The corporate annual return: the registry filing that is not your T2

If you take one thing from this page, take this: the corporate annual return is not your tax return. Owners conflate the two constantly, and the confusion is understandable — both are annual, both are mandatory, both use the word “return.” But they go to different governments for different reasons, and only one of them can end with your company ceasing to exist.

What the annual return actually does

The registry maintains the public record of your corporation: its legal name, registered and records office addresses, and its directors. The annual return is how you confirm that record is still accurate. There is no financial information on it and no tax to pay — only a filing fee.

It is a housekeeping filing. It is also the filing that keeps your corporation legally in existence, which makes it one of the highest-consequence pieces of paperwork a small company handles all year.

Federal corporations (CBCA)

Every corporation governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act must file an annual return with Corporations Canada within 60 days following its anniversary date — the date the corporation was incorporated, amalgamated or continued under the Act. The fee to file online is $12.

Since 22 January 2024, CBCA corporations also file information on their individuals with significant control (ISCs) at the same time as the annual return, and a corporation key is required to file. If you do not file, the corporation’s annual filing status shows as overdue in the public database of federal corporations and the corporation cannot obtain a Certificate of Compliance — which lenders, landlords and buyers ask for at the worst possible moment.

British Columbia companies

A company incorporated in BC must file an annual report each year within two months of the anniversary date of its incorporation, amalgamation, extraprovincial registration or continuation into BC. The fee is $43.39, filed through Corporate Online using the access code on your annual report reminder.

The BC annual report is separate again from holding an annual general meeting, which the Business Corporations Act requires and which can now be held fully or partially electronically.

What happens if you do not file

This is the part worth internalising.

• Federal: the law allows Corporations Canada to dissolve a corporation after one year of non-filing, but its stated policy is to dissolve only after two years. Before dissolution, a final notice gives a further 120 days to file.
• British Columbia: a corporation may be dissolved if it does not file an annual report for two consecutive years, or fails to file another return, notice or document required by the Act.

Administrative dissolution is not a warning — it is the end of the company as a legal person. Bank accounts, contracts, licences and property held in the corporate name all become problems at once. Restoration is possible: BC offers full restoration, commonly used by companies that have been carrying on business without realising they were dissolved for not filing annual reports for two consecutive years. It is a paperwork exercise you would rather not fund.

Keeping both straight

The simplest system is to anchor each filing to its own trigger date. The registry filing keys off your anniversary of incorporation. The tax filing keys off your fiscal year end, which is often a different date entirely — see choosing a corporate fiscal year end and the T2 filing deadline. Put both in the same calendar, labelled clearly, and check that registry reminder emails go to an address someone actually reads.

If you are choosing where to incorporate in the first place, the ongoing filing obligations differ — that comparison is in federal versus provincial incorporation. And if you are winding a company down deliberately, do it properly rather than by simply not filing: see dissolving a corporation.

The bottom line

Two filings, two deadlines, two authorities. The T2 protects you from tax penalties; the annual return protects the existence of the company itself. Both belong in the calendar, and neither substitutes for the other.

This article is general information for Canadian business owners and is current as of July 2026. It is not tax, legal or accounting advice, and it does not create a client relationship. Tax rules change and your situation is unique — please speak with a CPA before acting on anything here.