T2 Corporate Income Tax Return: Deadlines, Who Must File and How

The T2 corporate tax return is the annual income tax return every resident corporation in Canada files with the CRA, including inactive and non-profit corporations, even with no tax owing. It is due six months after the end of the tax year. Tax owing is generally due two months after year-end, or three months for many small CCPCs.

This guide explains who must file a T2, the deadlines, how the return is put together, the penalties for filing late and how the T2 fits with your Ontario annual return. It covers general rules only. Speak to an accountant about your own corporation.

What is a T2 corporate tax return?

The T2 Corporation Income Tax Return reports a corporation's income, deductions and tax for one tax year. The corporation is a separate taxpayer from its owners. It files its own T2 under its business number, using its RC (corporation income tax) program account. Your personal T1 return is separate.

A T2 is more than one form. It is built from the main jacket plus schedules: financial statement data, the income reconciliation, shareholder information, the small business deduction and provincial schedules. The CRA also has a shorter version, the T2 Short Return, for some simple cases.

Who must file a T2 return?

According to the CRA, all resident corporations must file a T2 every tax year, even if no tax is payable. That includes:

• active small businesses and holding companies
• inactive corporations with no income or activity in the year
• non-profit and tax-exempt corporations

The only exceptions are tax-exempt Crown corporations, Hutterite colonies and registered charities (which file Form T3010 instead). Non-resident corporations must file only in certain situations, for example if they carried on business in Canada.

A corporation that is dormant but not dissolved still has to file. If you no longer need it, consider dissolving the corporation rather than filing nil returns forever.

When is the T2 due?

The T2 is due within six months after the end of the tax year. If the year ends on the last day of a month, the return is due by the last day of the sixth month after it.

If the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the return is on time if the CRA receives it on the next business day, or it is postmarked by then.

When do you have to pay corporate tax?

Paying and filing have different deadlines. The balance-due day is generally two months after year-end. It is three months if all of these apply:

• the corporation was a Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC) throughout the year
• it claims the small business deduction for the year (or did for the previous year)
• its taxable income for the previous year was not more than its business limit (combined with associated corporations, if any)

Interest runs on any balance not paid by the balance-due day, even if the return is filed on time. Corporations with larger tax bills may also have to pay instalments during the year. Your accountant can confirm whether this applies.

What are the penalties for filing a T2 late?

The late-filing penalty is calculated on unpaid tax. A late nil return creates no percentage penalty, but it is still non-compliance. It can also hold up refunds, benefits and CRA processing of other accounts.

Is there still a separate Ontario corporate tax return?

No. Ontario corporations once filed a separate CT23 return with the province. For tax years ending after December 31, 2008, the CRA administers Ontario corporate tax through the T2. Ontario tax is calculated on Ontario schedules, starting with Schedule 500. You file one return for both federal and Ontario tax.

Ontario's small business rate is 2.2% from July 1, 2026 (it was 3.2%). Combined with the federal 9%, that makes 11.2% on the first $500,000 of active business income for a CCPC. Tax years that straddle July 1 are prorated. The T2 applies the same way whether you incorporate in Ontario or federally; the provincial schedules follow where the corporation earns its income.

How does the T2 relate to the Ontario annual return?

They are separate filings with the same deadline. Ontario corporations must file an annual return with the Ontario Business Registry within six months of fiscal year-end, the same window as the T2. The annual return used to travel with the T2 as an extra schedule. Since October 19, 2021, it is filed directly through the Ontario Business Registry and is free. Filing your T2 does not file your annual return. See our Ontario annual return guide for details, or let us handle it through our annual return service.

Federal corporations file a separate annual return with Corporations Canada within 60 days after their anniversary date.

How do you file a T2 return?

1. Close the books for the year. Prepare a balance sheet and income statement.
2. Map the financial statements to GIFI codes. The General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) is the CRA's standard list of codes. All corporations except insurance corporations should report their financial statement information with it.
3. Complete the schedules. These include the income reconciliation, shareholder information, the small business deduction and provincial schedules.
4. File electronically. Most corporations must file online through Corporation Internet Filing, using CRA-certified tax software. Exceptions include insurance corporations, non-resident corporations, corporations that report in a functional currency and corporations exempt under section 149. NETFILE is for personal T1 returns. Corporations use Corporation Internet Filing.
5. Pay any balance by the balance-due day, through your bank or CRA My Business Account.

You need a business number with an RC program account before you file. Our guide to business number and GST/HST registration explains how program accounts work.

Can a small corporation use the T2 Short Return?

The CRA describes the T2 Short as a simpler version of the T2: two pages plus one schedule. It can generally be used by CCPCs with nil net income or a loss for the year, and by corporations exempt under section 149, if other conditions are met. Those conditions include operating in only one province or territory and reporting in Canadian dollars. Check eligibility in CRA Guide T4012 before you use it.