FCCA, based in Etobicoke and the founder of T-Ledgers. My background is audit and corporate finance, and that’s how we approach a T2: tie the return back to the numbers, check every schedule against last year’s, and explain what we found in plain language before anything is filed. Every T2 is reviewed by a CPA before filing. You get a fixed price up front, a clear filing date, and a CPA who answers your questions.
What is a T2 corporate tax return?
The T2 Corporation Income Tax Return is the annual income tax return every corporation resident in Canada files with the Canada Revenue Agency. It reports the corporation’s income, deductions, credits and tax payable for its fiscal year, and it’s separate from your own personal (T1) return. The corporation is its own taxpayer, so it files its own return even if you’re the only shareholder and the only person working in the business.
A T2 isn’t one form. It’s a main return plus a set of schedules that depend on what your corporation did that year, along with your year-end financial figures reported in the CRA’s General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) format. For corporations in every province and territory except Quebec and Alberta, the T2 also calculates provincial or territorial tax, so there’s no separate provincial corporate return. Quebec and Alberta corporations file a separate provincial return as well. For Alberta corporations, we prepare and file the Alberta AT1 return alongside the T2.
If you’d like a longer walk-through, our guide to the T2 corporate tax return goes schedule by schedule.
Who needs to file a T2?
Every resident corporation has to file a T2 every tax year, whether or not it owes tax and whether or not it did any business. That includes:
- Operating companies of any size
- Holding companies, even if they only hold shares or cash
- Professional corporations
- Inactive or dormant corporations with no income at all
- New corporations, for their first (often short) tax year
- Non-resident corporations that carried on business in Canada or disposed of taxable Canadian property
Registered charities and a few tax-exempt corporations are the main exceptions. If you’re a sole proprietor, you don’t file a T2 at all. Your business income goes on your personal return with form T2125, which our personal tax team handles. Not sure whether incorporating makes sense yet? Our comparison of sole proprietorship vs corporation is a good starting point.
T2 deadlines: filing vs paying
There are two deadlines, and the one people miss is the earlier one.
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| What | Deadline | Example: December 31 year-end |
|---|---|---|
| File the T2 return | 6 months after the end of the tax year | June 30 |
| Pay the balance owing (most corporations) | 2 months after year-end | February 28 (or 29) |
| Pay the balance owing (qualifying CCPCs) | 3 months after year-end | March 31 |
| Instalments (if required) | Monthly, or quarterly for eligible small CCPCs | End of each month or quarter |
The three-month payment window applies to a Canadian-controlled private corporation that claimed the small business deduction for the current or previous year and whose taxable income (together with associated corporations) for the previous year was within the business limit. Everyone else pays at two months.
When a deadline lands on a weekend or public holiday, it moves to the next business day. And if your year ends on the last day of a month, the filing deadline is the last day of the sixth month after. The full calendar is in our post on the corporation tax filing deadline and our 2026 key tax deadlines list.
The gap matters. If you owe tax and only find out in June, interest has been running since March. We aim to tell you what you owe before the payment deadline, even if the return is filed later.
What happens if you file late
If the corporation owes tax and files late, the CRA charges 5% of the unpaid tax plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months. For repeat late filers who’ve had a demand to file, it’s 10% plus 2% a month, up to 20 months. Interest compounds daily on top. Missing information returns, such as the T1135 for foreign property, carry their own penalties even when no tax is owing. Our article on avoiding CRA interest and penalties explains how these stack up.
What's included in our T2 filing service
Our $800 starting price is for a simple T2: we prepare and file your corporation’s return based on the information and year-end numbers you give us. Here’s what that covers, and what we quote separately.
The T2 return and every required schedule
We prepare the full T2 (or the shorter T2 Short where your corporation qualifies) with every schedule your situation calls for. For most small corporations that means Schedule 1 (the reconciliation from accounting income to taxable income), Schedule 8 (capital cost allowance), Schedule 50 (shareholder information), and the provincial schedules, such as Schedule 500 for Ontario corporation tax. For Alberta corporations, we also prepare and file the separate Alberta AT1 provincial return. Where they apply, we also complete Schedule 3 for dividends, Schedule 4 for losses carried forward or back, Schedule 7 for investment income and the small business deduction, Schedules 9 and 23 for associated and related corporations, and Schedule 11 for transactions with shareholders.
