Corporate tax accountant for Sudbury corporations
A Sudbury corporation files one T2 that carries both federal and Ontario tax, then a separate annual return with the Ontario Business Registry on a deadline of its own. For companies that sell into the mining supply chain, the return is also where large equipment purchases, long receivable cycles and contract timing all land. EverStone prepares it remotely. See the Ontario tax reference or the Sudbury practice page.
Quick answer: A Sudbury corporation reports Ontario tax inside the same T2 it files federally, at combined rates of 11.2% on income eligible for the small business deduction and 26.5% on general income (the small-business rate was 12.2% before 1 July 2026). It then files a separate annual return with the Ontario Business Registry. EverStone prepares the corporate return remotely at a fixed fee. For a one-owner Sudbury company, monthly bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements generally come to $450–$650 a month.
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 company in Sudbury, Valley East or Lively files a single T2 corporate return that carries both the federal and the 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 provincial lower rate was 3.2%, so a fiscal year that straddles 1 July 2026 is prorated by days.
Income above the business limit, and income that is not active business income, is taxed at the general combined rate of 26.5%, being 15% federal plus Ontario’s 11.5%. The gap between those two rates is the number a growing Sudbury company should plan against. Once taxable income approaches the limit, decisions about bonuses to the owner, the timing of a large purchase and whether to leave profit in the company all start to move real money, and they have to be made before the year closes rather than at filing.
Equipment, CCA and the timing of a purchase
Greater Sudbury’s economy was built on mining, and the city’s economic development office describes a supply and services cluster of several hundred local companies around the area’s mines, mills, smelters and refinery: capital equipment and consumables, engineering, mine construction and contracting, mapping, automation and communications. For those businesses the corporate return is dominated by assets rather than by billable hours. Trucks, service rigs, fabrication equipment, shop tooling and specialised testing gear are not expensed when bought; they are added to the right capital cost allowance class and deducted over time.
That makes the purchase date a tax decision. An asset available for use before year-end can generate a deduction this year; the same asset delivered a week later waits a full year. Getting the class right matters too, because different classes carry different rates, and a fabrication shop that lumps everything into one class either overstates or understates its deduction. We review the fixed-asset additions every year rather than rolling the prior schedule forward. CCA classes explained sets out how the classes work.
Long receivables and the contracts behind them
Many Sudbury suppliers and contractors sell to a small number of large customers on purchase orders and master service agreements. Revenue is earned when the work is done, not when the customer finally pays, so a corporation can owe tax on income it has not yet collected. Where a contract runs across the year-end, work performed but not yet invoiced also has to be recognised in the right period. Both points push taxable income ahead of cash, which is why the year-end conversation for a contractor is as much about the bank balance as the return.
Where a specific receivable genuinely becomes uncollectible, it can be deducted in the year that is established, but a general allowance against receivables is not deductible. We look at the aged listing at year-end so that nothing doubtful sits in income without being examined.
HST instead of two sales taxes
Ontario harmonized its provincial sales tax with the GST, so a single 13% HST covers both and is administered federally. For a corporation that means one registration, one return and a provincial component that is recoverable as an input tax credit in the same way as the federal part. A Sudbury company that ships equipment or services to a customer in another province meets a different rate on the invoice, decided by the place-of-supply rules rather than by where the company sits. Place-of-supply rules covers which rate applies.
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, and the cost of neglect usually shows up when a bank, a buyer or a lawyer asks for proof of status. We diarise it against the year-end alongside the T2.
Employer health tax once the crew grows
Ontario levies employer health tax on remuneration. The rate is selected from the payroll bands using total Ontario remuneration before the $1,000,000 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 share one exemption through an allocation agreement. A Sudbury contractor that has set up a second company for equipment or a new division needs to treat the group as one for this purpose. Payroll in Sudbury covers the calculation.
Instalments once the corporation is profitable
A corporation past its first profitable year generally moves onto instalments, paying its combined federal and Ontario tax through the year. The base comes from prior-year figures, so a company coming off a strong contract year keeps paying at that level into a quieter one unless the estimate is revised. The reverse is more common: a fast-growing supplier pays instalments sized to a smaller year and meets a large balance owing and interest at filing. For a CCPC claiming the small business deduction the balance is due three months after year-end, before the return itself. T2 deadlines and penalties sets out the dates.
Working with a CPA who is not in Sudbury
EverStone is a fully virtual CPA firm. There is no Sudbury office, no branch and no local staff. Ontario corporate tax is reported inside the federal return under rules that are the same wherever the preparer works, and the return is transmitted electronically. The engagement runs 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, at a fee agreed in writing first.
Written and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, a fully virtual firm preparing T2 returns and Ontario registry filings for Sudbury corporations. Updated . About the firm · Send an enquiry
Key T2 dates for a Sudbury corporation
| Obligation | When it is due |
|---|---|
| Balance owing | 3 months after fiscal year-end, for a CCPC claiming the small-business deduction |
| T2 return filing | 6 months after fiscal year-end |
| Ontario annual return | Within 6 months of fiscal year-end, through the Ontario Business Registry |
| Instalments | Monthly or quarterly, where your corporation is required to pay them |
| Sales tax where you operate | 13% HST, a single registration and a single return |
Source: All CRA deadlines. General information, not advice.
In Sudbury, EverStone also works with trades and contractors and realtors.
Sudbury corporate tax questions
What is the corporate tax rate for a Sudbury company?+
Does Ontario have a separate corporate tax return?+
When can my company deduct a new truck or piece of equipment?+
Do I pay tax on invoices a mining customer has not paid yet?+
Do you have a Sudbury office?+
When is the Ontario annual return due?+
What does a corporate tax return cost in Sudbury?+
Do you work with businesses outside Sudbury itself?+
Related services and local guides
The rest of what we do for Sudbury businesses, the Ontario reference pages, and the guides behind this one.
Who this is for, and who it is not
For a Sudbury corporation that wants the T2, the Ontario layers and the registry return handled by one CPA at a fee fixed first, whether it supplies the mines, builds houses in Valley East or runs a professional practice. Not for price-only shoppers, or anyone who wants a local office to visit. The work is remote, on published fees.
What happens when you get in touch
A Sudbury company starts in three steps.
- Email enquiry. Tell us about the company, past filings and anything late, then get a written fixed fee with no obligation.
- CRA access. Authorization lets us read balances and notices directly; a previous firm’s file is requested that week.
- Caught up. Books closed, late years filed oldest first, and T2 and instalment dates set for the year.
Incorporated in Sudbury?
Get the T2, the CCA schedule, the Ontario layers and the registry deadline handled by one CPA, at a fixed fee agreed up front.
“…We switched to him last year for both our personal and small-business taxes — responsive, knowledgeable and quick.”