Corporate tax accountant for Richmond Hill corporations

The year-end covers the T2 with Schedule 1 and Schedule 50, the CCA schedule, the small business deduction, T4 or T5 slips for the owner’s pay, and the instalments for the year ahead.

One return, two layers of tax

Ontario has the CRA collect its corporate income tax, so a Richmond Hill corporation files a single T2 that carries both the federal and provincial charge. Active business income eligible for the small business deduction is taxed at a combined 11.2% on a $500,000 business limit: 9% federal plus Ontario’s 2.2% lower rate for days after 30 June 2026. Before that date the Ontario rate was 3.2%, and a taxation year that straddles 1 July 2026 is prorated by days, so a calendar-2026 year-end blends to roughly 11.70% combined.

Income above the business limit, and income that is not active business income, is taxed at 26.5%: 15% federal plus Ontario’s 11.5% general rate. After the July 2026 cut the gap between the two bands is 15.3 points, wider than it was. For a profitable Richmond Hill consultancy or technology company, that spread is the number to plan against: it is what is at stake when passive investment income inside the company starts eroding the business limit, or when an associated group has to share one $500,000 limit between several corporations.

What a Richmond Hill T2 usually involves

The City’s economic development office lists professional, scientific and technical services, health, finance and insurance, and information and culture as Richmond Hill’s key sectors, with a notable high-tech and life-sciences presence. The corporations we see reflect that. An engineering or IT consultancy with one owner and a spouse holding shares. A small software or electronics company with development staff and an SR&ED claim. A health-care practice or medtech business with specialised equipment. An insurance or financial-services professional who has incorporated. Each brings the same core schedules and a different set of judgement calls.

For a technical firm the T2 often turns on three items. The CCA schedule, because computer hardware, test equipment and lab or clinic equipment are depreciated by class rather than expensed, and the class chosen changes the deduction. Form T661, where the company does qualifying development work, because the SR&ED credit is claimed with the return and a Canadian-controlled private corporation can receive the enhanced credit as a refund. And the small business deduction itself, which can shrink when passive income or associated companies come into the picture.

Instalments once the corporation is profitable

A Richmond Hill corporation past its first profitable year generally moves onto instalments, paying its combined federal and Ontario tax through the year rather than at filing. The schedule is built from prior-year figures, which means a company coming off a strong contract year keeps paying at that level into a quieter one unless the estimate is revised. The opposite is more common and more expensive: a fast-growing company pays instalments sized to a much smaller prior year, then meets a large balance and interest at filing.

The balance owing is generally due three months after year-end for a CCPC claiming the small business deduction, while the return itself is due at six months. So the cash question arrives before the paperwork. We estimate the balance before year-end, so the money is set aside in time. T2 deadlines and penalties sets out the dates, and corporate tax instalments covers how the schedule is calculated.

HST sits outside the T2 but feeds into it

Ontario harmonized its provincial sales tax with the GST, so a single 13% HST covers both and is administered federally. For the corporate file the important point is that the provincial component is recoverable as an input tax credit exactly like the federal one, so no provincial sales tax ends up inside the cost of equipment or supplies. That only holds if the books record it correctly; HST coded into the asset cost inflates the CCA base and understates the credit. The HST side is covered on GST/HST filing in Richmond Hill.

Employer health tax: the rate is chosen before the exemption

Ontario levies an employer health tax on remuneration once total Ontario payroll passes the $1,000,000 exemption. The rate is selected from the payroll bands using total remuneration before the exemption is deducted, and only then is the exemption subtracted. No exemption is available where the employer or its associated group has more than $5,000,000 of annual Ontario payroll, and associated employers must file an allocation agreement to share the single exemption. For most small Richmond Hill corporations it never applies; for a growing group it is a cost to model before hiring. Payroll in Richmond Hill covers the mechanics.

The registry annual return is a separate filing

An Ontario corporation’s annual return is filed through the Ontario Business Registry within six months of fiscal year-end. It is not part of the T2, the CRA does not file it, and missing it does not produce a tax assessment — which is exactly why it gets forgotten. It keeps the company in good standing and its registered information current. The consequence of neglect stays administrative until a lender, buyer or lawyer asks for a certificate of status. We diarise it against the year-end, alongside the T2 and the balance due.

Dividends to family shareholders

Many Richmond Hill professional and technical corporations have a spouse or adult children on the share register. Paying dividends to them is no longer the simple income-splitting tool it once was. Under the tax on split income rules, unless the recipient meets an exception — excluded shares, a sufficient labour contribution, or an age-based rule — the dividend can be taxed at the top marginal rate regardless of their other income. The answer depends on facts such as hours worked, ownership percentages and the nature of the business, so the review belongs before the dividend is declared. Tax on split income sets out the exceptions, and the owner’s own T1 is covered on personal tax in Richmond Hill.

Working with a CPA who has no Richmond Hill office

EverStone is a fully virtual firm. There is no Richmond Hill office, no York Region branch and no local staff. Ontario corporate tax is reported inside the federal return under rules that are the same wherever the preparer sits, and the return is transmitted electronically. The engagement runs entirely online: secure document exchange, video calls booked around your schedule, and e-signature. What you give up is a reception desk to drop paperwork at. What you get is the same CPA on the file from the first question to the filed return, and a fee fixed in writing first.

With a rate change mid-year, the year-end target matters more, and a budget built from the operations fixes it before the year closes.