Is a voluntary disclosure available for a corporation in Canada?

Yes, a corporation can apply under the Voluntary Disclosures Program, and the tests are the same ideas as for an individual. The disclosure has to be voluntary, which means before CRA has contacted the company about that issue. It has to be complete. A penalty would have to apply if the disclosure were not made. The tax has to be paid, or a payment arrangement accepted. CRA does not have to accept the disclosure. If it is accepted, the relief is about penalties and the related interest treatment, not about cancelling the tax.

A corporation that simply never filed nil T2s, and owes nothing, often has no penalty to relieve. VDP is the wrong tool. File the nil returns. A corporation that collected HST and never reported it, or that paid shareholders in cash that never hit a T4 or a T5, is the kind of file where the program deserves a serious look — before anyone calls CRA.

What usually ruins a corporate disclosure

The program fails on process more often than it fails on arithmetic.

• A director already described the problem on the business enquiries line.
• A demand to file, an audit, or a review of that specific issue has arrived.
• The disclosure includes the sales and leaves out the HST, or includes the HST and leaves out the shareholder benefits.
• Only the latest year is disclosed when five years are wrong.
• The company applies, and the shareholder’s personal returns still hide the same money.

We will tell you if ordinary filing is the better path

Tax Everyday prepares corporate disclosures when the facts support one, and ordinary T2 catch-ups when they do not. We will not promise acceptance. A ready corporate year that does not need a disclosure is $2,000 plus HST. A disclosure is quoted, because it is the returns plus the submission plus the shareholder’s personal side.

Bring every CRA letter unopened if you have to. The envelope date can matter as much as the story.