After incorporation: filing annual returns and financial statements

I am incorporated. Is there anything else I have to do?

There are a number of administrative requirements, such as filing a Notice of Registered Office if there is a change and filing a Notice of Directors if there is a change in directors.

However, the key requirement is to file an annual return and financial statements with the Corporations Branch each year.

What is an annual return?

An annual return is the annual filing requirement that maintains your corporation's existence each year and verifies the information we have in our records is correct. Corporations Branch generates the annual return and sends it to the corporation's mailing address approximately six weeks before the due date. You must update and verify the information on the form and file it with our office along with the appropriate fee ($10).

When are annual returns due?

Annual returns are due one month after the anniversary of the date of incorporation.

For example, if your incorporation date is July 15, 2006, the first annual return will be due on August 31, 2007 and every August 31 after that, as long as the corporation continues to exist. The filing fee for the annual return is $10. If the annual return is not filed by the due date, the fee is $20.

When are financial statements due?

Financial statements must be filed at the Corporations Branch within four months after your fiscal year end.

Sample financial statements

What happens if I do not file an annual return or financial statements?

If an annual return is not received within four months of the due date, the corporation will be struck from the Register of Corporations.

If financial statements are not filed within six months of the fiscal year-end, the corporation will also be struck from the Register of Corporations.

What happens if my corporation is struck off?

A non-profit organization cannot hold itself as a corporation if it has been struck from the Register of Corporations. Organizations that operate as corporations without being on the Register of Corporations do so contrary to The Non-Profit Corporations Act, 1995.

How can I get my corporation restored to the Register of Corporations if it is struck off?

To restore your corporation, complete the Application to Restore Name to the Register and the Annual Return. Send these forms and $60 to the Corporations Branch.

Any overdue financial statements must also be filed with these documents.

If a corporation has been struck from the Register for more than one year, the $20 name search fee is also required.