--- title: "Corporate Tax Return Accountant in BC: T2 Preparation" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-return-t2 description: "T2 corporate return preparation for Canadian incorporated businesses: what is filed, what we need from you, when it is due and what it costs. Ask us." type: service-or-info updated: 2026-10-08 summary: "A T2 corporate return reports the corporation’s income for its own fiscal year. It is due six months after year end, and any balance owing is due two or three months after it — so the payment deadline arrives before the filing one. Preparation is quoted after we review your enquiry, from a closed set of books." faq_count: 4 publisher: EverStone CPA Inc., a Chartered Professional Accountant firm registered with CPA British Columbia and CPA Alberta service_area: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba language: en-CA contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online --- [Home](https://www.everstonecpa.com/) [Corporate tax](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-services) T2 corporate tax return preparation Corporate tax · T2 # T2 corporate tax return preparation in BC Updated 8 October 2026 Every Canadian corporation files a T2, whether or not it made money and whether or not it traded at all. What varies is how much work sits behind it. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=corporate-tax#enquiry-form) [All corporate tax services](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-services) ★★★★★ Rated 5.0 on Google from 21 reviews · [Read them](https://www.everstonecpa.com/reviews) **Quick answer:** A T2 corporate return reports the corporation’s income for its own fiscal year. It is due six months after year end, and any balance owing is due two or three months after it — so the payment deadline arrives before the filing one. Preparation is quoted after we review your enquiry, from a closed set of books. **December 31 year-end?** The T2 is due six months later, but any balance owing is due two or three months after the year-end, before the return. [Get your corporate tax quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=corporate-tax#enquiry-form) now so the year-end is planned, not rushed. **Who does the work:** a Chartered Professional Accountant prepares and reviews your file and answers your questions, from the first quote to the filed return. [About EverStone CPA](https://www.everstonecpa.com/about). Need statements a bank will accept? See [year-end financial statement preparation](https://www.everstonecpa.com/financial-statement-preparation-canada). At a glance ## Corporate year-end and T2, in one view What the engagement covers, what it does not, and what decides the fee. ### Who it suits - Incorporated businesses with a fiscal year end coming up or recently passed - Owners who keep their own books, or have a bookkeeper - Companies moving from another accountant ### What is included - Year-end adjusting entries, so the books and return agree - The T2 and the schedules it needs, e-filed - Capital cost allowance on equipment and vehicles - A review of owner salary and dividends before filing ### Outside the standard scope - Bookkeeping for the year, or bringing books current - Prior-year or overdue returns - Replies to CRA reviews and audits - Audit or review engagements, which we do not perform ### What you provide - Your books, or the trial balance at year end - Bank, card and loan statements for the year - Payroll and sales tax filings - Last year’s return and statements, if you are new to us ### How it works - Request a quote with your fiscal year end - Scope and a fixed fee in writing - Records shared, questions answered by email - Draft reviewed with you, then filed ### What affects the fee - Condition of the books at year end - Number of transactions and accounts - Payroll, GST/HST and PST filings - Additional companies, such as a holding company [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=corporate-tax#enquiry-form) Personal returns for the owners can be quoted with it. ## Tax return, bookkeeping, statements: four different pieces of work Owners often ask for “the T2” and mean several things. They are separate pieces of work, and a quote should say which ones it includes. | Work | What it is | When you need it | | T2 return preparation | The corporate income tax return and its schedules, prepared from a closed set of books. | Every year, for every corporation, even with no income. | | Year-end bookkeeping adjustments | Entries that finish the books: accruals, amortization, shareholder loan balances and corrections to coding. | Almost every year, even when a bookkeeper keeps good books. | | Financial statement preparation | The balance sheet and income statement for the year. The T2 itself carries the financial information in CRA’s standard format. | Every year, in some form, because the return needs the figures. | | Compilation engagement | Statements compiled by a CPA under the Canadian compilation standard (CSRS 4200), with a compilation engagement report. It is not an audit or a review and gives no assurance. | When a bank, landlord or investor asks for CPA-prepared statements. | ### If the bookkeeping is incomplete The return cannot be finished from incomplete books. We tell you what is missing, quote the work to [bring the books current](https://www.everstonecpa.com/catch-up-bookkeeping) separately, and only then prepare the return. That keeps the return itself at the quoted fee. ### If you already have a bookkeeper Keep them. We work from their books, send back the year-end adjustments, and explain anything worth changing going forward. [How we work with bookkeepers](https://www.everstonecpa.com/for-bookkeepers). ## What is included - **The T2 return and every schedule it needs**, e-filed, with the confirmation sent to you. - **Year-end adjusting entries** so the books and the return agree rather than diverging quietly. - **The capital cost allowance schedule**, with the half-year rule and any disposals applied. - **The provincial return** where the province administers its own, as Alberta and Quebec do. - **Salary and dividend planning** for the owner, decided before the year closes rather than after. - **A written summary** of what the year showed and what changed from the one before. ## What we need from you A closed set of books, or the records to close them. In practice