Indeed, business corporations must fill their income tax return every year, even if the corporation does not have to pay taxes or does not have any income.

No. Your business is not required to use a chartered accountant for its financial statements. Anyone can prepare their own financial statements and there is no requirement for a business to use a certified accountant to do so.

As far as corporate tax returns are concerned, the forms to be filled are the following: T2 for federal to Canada Revenue Agency and CO-17 for provincial to Revenu Québec.

Corporations must declare within six months of the end of the fiscal year. However, if the corporation has to pay taxes, it only has 2 months following the end of the fiscal year to make the payment without penalties and interest.

You must pay your taxes two months after the end of the tax year for provincial to Revenu Québec, and two months after the end of the tax year for federal to Canada Revenue Agency.

There are two instances in which you do not need to pay tax instalments: 
–  For a new corporation on its first operational year.

You must keep accounting records (software, transaction log), invoices, bookkeeping vouchers, bank statements, financial statements, copies of income tax returns, notices of assessment and other key documents.

You must keep your important documents for a minimum of six years after the end of the last fiscal year they refer to.

All Canadian corporations must include the totality of their foreign income.

The deadline for personal tax returns is the 30th of April, with interest and penalties for those who pass the deadline.