GIFI reporting
The T2 has to report your year-end balance sheet and income statement figures using GIFI codes (Schedules 100, 125 and 141). We map the numbers you provide to the right codes so the return matches your books line for line. Bad mapping is a common, avoidable trigger for CRA review letters. This is CRA reporting, not a set of financial statements: if your bank, a landlord or an investor needs formal year-end financial statements, we prepare those as a separate, quoted engagement.
Small business deduction and corporate tax rate
A Canadian-controlled private corporation can claim the small business deduction on its first $500,000 of active business income, which brings the combined federal and Ontario rate down to 11.2% (9% federal plus 2.2% Ontario, effective July 1, 2026) from the general 26.5%. For tax years that straddle July 1, 2026, the Ontario rate is prorated by days, so a calendar 2026 year-end works out to about 11.7% combined (see Ontario corporate income tax rates). We check whether you qualify, whether the limit is shared with associated corporations, and whether passive investment income inside the company is starting to grind it down. Our breakdown of corporate tax rates in Canada has the province-by-province figures.
Capital cost allowance
Vehicles, computers and equipment are written off through capital cost allowance. We put each asset in the right class and decide with you whether to claim the full amount this year or save it. See our guide to capital cost allowance and the rules for vehicle expenses.
Shareholder loans and owner pay
Money you took out of the company has to land somewhere: salary, dividends, a repaid shareholder loan or a reimbursement. A shareholder loan not repaid by the end of the following tax year can be added to your personal income. We review the shareholder account as part of the return and talk through the right mix of salary and dividends for next year. Try our salary vs dividend calculator or read the best way to pay yourself from a corporation.
Instalment planning for next year
If your corporation’s tax payable is more than $3,000 in the current or previous year, the CRA expects instalments. We tell you whether you need them, how much and when, so you aren’t charged instalment interest next spring.
E-filing, assessment review and CRA follow-up
For tax years starting after 2023, almost every corporation must file its T2 electronically, and missing that rule carries a $1,000 penalty. We e-file through CRA-certified software, send you the confirmation, and check your Notice of Assessment against the return we filed. As your authorized representative, CRA questions about a return we prepared come to us, and if answering one falls outside the original scope, you’ll know the cost first.
Quoted and billed separately
Some work goes beyond a simple T2. We’ll flag it on the first call and give you a separate price before we start, so nothing turns up on an invoice unannounced:
- Foreign income and foreign reporting, such as the T1135 for foreign property over $100,000, the T1134 for foreign affiliates and the T106 for dealings with non-arm’s-length non-residents
- SR&ED-ready bookkeeping, such as project coding, timesheets and past-year cleanup
- Year-end financial statements
- Bookkeeping, clean-up and catch-up years
- T4 and T5 slips (included on our monthly bookkeeping plans)
- Elections, reorganizations and other unusual transactions
How our T2 process works
1. A free 30-minute call. We talk about your corporation, your year-end, the state of your books and anything that’s behind. You’ll get a straight answer about what it will take, even if you decide to go elsewhere.
2. A fixed quote, mostly within one business day. You get a written proposal and engagement letter, usually by the next business day (it can take a little longer in May and June). If you have a comparable quote from another firm, raise it now: price matching applies only when it’s agreed before you sign. The price covers the scope we agreed on and doesn’t move unless the scope does, and if it would, we tell you first.
3. Secure onboarding. You sign the engagement, upload documents to our secure client portal, and authorize us in your CRA My Business Account so we can see your instalments, balances and past assessments.
4. Books review. We go through the year-end numbers in your QuickBooks Online or Xero file (or the information you send us) and send you a short list of questions. If the books aren’t finished, our catch-up bookkeeping service can get them there first, priced per year from $1,800 with the T2 for each year included.
5. Draft return and review. You get a draft T2 with a one-page summary: taxable income, tax owing or refund, and anything we’d do differently next year. We walk through it with you on a call if you’d like.
6. Approval and e-filing. You sign the T183CORP authorization, we file, and you get the CRA confirmation. When the Notice of Assessment arrives, we check it and let you know if anything doesn’t match.
Not sure what to gather? Our corporate year-end checklist lists everything we ask for.
