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Tax returns for public companies in BC

The T2 return, instalments and year-end tax provision for Canadian public companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, the CSE and similar markets. EverStone is a CPA firm; we prepare the return and the tax numbers your auditor reviews, working alongside your audit rather than instead of it. Updated September 2026.

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Quick answer: a public company files the same T2 corporate tax return as any Canadian corporation, but it is never a CCPC. That means no small business deduction, every dollar of income taxed at the general rate, instalments paid monthly and the balance due two months after year-end. EverStone prepares the T2, the provincial schedules and the IAS 12 income tax provision for listed issuers across BC, from $2,000 per return for a single listed company, fixed in writing after we review your enquiry.

What is included

The T2 return and its schedules, including Schedule 1 reconciling accounting income to taxable income, the CCA schedule and the provincial schedules, filed electronically.
The income tax provision under IAS 12: current tax, deferred tax and the rate reconciliation note, prepared in the form your auditor expects to test.
Monthly instalments calculated for the coming year, with a schedule your finance team can pay from.
Eligible dividend support: the low rate income pool (LRIP) check and the designation notice to shareholders.
Information returns that listed issuers often need, such as the T106 for transactions with non-arm’s-length non-residents and the T1134 for foreign affiliates.
A written summary for the CFO and audit committee: what the year showed, the positions taken and what changes next year.

Why a listed company’s return is different

A private company owned by Canadians is usually a Canadian-controlled private corporation, and most of the tax planning written for small business assumes that status. A public corporation cannot be a CCPC. The consequences run through the whole return.

No small business deduction. All active business income is taxed at the general rate: 15% federal plus the provincial general rate, which is 12% in British Columbia (27% combined), 11.5% in Ontario (26.5%) and 8% in Alberta (23%). The B.C. rates pages set out the rest.

Earlier payment. The T2 is still due six months after year-end, but the balance owing is due two months after it, not three. Instalments are monthly; the quarterly option is only for small CCPCs.

Different dividend pools. A CCPC tracks its general rate income pool; a public company tracks its LRIP instead. Dividends paid while an LRIP balance exists cannot be designated eligible, which matters to every shareholder who expects the enhanced dividend tax credit.

Smaller research credits. SR&ED claims on the T661 still earn an investment tax credit, but at 15% and non-refundable, so it reduces tax payable rather than coming back as cash.

How the year-end runs alongside the audit

For a listed issuer the tax work has two deadlines that do not line up: the securities deadline for the audited annual statements (120 days after year-end for a venture issuer, 90 days for others) and the CRA’s six-month deadline for the T2. The provision has to be ready for the first; the return follows it.

Planning meeting before year-end. We agree the timetable with the CFO and the auditor, and list the unusual items of the year: financings, acquisitions, option grants, debt settlements.
Draft tax provision. Current and deferred tax, the rate reconciliation and the deferred tax asset position, with support for any losses carried forward.
Auditor review. We answer the audit team’s questions on the provision directly, so your finance staff are not the go-between.
Balance due paid. Any tax owing is paid within two months of year-end, before the return is filed, so no arrears interest runs.
The T2 and schedules. Prepared from the audited statements and filed electronically within six months.
Instalments reset. The monthly instalment schedule for the next year is recalculated from the filed return.

Fees depend on the number of entities, subsidiaries outside Canada and how many unusual transactions the year had. They are quoted in writing after we review your enquiry; our published fees show how the rest of our work is priced.

Tax issues that come up on venture and small-cap issuers

Reverse takeovers and changes of control. Many venture listings happen through a reverse takeover or a qualifying transaction. An acquisition of control triggers a deemed year-end and restricts non-capital losses to the same or a similar business. The deemed year-end is a full T2 filing of its own, and it is easy to miss in the rush of the listing.

Share issue costs. Legal, underwriting and listing costs of raising equity are not expensed in the year; they are deducted over five years. They sit on Schedule 1 and in the deferred tax note until they are used.

Stock options. The IFRS 2 expense for options settled in shares is added back on Schedule 1; the corporation generally gets no deduction when options are exercised from treasury. The deferred tax note has to show that the expense creates no tax asset.

Flow-through shares. Mining and energy issuers that renounce exploration expenses to investors file the T101 forms, and a renunciation under the look-back rule brings Part XII.6 tax if the money is not spent in time. We track the spending against the deadline through the year.

