Reminder that all Ontario businesses must now file annual returns through Ontario Business Registry

Prior to May 15, 2021, Ontario corporate annual returns, required under the Ontario Corporations Information Act, were filed with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as part of the annual T2 Corporation Income Tax Return. Effective May 15, 2021, CRA and the Ontario government announced that annual returns, which confirm and update certain basic corporate information, would no longer be filed as part of the T2 and would be removed from commercial tax preparation software.  

All Ontario corporations must now file their annual returns directly online through the new Ontario Business Registry, which was launched on October 19, 2021. The new registry allows businesses and not-for-profit corporations to complete a wide range of transactions, including incorporation, registering a new business name, dissolving an existing business and filing annual returns, online.  For most corporations, this means their accountants will no longer automatically file the annual return when filing the corporation’s tax return – an extra step each year for most corporations.

Annual returns must be filed within six months of a corporation’s year-end.