The tax return for a corporation is called a T2 Corporation Income Tax Return.
Electronic Filing Now Mandatory for T2 Corporate Income Tax Returns - new! $1,000 penalties!
T2 Short Corporate Income Tax Return Form
Provincial/Territorial Corporate Income Tax
General Index of Financial Information (GIFI)
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
CRA Resources - Corporate Tax Forms and Guides
Province of Quebec corporate income tax forms - on Quebec website
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will charge a $1,000 penalty for paper-filed T2 returns that are required to file electronically.
For tax years beginning in 2024 or later, all corporations must file their T2 return electronically. There are very few exceptions. The exceptions are:
See Completing your corporation income tax (T2) return on the CRA website.
The November 2025 Life in the Tax Lane video from Video Tax News includes discussion of this very important topic.
There is also a "T2 Short", which is a simpler version, but still must be electronically filed - see above. The T2 Short can be used if a corporation meets all of the following conditions:
The T2 Short return can also be used for a tax-exempt corporation which has a permanent establishment in only one province or territory.
Corporations earning income in Quebec and Alberta must file separate provincial corporation income tax returns, because these provinces administer their own corporation income tax systems. Corporations with permanent establishments in any province or territory other than these will calculate provincial/territorial taxes as well as federal corporate taxes on the T2 corporate income tax return.
For more information on how the provincial/territorial corporate income tax is calculate, See the CRA T4012 Corporate Income Tax Guide section on Provincial and Territorial Tax.
Corporations must also file a General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) return with their corporate tax returns, for taxation years ending in 2000 and later, except for insurance corporations. The GIFI reports information from the corporation's income statement, balance sheet, and statement of retained earnings.
There is a GIFI Short Form available for corporations who meet all of the following criteria:
The T2 Corporation Income Tax Return, the T2 Short, the GIFI return and the GIFI Short Form can be found on the CRA web page for Completing your corporation income tax (T2) return. Don't forget that the T2 must now be filed electronically - see above.
CRA requires the T2 to include the NAICS code for the corporation, which describes the type of business being conducted. Statistics Canada has the NAICS Table in a drill-down format, to help find the appropriate code.
Schedule 88 Internet Business Activities - if your corporation has a web page or website, it is probably required to file this form.
Schedule 50 Shareholder Information - all private corporations must complete this schedule for any shareholder who holds 10% or more of the corporation's common and/or preferred shares.
Corporate Income Tax Return - includes information on corporate tax year, filing deadlines, and more.
When To File Your Corporation Income Tax Return - Filing Due Dates
Corporate Tax Payments - due dates, when instalments are required, penalties, interest
T2 Corporation Income Tax Guide (T4012), other Guides, T2 return and schedules
General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) for corporations - includes links to the GIFI guide and form T1178 GIFI short form.
- from the Quebec website.
Revised: October 31, 2025