that means the bank and credit card statements for the year, the payroll records, the sales tax filings, any loan statements, and the invoices for anything bought that will be depreciated rather than expensed. Where the books are not closed, that is its own piece of work and it is quoted separately. [Bringing the books current](https://www.everstonecpa.com/catch-up-bookkeeping) covers it, and doing it first is what keeps the return itself at the quoted fee. ## The tax return deadlines that actually bite The filing deadline is six months after the fiscal year end. The payment deadline is earlier — two months after year end for most corporations, three for those claiming the small business deduction — which means a corporation that waits for the filing deadline has usually been accruing interest for months. Instalments are a separate clock again. [How corporate instalments work](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/corporate-tax-installments-canada) sets out when they start and how they are calculated. ## How a year-end T2 runs, from close to filing A corporate tax return is the last step of a sequence, and most of the cost and most of the risk sit in the steps before it. This is the order the work goes in. - **Close the year in the books.** Bank and credit card accounts reconciled to the statements, receivables and payables confirmed, and the shareholder loan account agreed with the owner. - **Year-end adjustments.** Accruals, prepaid expenses, inventory counts where there is inventory, and the capital assets bought or sold in the year, which drive capital cost allowance (CCA). - **Financial statements.** A balance sheet and income statement, usually as a compilation engagement under CSRS 4200, which is what the T2 is built from and what a bank asks to see. - **The T2 and its schedules.** The GIFI financial statements (Schedules 100 and 125), net income for tax purposes (Schedule 1), CCA (Schedule 8), dividends paid (Schedule 3), shareholder information (Schedule 50) and, for a B.C. corporation, the provincial tax calculation. - **Owner pay, settled.** Salary through payroll with a T4, or dividends with a T5 slip, decided before the return rather than after it. - **Filing and payment.** The return is filed electronically within six months of year-end. Any balance owing is due two months after year-end — three for a Canadian-controlled private corporation claiming the small business deduction that meets the conditions. If the corporation owes enough, instalments start the following year, and the notice of assessment that comes back after filing is checked against the return before it is filed away. On price: for a one-owner trades corporation with around 200 transactions a year, monthly bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements together usually run $500–$700 a month all-in, as set out on [our pricing page](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing). A T2 on its own is quoted in writing after we review your enquiry, once we have seen the books. ## Four T2 mistakes that cost more than the return **A shareholder loan left standing.** Money taken out of the corporation that is not salary or a declared dividend sits in the shareholder loan account. If it is not repaid within one year after the end of the corporation’s tax year, it is generally included in the owner’s personal income — taxed in full, with no dividend credit. **Owner pay with no slip.** A salary needs payroll remittances and a T4; a dividend needs a T5. Money that moved without either has to be characterized after the fact, usually at a worse rate. **Filing late when nothing is owing — and when something is.** The late-filing penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax plus 1% for each complete month late, up to 12 months. With no balance owing the penalty is nil, but a late return still delays refunds and draws attention. **Missing the instalment notice.** Once a corporation’s tax passes the threshold, instalments are expected the following year, and interest runs on each one that is short. ## Who this is for, and who it is not **A good fit:** an incorporated Canadian business with a fiscal year to close, whether the books are ours or someone else’s, and whether the year is current or several behind. **Not a fit:** a sole proprietor with no corporation, who files business income inside a personal return instead — that is a [self-employed return](https://www.everstonecpa.com/self-employed-tax-return). In either case we say so on the first call rather than quoting for work you do not need. A listed company’s return is different again: see [public company tax returns](https://www.everstonecpa.com/public-company-tax-return). For your own year-end, the [T2 due-date calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/t2-deadline-calculator) gives the filing and payment dates, and the [instalment calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-instalment-calculator) shows whether instalments start. ## Common questions about the T2 **Do we have to file if the corporation had no activity?** Yes. A Canadian corporation files a T2 for every fiscal year it exists, including years with no revenue. A nil return is quick and cheap; not filing one accrues penalties and eventually a demand. [Ask us →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Can you file a late or missed year?** Yes, and it is common. Late years are prepared in order, oldest first, because each one carries forward into the next. [Catching up on filings](https://www.everstonecpa.com/behind-on-taxes-catch-up) sets out how it runs. **Is the financial statement included?** A compilation-level statement is quoted with the return where you need one for a lender or a shareholder. Where nobody outside the business reads the figures, the return alone is often enough. [Year-end statements](https://www.everstonecpa.com/financial-statement-preparation-canada) covers the levels. **Do you handle the personal return too?