Losses and the deferred tax asset. Pre-revenue issuers carry large non-capital losses. Whether the deferred tax asset is recognized is an accounting judgement the auditor will test; the loss schedule on the T2 is the evidence behind it.

Who this is for, and who it is not

A good fit: a listed company on the TSX Venture Exchange or the CSE, or a small-cap on the TSX, with a lean finance team, one Canadian operating entity or a few subsidiaries, and an auditor who needs a clean, documented tax provision on time. Resource, technology and life-sciences issuers are typical.

Not a fit: a large multinational needing multi-country transfer pricing or a full tax department; as a single-CPA firm we will say so upfront. We do not audit; a reporting issuer’s audit is done by a Canadian Public Accountability Board-registered firm, and our work is prepared for its review.

If your company is private and owner-managed, the T2 corporate tax return page is the one written for you.

The forms and the dates

The core filing: T2 with Schedule 1, CCA, loss schedules and a provincial schedule per province with a permanent establishment; Alberta and Quebec run their own returns. Foreign dealings add the T106 and T1134; flow-through, the T101 series; research, the T661 and Schedule 31. Instalments monthly, balance at two months, return at six. See the T2 Corporation Income Tax Guide.

Where we work from

EverStone serves BC listed companies remotely by secure upload, video and e-signed engagement letters. BC has many venture issuers in resources and technology, and the provincial work is the same wherever the head office is. See the Vancouver pages.

What sets the fee

Public company tax returns start from $2,000 per return for one listed company: the T2, its schedules and the IAS 12 provision. A group or a busier year is quoted above that, per engagement, in writing, before work starts. What moves it: how many corporations and where, any financing, acquisition or change of control, flow-through shares or SR&ED, and how complete the working papers are. An email enquiry usually scopes it.

Other corporate tax work

The rest of what this covers, and the page each one is on.

T2 corporate tax returnThe T2 for private, owner-managed corporations: what is filed, what we need and when it is due. Tax planningProactive, year-round tax planning for Canadian corporations CRA review & audit supportA CPA between you and the CRA: reviews, information requests, audits and objections, answered with… All corporate taxT2 returns, GST/HST and PST filing, tax planning and CRA support for incorporated Canadian…

Common questions about public company tax returns

Can a public company ever be a CCPC?+

No. A company listed on a designated Canadian exchange is a public corporation, not a CCPC, so no small business deduction, refundable CCPC credits or quarterly instalments. Ask us →

When is corporate tax due for a public company?+

The balance of tax is due two months after year-end, and the T2 return six months after year-end. Instalments are paid monthly through the year. Paying late costs arrears interest from the due date even when the return itself is on time.

Do you prepare the IAS 12 tax provision?+

Yes. We prepare current and deferred tax, the rate reconciliation and the deferred tax note, with working papers your auditor can test. The provision and the T2 are prepared from the same numbers, so they agree.

Can you work with our existing auditor?+

Yes, and that is how it is meant to work. The audit stays with your audit firm; we prepare the tax provision and the return, and answer the audit team’s tax questions directly. We do not audit statements ourselves.

Are dividends from a public company eligible dividends?+

Usually, as long as the corporation has no low rate income pool (LRIP) balance when the dividend is paid. The corporation must also tell shareholders the dividend is eligible; a public company can do that by a notice on its website or in its shareholder communications.

We are pre-revenue. Do we still file a T2?+

Yes. Every resident corporation files a T2 yearly. For a pre-revenue issuer it records losses, share issue costs and exploration pools that shelter later income, so accuracy matters more.

Starting fees

Every fee is fixed in writing before any work begins.

Public company T2 returnfrom $2,000 per returnThis page
Monthly bookkeeping, sales tax filing includedfrom $325 a month
Payroll, remittances, T4s and ROEsincluded in monthly bookkeeping
Books, payroll and the year-end T2 together$500–$700 a month
Corporate year-end and T2 returnfixed fee, quoted in writing
Personal tax return (T1)from $125; self-employed or rental $275–$500
Catch-up bookkeepingfrom $2,200 per year of records
Controller or CFO supportcontroller from $1,650, CFO from $2,750 a month
One-off advice call with a CPA$225 plus applicable tax

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