There is no single form in Canada called a "business tax return." What you actually file depends on your legal structure. A corporation files its own T2 corporate income tax return — plus a CO-17 in Quebec or an AT1 in Alberta. A sole proprietor files no separate business return at all: business income goes on Form T2125 inside the personal T1. And a partnership pays no income tax itself, though many must file a T5013 information return. Here is how to tell which return is yours — and when it makes sense to hand the work to an accountant.
Incorporated? Your corporation files its own return: the T2
A corporation is a separate taxpayer. All resident corporations must file a T2 corporate income tax return with the CRA for every tax year — even inactive, even with no tax payable; only tax-exempt Crown corporations, Hutterite colonies and registered charities are exempt. The T2 is filed apart from your personal T1 and is due six months after the corporation's fiscal year-end, whenever that falls. In most provinces it does double duty, since the CRA collects provincial corporate tax through it. For what actually goes into the form — GIFI schedules, deadlines, penalties — see our guide to the T2 return.
In Quebec: a CO-17 on top of the T2
Quebec administers its own corporate income tax. A corporation with an establishment in Quebec files the federal T2 with the CRA and a CO-17 with Revenu Québec, both due six months after year-end. We cover the details on our CO-17 page.
In Alberta: the AT1
Alberta also collects its own corporate tax. A corporation with a permanent establishment in Alberta generally files an AT1 with Tax and Revenue Administration, due six months after year-end — though many small Canadian-controlled private corporations operating only in Alberta qualify for a filing exemption.
Sole proprietor or self-employed? There is no separate business return
An unincorporated business has no tax return of its own. You report gross and net business income on Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities, filed as part of your personal T1: one taxpayer, one return, with business profit taxed as your personal income. Quebec residents do the same provincially — business income goes on form TP-80 with the Quebec TP-1 return.
In a partnership? The partnership itself pays no income tax
A partnership files no income tax return because it isn't taxed directly: each partner reports their share of the profit — on a T2125 in their personal T1 for an individual, in its own T2 for a corporate partner. Many partnerships must still file a T5013 partnership information return, notably when:
- the absolute value of worldwide revenues plus expenses exceeds $2 million, or worldwide assets exceed $5 million;
- a corporation or a trust is a partner; or
- the partnership is tiered — it has a partnership as a partner or is itself a partner in another one.
The deadlines are not the same
This is where the structures diverge most. Self-employed individuals and their spouses have until June 15 to file the T1 — but any balance owing is still due April 30, and interest runs from that date. A corporation files its T2 six months after its own fiscal year-end and pays its balance earlier — two months after year-end, or three for most small CCPCs. Every corporate date, Quebec included, is laid out in our guide to corporate tax deadlines in Canada.
What filing a business tax return involves
For the self-employed, filing mostly means totalling business income and deductible expenses on the T2125 — consumer tax software handles it. A corporate return is a different exercise: the T2 is built from the corporation's financial statements, recoded into GIFI schedules, with a reconciliation between accounting profit and taxable income, capital cost allowance and the small business deduction layered on top. For tax years starting after 2023, almost all corporations must also file the T2 electronically.
When do you need an accountant?
No law requires one. A sole proprietor with clean records and a simple situation can often self-file. A corporation is another matter: a dozen schedules, statements to reconcile, the salary-versus-dividends decision that ties corporate tax to your personal return, and penalties that compound quickly. That is why most incorporated owners hand the T2 to a CPA. If that's you, Stamped prepares and e-files corporate returns — the T2 plus the provincial return where one exists — from $1,475. See our corporate tax service.