Nil and no-income T2 returns
A corporation with no sales still has to file. A holding company that did nothing this year, a company set up for a business that never started, one you’ve stopped using but haven’t dissolved: each owes the CRA a T2 every year.
If no tax is owing, filing late won’t trigger the 5% penalty, because that penalty is based on unpaid tax. But unfiled returns have other costs. The CRA can send a demand to file, refunds and credits are held back until you catch up, and a string of unfiled years makes it much harder to dissolve the corporation cleanly or sell it later.
Our nil T2 starts at $249 plus HST/GST. It’s for a corporation with no activity at all during the year: no income and no expenses. If the corporation had any income (including interest), any expenses, or paid dividends, it needs a regular T2, and we’ll tell you which one applies before you pay anything. Keep in mind that in Ontario your annual return to the Ontario Business Registry is a separate filing from the T2. Our post on annual return vs corporate tax return explains the difference.
SR&ED-ready books and your T2
If your corporation does technical work to solve problems that aren’t solved by standard practice, such as software development, product engineering, process improvements or manufacturing trials, it may qualify for the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program. T-Ledgers prepares the whole SR&ED claim end to end: the eligibility review, the T661 technical narrative (written with your team), Schedule 31, the Ontario credits and the expenditure figures, filed with your T2.
We also keep the books behind the claim. We keep SR&ED-ready books, with costs coded by project, timesheets that show who worked on what, and past-year cleanup where earlier records weren’t set up for SR&ED. That way your books reconcile to the claim, and we file your T2 to match.
If you already have an SR&ED consultant, we can work alongside them. Pricing depends on the claim and is quoted after a free consultation. See how it works on our SR&ED tax credits page, or raise it on the first call.
Corporate tax filing pricing
We publish our T2 prices because “contact us for a quote” isn’t an answer when you’re comparing accountants. You get a fixed quote on your free call, and that’s what you pay unless the scope changes, which we’d raise before doing the work. All prices exclude HST/GST.
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| Service | Price | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Nil / No-Income Corporate Return (T2) | From $249 per return | Corporations with no activity at all: no income and no expenses |
| Corporate Tax Return (T2) | From $800 per return | A simple T2 for an active corporation, filed from the information you provide |
| Bookkeeping plans with the T2 included | $350 (quarterly bookkeeping), $500 or $700 (monthly bookkeeping) per month | Owners who want the books, GST/HST filing and the T2 done in one place |
| Catch-up years and back filing | Fixed quote after a free review | Corporations with one or more unfiled years |
| SR&ED claim, prepared end to end (narrative, T661, Schedule 31, CRA review support) | Quoted after consultation. Book a free consult | Corporations with eligible R&D work |
| Foreign income and reporting, financial statements, other non-routine work | Quoted separately | Anything beyond a simple T2 |
What moves the price: the number of schedules, associated corporations, and anything beyond a simple T2, such as foreign income or SR&ED. Catch-up years are priced with catch-up bookkeeping, from $1,800 per year with the T2 included. Listed prices are minimums for a one-year commitment. Our Growth, Scale and Ultimate bookkeeping plans include the annual T2, GST/HST filing and T4/T5 slips, and the Ultimate plan adds the director’s personal tax return. Compare them on our packages page.
Our price match promise
If you have a written quote from another accounting firm for the same scope, show it to us before you sign our proposal and we’ll match it. Price matching has to be agreed before the proposal is signed; we can’t revisit the price afterwards. Same CPA review, whatever you pay.
No surprise bills
We don’t bill T2 work by the hour. If something turns up mid-file that changes the scope, such as an unreported asset sale or a missing year, we stop and tell you the cost before going further.
Why owners choose T-Ledgers for their T2
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| T-Ledgers BEST VALUE | What owners often tell us they had before | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ✓Published from-prices and a fixed quote | ✗"It depends," then an hourly bill |
| Who reviews your return | ✓A CPA, every time | ✗Prepared and filed by whoever was free |
| Response time | ✓A reply within one business day | ✗Emails that sit for a week in spring |
| Reaching us | ✓A 24/7 receptionist answers, so a real person picks up; CPA team Mon to Fri 9 am to 8 pm and Saturday 10 am to 4 pm | ✗Voicemail |
| Competing quote | ✓We match comparable written quotes, agreed before you sign our proposal | ✗Take it or leave it |
CPA-led, not just CPA-signed
Every T2 is reviewed by a CPA before filing. Our team prepares the working papers, and a CPA checks the return against the numbers before anything reaches you. It’s a habit that comes straight from audit. You can verify my CPA Ontario membership.
