3 Things You Need To Do When Starting Up A Corporation

Written by:  Suzanne Cody CPA, CGA

As busy as you are when you are just getting things going, it is important to be mindful of Tax issues. There is a great deal of juggling going on with so many puzzle pieces to put together when setting up a newly formed corporation. If you want to avoid starting out on the wrong foot, handling basic tax matters should be in your crosshairs.

You may have started your business to earn a little extra income in addition to your day job like many others have done and now you have a full-time venture on your hands. You have made the decision to incorporate and now need to transfer your existing business to it. You should consider filing an election with the CRA to roll the assets and liabilities into the corporation to avoid unwanted personal tax liabilities. This will require you knowing the value of your current operations.

Get a new business number from the CRA. Upon incorporation you will need to request a business number for the corporation. You will also need to register for a GST account assuming your sales are over $30,000. Depending on whether you plan to have employees and how you plan to compensate yourself, you may also need to register for a payroll account.

You must choose your year-end date within the first twelve months of incorporating. This date does not need to coincide with the anniversary of your incorporation date not with the end of the calendar year. The ideal year-end should be based on your business cycles. For instance, if you are a retail store, you would want to choose a date occurring just after the end of your busy season. This would mean that there would be less inventory to be counted, not as many transactions in progress, and more time for administration work required to close your books.

If you would like further information, please call the office at 705-876-6011 or I can be contacted directly at

Cody & James Chartered Professional Accountants