What an annual return is
An annual return confirms that the information on file about the corporation — registered office address, directors, officers, and (in some provinces) shareholders — is still accurate. If anything has changed during the year, the annual return is where those changes are reported. Every active Canadian corporation is required by statute to file one every year.
Federal corporations
- Filed with Corporations Canada.
- Due within 60 days of the anniversary of incorporation or amalgamation.
- Online filing fee: $12.
- Missing two consecutive annual returns can result in dissolution of the corporation.
Ontario corporations
Since October 2021, Ontario annual returns are filed directly through the Ontario Business Registry. Before that date, most corporations filed the return together with their T2 through the CRA — that route was discontinued. Ontario annual returns are due within six months after the end of the corporation's fiscal year.
- Filed through the Ontario Business Registry.
- Due within six months after the corporation's fiscal year-end.
- Filing fee: currently no fee for the annual return itself in Ontario.
- Non-filing may result in cancellation of the corporation's registration.
What happens if you miss a filing
The pattern is similar across jurisdictions. One missed return typically generates a reminder. Two consecutive missed returns can put the corporation into a "not in compliance" or "not in good standing" status, which becomes visible on any search of the public registry. Continued non-filing leads to administrative dissolution, at which point the corporation ceases to exist as a legal entity. Its name becomes available to others, its contracts and property rights enter a legal grey zone, and its directors may face personal exposure for obligations entered into while it was dissolved.
Reviving a dissolved corporation is possible in most jurisdictions but involves a separate application, fees, and typically payment of any outstanding filings. It is always cheaper and simpler to file on time.
Staying on top of it
The most reliable approach is to add the corporation's incorporation anniversary to a calendar with a reminder 30 days in advance, and to keep a short checklist of whose information might have changed during the year — directors, officers, registered office. Filing the return itself usually takes less than ten minutes once you have those details in hand.