Your books and your T2 in the same place
Most T2 problems trace back to bookkeeping: personal expenses coded to the business, GST/HST that doesn’t reconcile, assets expensed instead of capitalized. When we also keep your books and run your payroll, the year-end is mostly done by the time the year ends. See our GST/HST and T2 case study.
Cloud-based: QuickBooks Online, Xero and Dext
We work in QuickBooks Online and Xero, and we use Dext so you can snap receipts on your phone instead of keeping a shoebox. Everything is in the cloud, so you never need to visit an office, though you can book a meeting in Etobicoke or Mississauga.
Advice that looks ahead
A T2 reports what already happened. The useful part is what you change next year: timing a bonus (it must be paid within 180 days of year-end to be deducted), whether a holding company makes sense, how to use the capital dividend account, and whether your consulting setup risks being treated as a personal services business. We raise these at the draft review.
Haven’t filed your corporate taxes? Overdue T2 filing
If your corporation has unfiled years, it’s fixable. We quote the work at a fixed price per year, get the books into shape, and file the most exposed years first. Where it makes sense, we’ll talk about the CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program before the CRA sends a notice or request about the missing returns. If payroll or GST/HST is also behind, directors’ liability can come into it. Read more in our guide to back tax filing and our catch-up case study.
Case study: see how we cleared a contractor’s $45,000 CRA bill caused by mixed-up T4As →
Industries we file T2 returns for
- Consultants and IT contractors. One-person corporations where personal services business rules and salary-vs-dividend choices matter most. Our post on ways to reduce PSB risk is worth a read.
- Health care professionals. Professional corporations for physicians, dentists and other practitioners.
- Contractors and trades. Equipment and vehicles on Schedule 8, and GST/HST that ties to the return.
- Real estate and holding companies. Rental income, passive income limits and capital gains.
- Retail, e-commerce and restaurants. Inventory, payment processors and high transaction volume.
- Startups and tech companies. Short first years, early losses and SR&ED. See the tax mistakes startups make.
We’re based in Etobicoke, Ontario, and file T2 returns remotely for corporations across Toronto, the GTA and the rest of Canada. See our service areas.
Local corporate tax pages: Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Oakville.
CRA guides for corporate tax filing
- Canada: Corporation income tax return (T2): the CRA’s overview of who files a T2 and how.
- Canada: T2 Corporation Income Tax Guide (T4012): the CRA’s line-by-line guide to the T2 and its schedules.
- Canada: tax deadlines for businesses and the self-employed: the current year’s filing and payment dates.
- Checklist for small businesses: the CRA’s checklist of registrations and obligations for new businesses.
Related services
- Bookkeeping: with the T2 included on our monthly plans
- Payroll services: pay runs, remittances, T4s
- Incorporation services: then we file its first T2
- Personal tax returns: your own T1
- Catch-up bookkeeping
- Virtual CFO
Meet your CPA
Wajahat Ajmal, CPA, FCCA
Founder, T-Ledgers Accounting
Verify my CPA Ontario membership
I started in audit at KPMG, then worked as an independent contractor for a tax filing company, preparing returns and handling client questions. I hold a BSc in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes and an MSc in Professional Accountancy from UCL, I’m a CPA in Ontario and a Fellow of the ACCA, and I founded T-Ledgers in 2023 after three years of taking on my own clients.
Year-end close was a big part of my corporate career, and a T2 is really the last step of a good close. If the books are right, the return is straightforward. That’s why we start with your numbers, not the form. More about the firm on our About page.
What our clients say
“T-Ledgers made filing my corporate taxes straightforward from start to finish. Wajahat was responsive throughout the process and clearly explained what documents I needed to provide and why.”
— Atif Mahmood, Google review
“T-Ledgers handled my GST filing and corporate T2 together, which saved me a lot of time coordinating between different people. They understood my business quickly and flagged some bookkeeping gaps I needed to address.”
— Asim Afzal, Google review
Read more on our client reviews page.
Corporate tax return (T2) FAQs
What is a T2 corporate tax return?