** Yes, and they are decided together. How you take money out of the corporation changes both returns, so preparing one without the other means guessing at half the answer. ## The forms and the dates A T2 is due six months after the corporation’s year-end, and any balance owing is due two months after year-end (three for many Canadian-controlled private corporations). Late filing costs 5% of the unpaid balance plus 1% a month, and the CRA does not waive it because the books were late. The return itself carries the GIFI financial statements, Schedule 1 for the book-to-tax reconciliation, Schedule 50 for shareholders and Schedule 8 for capital cost allowance; where the corporation paid subcontractors in construction, the T5018 slips are filed alongside. ## Who this is for in the Fraser Valley Most of the T2 work at this desk is Abbotsford and [Chilliwack construction and trades corporations](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-chilliwack), Langley and Surrey contractors with a holding company beside the operating one, and Mission and Maple Ridge owner-managers whose year-end falls in the busy months. The return is prepared the same way for all of them; what differs is which schedules matter, and that is decided at the planning call, not discovered at filing. ## What sets the fee The T2 is a fixed fee quoted in writing after we review your enquiry. Three things set it. First, whether the books are closed and reconciled to year-end or need catch-up first, which is quoted separately. Second, how many schedules the corporation actually needs — a holding company with investment income and a construction company with T5018s and a vehicle fleet are different returns. Third, whether the personal returns of the owners are prepared alongside, which is usually cheaper together than apart. The quote does not change once accepted unless the file turns out to be a different file. ## Other corporate tax work The rest of what this covers, and the page each one is on. [GST/HST & PST filing GST, HST and PST returns prepared and filed on your schedule, with input tax credits supported and…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-services) [Tax planning Proactive, year-round tax planning for Canadian corporations](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-planning-services-canada) [CRA review & audit support A CPA between you and the CRA: reviews, information requests, audits and objections, answered with…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-review-and-audit-support) [All corporate tax T2 returns, GST/HST and PST filing, tax planning and CRA support for incorporated Canadian…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-services) ## Corporate tax by city The T2 is federal, but the provincial layer is not. Each city page covers its own. - **British Columbia:** [Abbotsford](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-abbotsford), [Chilliwack](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-chilliwack), [Mission](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-mission), [Langley](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-langley), [Surrey](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-surrey), [Maple Ridge](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-maple-ridge), [Aldergrove](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-aldergrove), [Vancouver](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-vancouver), [Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-victoria), [Kelowna](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-kelowna) - **Alberta:** [Calgary](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-calgary), [Edmonton](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-edmonton) - **Manitoba:** [Winnipeg](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-winnipeg) - **Ontario:** [Toronto](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-toronto), [Ottawa](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-ottawa), [Kitchener-Waterloo](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-kitchener-waterloo), [Hamilton](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-hamilton), [London](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-london-ontario), [St. Catharines](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-st-catharines), [Windsor](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-windsor), [Oshawa](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-oshawa), [Barrie](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-barrie) ## Corporate tax in Alberta Alberta businesses file GST with no provincial sales tax and, for corporations, a separate AT1. City pages: [Calgary](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-calgary), [Edmonton](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-edmonton), [Airdrie](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-airdrie), [Red Deer](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-red-deer), [Lethbridge](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-lethbridge), [Medicine Hat](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-medicine-hat), [St. Albert](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-st-albert), [Sherwood Park](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-sherwood-park), [Grande Prairie](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-grande-prairie) and [Fort McMurray](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-fort-mcmurray). ### Starting fees Every fee is fixed in writing before any work begins. - **Corporate year-end and T2 return** fixed fee, quoted in writing *This page* - **Monthly bookkeeping, GST/PST filing included** from $325 a month - **Payroll, remittances, T4s and ROEs** included in monthly bookkeeping - **Books, payroll and the year-end T2 together** $500–$700 a month - **Personal tax return (T1)** from $125; self-employed or rental $275–$500 - **Catch-up bookkeeping** from $2,200 per year of records - **Controller or CFO support** controller from $1,650, CFO from $2,750 a month - **One-off advice call with a CPA** $225 plus GST [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=corporate-tax#enquiry-form) ## Talk to a CPA about this One Chartered Professional Accountant, start to finish. Fixed fees, quoted in writing before any work begins, and no obligation from a first conversation. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online) [Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) Email info@everstonecpa.com ★★★★★ “…have been completing my bookkeeping, taxes and financials for the last 2 years and they have been amazing. Thank you!” R. H. · Google review --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-return-t2 Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online