Starting and maintaining a corporation in Ontario involves more than just the initial paperwork. One crucial aspect every corporation must address annually is the Ontario Annual Return.
What is an Ontario Annual Return?
Introduced in October 2021, the Ontario Annual Return is a mandatory filing for profit, professional, and not-for-profit corporations under the Corporations Act, Ontario Business Corporations Act, and the Not For Profit Corporations Act.
The Ontario Annual Return is a document filing required by all Ontario corporations to submit updated information of corporate details to the province of Ontario. This is mandatory for each corporation, even if no changes have occurred since the previous annual return submission.
When is the Ontario Annual Return Due?
The Annual Return must be filed within six months of the corporation’s fiscal year end. This date is often determined by either the directors of the corporation or by the tax specialist or accountant overseeing the corporate tax filings.
For example, if the corporation has its year end to be April 31, the Annual Return is required by October 31th of the same year. The annual return is not connected to the date of incorporation at all. If you are not sure of the year end date, the Revenue Canada Agency should be able to assist you if they have a date on record and be able to provide this to you.
Do I File an Annual Return With the Corporate Tax Return?
No, historically you had to provide an update to your Ontario record by filing the annual return information along with the T2 corporation income tax return. Now, the filing is submitted directly to the province, separate from the tax return filings.
What Corporate Information is Required for the Ontario Annual Return?
The information that is required to file the Annual Return is as follows:
Name of the Corporation
Year of filing
NAICS Code
Description of Business Activity
Complete registered office address change if applicable
Complete corporate director and officer change if applicable
Provide name of person authorizing submission
Official email address
Authorizing person’s position (eg. current director/officer or other person having knowledge of the filing)
Is the Annual Return Filing Mandatory?
Filing the Annual Return is mandatory to maintain compliance with the province of Ontario. Failure to do so may lead to the province canceling the corporation for non-compliance. It is important to keep the records with the government up to date and accurate for a corporation.
Will I Be Notified to File?
Ontario does not maintain or have a record of when a corporation has selected its fiscal year end, so there isn’t any support available for notifying or reminding you when the return is due to be filed.
ONPro Services Inc., as an intermediary with the province of Ontario, also does not have any awareness of when your Annual Return is originally required.
If you choose to complete an Ontario Annual Return corporation online filing with us, we will have a record of when the filing was completed and we will send annual email notifications to remind you of the next annual return filing requirement. Typically we will send you an email a month before the filing date from when you completed the Annual Return with us.
Does the Annual Return Replace the Initial Return?
The Annual Return does not replace the Initial Return which is due within 60 days from the Ontario incorporation date. The Initial Return is used to inform the Ontario government of the details of the corporation and update any changes to the address, directors or inclusion of officers to the corporate record. The corporation risks a non-compliance status if not filed before the 60 day requirement of filing from incorporation.
Does the Annual Return Replace the Notice of Change?
The Ontario Notice of Change also known as the Form 1 or NOC is a separate filing from the Annual Return. The Notice of Change allows corporations to update to their corporate information when needed during the year when the Annual Return does not need to be filed. For example, a change of director or address at a time other than the fiscal year end. You must file the Notice of Change to reflect any change within 15 days of that change happening.
The Corporation’s Home Jurisdiction is Outside of Ontario?
If a corporation was incorporated outside of Ontario, the Ontario Annual Return is not applicable. This is also the case for corporations that have a home jurisdiction outside of Ontario where the corporation has completed either a Form 2 Initial Notice as a domestic foreign corporation or an Extra Provincial License as a foreign corporation where the corporation is registered in the province of Ontario. The Ontario Annual Return is only required for Ontario Corporations exclusively.
Don't forget you can reach out to our team of experts to help you with filing your Annual Return today. You can also check out our library for more information.
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