The T2 is the annual income tax return every corporation resident in Canada files with the CRA. It reports the corporation’s income, deductions, credits and tax payable for its fiscal year, with schedules and GIFI financial information attached. It’s separate from the owner’s personal T1 return.
Does my corporation have to file a T2 if it had no income?
Yes. Every resident corporation must file a T2 every year, even if it had no income, no activity and no tax to pay. A corporation with no activity at all, meaning no income and no expenses, files a nil return. At T-Ledgers, a nil T2 starts at $249 plus HST/GST.
When is the T2 corporate tax return due?
The T2 is due six months after the end of the corporation’s tax year. For a December 31 year-end, the deadline is June 30. If the deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday, it moves to the next business day.
When does my corporation have to pay its tax?
Any balance owing is due two months after year-end, or three months for a qualifying Canadian-controlled private corporation that claimed the small business deduction and stayed within the business limit. That’s earlier than the filing deadline, and interest starts the day after the payment due date.
How much does it cost to file a corporate tax return with T-Ledgers?
A nil T2 (no income and no expenses) starts at $249, and a simple T2 for an active corporation starts at $800, both plus HST/GST. SR&ED claims are prepared end to end and quoted after a free consultation; foreign income and similar work are quoted separately. We match comparable quotes if agreed before you sign our proposal.
What's the difference between the T2 and the T2 Short?
The T2 Short is a two-page version for a CCPC with nil net income or a loss, or a tax-exempt corporation, that has a permanent establishment in one province, isn’t claiming refundable credits, didn’t pay or receive taxable dividends and reports in Canadian dollars. Everyone else files the full T2. We file whichever version you qualify for.
Is the Ontario annual return the same as the T2?
No. The T2 is your federal and provincial income tax return, filed with the CRA. The Ontario annual return is a separate filing with the Ontario Business Registry that confirms your corporation’s details, such as directors and addresses. Ontario corporations need to file both every year.
Do I have to file my T2 electronically?
Almost certainly. For tax years starting after 2023, nearly all corporations must e-file their T2, with limited exceptions such as insurance corporations and certain non-resident corporations. A corporation that’s required to e-file and files on paper can be charged a $1,000 penalty. We e-file every return.
What happens if I file my T2 late?
If tax is owing, the CRA charges 5% of the unpaid tax plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months, and interest compounds daily. Repeat late filers can face 10% plus 2% a month. Even with no tax owing, late returns hold up refunds and information-return penalties can still apply.
Can you file T2 returns for years I missed?
Yes. We quote back years at a fixed price per year, catch up the bookkeeping, and file the most exposed years first. Where it makes sense, we’ll discuss the CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program with you. Tell us on the first call how many years are outstanding. More on overdue T2 filing.
Does my corporation need to pay tax instalments?
Your corporation generally has to pay instalments if its tax payable was more than $3,000 in the current or previous year. Most pay monthly, and some small CCPCs can pay quarterly. We calculate your instalments when we file your T2 so you aren’t charged instalment interest.
Can you help with SR&ED tax credits?
Yes. We prepare SR&ED claims end to end, including the eligibility review, the T661 technical narrative, Schedule 31 and the expenditure figures, with pricing quoted after a free consultation. We keep SR&ED-ready books, with project coding, timesheets and past-year cleanup, so your books reconcile to the claim, and we prepare and file your T2. See our SR&ED tax credits page.
What documents do you need to prepare my T2?
We need access to your bookkeeping file or bank and credit card statements to year-end, last year’s T2 and Notice of Assessment, details of assets bought or sold, loans and money you took out, payroll and GST/HST filings, and any CRA letters. We send a checklist when you sign on.
Can you take over from my current accountant?
Yes. Send us last year’s T2, financial statements and Notice of Assessment, and authorize us in your CRA My Business Account. We’ll pick up the carry-forward balances, such as CCA, losses and shareholder loans, so nothing gets lost in the switch.
Ready to get your T2 off your desk?
Whether your year-end just passed, you’ve got a nil return to file for a holding company, or you’re a few years behind and dreading it, the first step is a free 30-minute call with a CPA. We’ll look at where things stand and send a fixed price, mostly within one business day. If you have a comparable written quote, show it to us before you sign and we’ll match it.
Call (866) 254-5368 or email info@tledgers.ca. A 24/7 receptionist answers, so a real person picks up.