Guides to corporations and business numbers
Plain-language guides to looking up a federal corporation, running one and keeping it in good standing, and to the business number, GST/HST and QST, each checked against the law and the official pages.
Looking up a corporation
-
How to find a corporation's directors
Where the federal record lists the directors, what it shows about each one, and how to tell two people with the same name apart.
-
How to check a corporation is in good standing
Its status, its annual returns and a certificate of compliance: what to look at before you rely on a corporation.
-
Corporate statuses explained
Active, dissolution pending, dissolved, amalgamated and discontinued: what each one means for the corporation and the people dealing with it.
-
Checking a company before you do business with it
A short checklist: the legal name, the status, the directors and owners, the filings, the tax number and the official searches.
-
Corporation number and business number
Which number comes from Corporations Canada, which from the Canada Revenue Agency, and when you need each.
Running a corporation
-
Annual returns: when they are due
The 60 days after each anniversary, what the return asks for, and what happens when one is missed.
-
Changing directors or the registered office
Who decides, what to file with Corporations Canada and by when, and what goes into the minute book at the same time.
-
Keeping a minute book
The registers, resolutions and records a federal corporation must keep, who may see them, and how to keep them current.
-
Reviving a dissolved corporation
When a corporation can be revived, what the application takes, and what revival restores.
Starting a corporation
-
Federal or provincial: where to incorporate
Name protection across Canada, registering in other provinces, and the costs of each choice.
-
How to incorporate federally, step by step
The name, the articles, the first directors and the registered office, through to the certificate of incorporation, and what comes after.
-
The Canada Business Corporations Act in plain words
Who the Act applies to, what it asks of directors and officers, and the rights it gives shareholders.
Numbers and tax
-
How to find your business incorporation number in Canada
Where a federal, provincial or territorial corporation's number is printed, what each registry calls it and how to search for it.
-
Business number vs GST number
How the nine-digit business number becomes a GST/HST number, what RT0001 and RC0001 mean, and which number goes where.
-
Do I need a CRA business number as a sole proprietor?
When a sole proprietor needs a CRA business number, what triggers one, and what registering a business name in your province gives you.
-
When and how to register for GST and HST
The $30,000 small supplier limit, the date your registration takes effect, how to register with the CRA, registering voluntarily, and what to do if you are late.
-
GST and HST invoice requirements in Canada for input tax credits
What a supplier's invoice must show under $100, from $100 and from $500 for you to claim the GST/HST back, and Quebec's extra rules.
-
What a Quebec QST number is and how to check one
Quebec's sales tax number: what it looks like, how to check one free with Revenu Québec, who must register, and what NR numbers mean.
Official forms and links
The resources page links to the official forms, the Acts and every provincial register, and the questions on the home page cover how this search works.