Who this is for
Anyone who incorporated a BC company in the last few weeks. A contractor, a consultant, a new shop, a real estate agent setting up a PREC, a trucking owner operator. The list is the same.
The seven things
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Open a bank account in the company’s name. The company is a separate taxpayer. Its money and yours must not share an account. Put your start-up money in as a clearly labelled deposit and keep the deposit slip.
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Decide how the books will be kept. Software you run, a bookkeeper, or us. Decide now, not at year end. Keep every invoice and receipt from day one, even the incorporation fees. The CRA expects a corporation to keep records for six years.
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Set up the company’s CRA accounts. The company gets a nine-digit business number when it incorporates. Accounts hang off that number: corporation income tax (RC), GST (RT) and payroll (RP). Only open the ones you need, but open them before you need them.
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Check whether to register for GST now. You must register once taxable sales pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four quarters together. Many new companies register right away so they can recover GST on their own purchases. Either way, decide on purpose.
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Set up payroll if the company will pay anyone a salary, including you. A salary means a payroll account, deductions sent to the CRA on time, and a T4 at year end. If you will take dividends instead, no payroll account is needed yet. Our guide on salary and dividends covers the choice.
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Choose the year end and write it down. A corporation can pick any year end in its first year. The T2 return is due six months after that date. Tax owing is generally due sooner. Choose a date that suits your business cycle and tell us.
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Put the BC annual report in your calendar. This is not a tax filing. It goes to BC Registries within two months of each anniversary of incorporation. It confirms the company is still active and its directors are current. Miss it for two years and the company can be dissolved.
One thing most people do not realize
A BC company has two separate yearly filings, and they go to two different places. The T2 tax return goes to the CRA within six months of the year end, even if the company did nothing. The BC annual report goes to BC Registries within two months of the incorporation anniversary. Filing one does not cover the other, and a company that misses the annual report for two years in a row can be dissolved.
What to bring if you want help
- The certificate of incorporation and the incorporation number
- The company’s business number, if the CRA has sent it
- The names of the directors and shareholders
- What the company will do and roughly what it will bill in the first year
- Whether you plan to pay yourself a salary, dividends, or do not know yet
- Bank account details once the account is open
What this guide does not cover
Whether to incorporate at all, share structures, and shareholder agreements are legal and planning questions. We prepare the returns and keep the books. If you need a lawyer for the set-up, we will say so.
From the Rex Tax desk
The year-end problem we see most often with new companies is not tax. It is money that moved between the owner and the company with no note of what it was. A deposit from your own account: loan or share purchase? A transfer out: salary, dividend, or repayment? Decide at the time and write one line. It saves an hour of reconstruction later.
Official sources
- CRA: Find out if you have to file a corporation income tax return (T2)
- CRA: When to file your corporation income tax return
- CRA: When to register for and start charging the GST/HST
- Government of BC: Incorporated companies, annual reports
This guide is general information, not advice about your situation. It reflects the rules for the 2026 tax year. It has not yet been reviewed by a practitioner. The information was checked against the official sources listed above on the date shown. Rules change. Check the official sources above or ask us. How we prepare these guides.