How to File
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires all resident corporations to file a T2 return every tax year even if there is no tax payable. This includes:
- non-profit organizations
- tax-exempt corporations
- inactive corporations
The only exception is a resident corporation that was a registered charity throughout the year.
A non-resident corporation also may be subject to B.C. income tax. Please refer to the section "Before you start", in the T2 Corporation Income Tax Guide.
Most corporations can file their return electronically using the Internet. For information on your eligibility, available software and more, please see the CRA website, Corporation Internet Filing.
You can also use one of three formats to file your paper return by mail or
in person:
- Preprinted returns
- T2 RSI Return and Schedule Information
This is the format for computer-printed returns produced by tax preparation software. The newest versions of CRA-certified software produce two dimensional bar codes that are printed on the first page of the T2 RSI.
- Facsimile returns
These are exact copies of the T2 return. They have to meet CRA standards of format, legibility, and paper quality. You can print them on separate pages instead of on the back and the front of each sheet.
The deadline is six months after the end of each tax year (the corporation's "fiscal period"). When the corporation's tax year ends on the last day of a month, file the return by the last day of the sixth month after the end of the tax year. When the last day of the tax year is not the last day of a month, file the return by the same day of the sixth month after the end of the tax year.
Examples
Tax year-end: March 31
Filing deadline: September 30
Tax year-end: August 15
Filing deadline: February 15
When the due date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the CRA will consider the return filed on time if you deliver, mail, or transmit it on the first business day after the due date.
If you hand-deliver the return to a tax services office or tax centre, the office will date-stamp it and consider it filed on that day. If you mail the return first-class or use an equivalent delivery service, the CRA considers the postmark when determining if the return was filed on time.
Penalties may apply if you file the return late.
Note: To receive a tax refund, you must file a return no later than three years after the end of a tax year.
The penalty for failing to file a return is:
- 5% of the unpaid tax that is due on the filing deadline plus
- 1% of this unpaid tax for each complete month that the return is late, up to a maximum of 12 months
The corporation will be charged an even larger penalty if:
- the CRA issued a demand to file the return and
- the CRA assessed a failure to file penalty for the corporation in any of the three previous tax years
The larger penalty is:
- 10% of the unpaid tax when the return was due plus
- 2% of this unpaid tax for each complete month that the return is late, up to a maximum of 20 months
If you are Internet Filing go to the CRA website, Corporation Internet Filing.
Where you file your paper return depends on where the corporation is located:
- For resident corporations, deliver the return to the CRA tax services office that serves your corporation or mail it to your tax centre
- For non-resident corporations, the International Tax Services Office in Ottawa assesses and reassesses returns that non-resident corporations file. If the corporation is non-resident, send the returns and related correspondence to:
International Tax Services Office
2204 WALKLEY RD
OTTAWA ON K1A 1A8
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