Filing an Ontario Annual Return

Effective October 19, 2021, Ontario corporations must register and file their annual returns (not a tax return, but rather, an informational return) using the Ontario Business Registry system. This is separate from the annual Corporate Income Tax Return filing that must also be completed for a corporation (usually handled by an accountant).

Prior to October 19, 2021, Ontario corporations filed their annual returns in conjunction with their Corporate Income Tax Returns (i.e. when the Corporate Tax Return was filed, the annual return was filed automatically).

The Corporations Information Act Annual Return for Ontario Corporations is an annual submission disclosing basic non-financial information about an Ontario corporation (i.e. address, directors, officers) and is due six months after the year-end date of the corporation.

There is a lot of confusion regarding these filings as access by accountants and lawyers has been limited, leaving corporate owners/directors/officers to file on their own.

Adding to the confusion is the multi-step approach required prior to filing.

Below, we’ve done our best to provide you with a guide that can assist in registration and ongoing filings.