If your corporation is several years behind, the way out is the same whether it’s two years or ten: find out exactly what’s outstanding, rebuild the records oldest year first, file everything in order, and then deal with the balance. The order matters as much as the work.
Step 1: Find out exactly what’s outstanding
Start with CRA’s own view of your file. Your CRA My Business Account shows which T2, GST/HST and payroll periods are filed, missing or assessed. An accountant you authorize as your representative can see the same thing and pull it together for you. Make a list of every open period across every program, not just the most recent year.
Step 2: Read every letter CRA has already sent
Look for three things in particular:
- Demands to file. They carry a deadline and raise the stakes for late-filing penalties. See what a demand to file changes.
- Notional assessments. CRA may already have assessed years you never filed, using its own estimate. See how notional assessments work.
- Collections activity. Balances CRA is actively collecting need a payment plan, not just returns.
Note every deadline. A notice of objection, for instance, is due 90 days after the date of a notice of assessment.
Step 3: Decide on voluntary disclosure before you file anything
If no audit or investigation has started, the Voluntary Disclosures Program may reduce penalties and interest. Since October 1, 2025, an application made before CRA contacts you about the issue can relieve 100% of penalties and 75% of interest. One made after contact can relieve up to 100% of penalties and 25% of interest. The application has to be complete, so this decision comes before returns go in, not after. See the VDP in plain English.
Step 4: Gather the records
- Bank and credit card statements for every account, for every year involved
- The last corporate tax return that was filed, and its notice of assessment
- Sales records and invoices, and any payroll records
- Loan and lease statements, and records of vehicle or equipment purchases
- Access to any bookkeeping software that was used, even partly
Missing receipts are common. Bank statements, supplier records and invoices reconstruct most of a year.
Step 5: Rebuild the books, oldest year first
Each year’s closing balances are the next year’s opening balances, so the books have to be rebuilt in order. Every account is reconciled month by month, and personal spending that went through the corporation is sorted out. That spending usually creates a shareholder loan, and a shareholder loan not repaid within a year after the corporation’s year-end can become taxable personal income, so it needs attention early.
Step 6: File everything, in order
- T2 corporate returns for each year, with financial statements. Alberta corporations usually also file an AT1.
- GST/HST returns for every period, including nil returns for periods with nothing to report.
- Payroll: T4 and T4A slips and summaries, reconciled to what was remitted.
- T5 slips for any dividends paid.
Step 7: Deal with the balance
Filing and paying are separate problems. Once the returns are in, you know the real amount owing. You can pay it, or ask CRA for a payment arrangement. Interest keeps running on unpaid tax at CRA’s prescribed rate (7% throughout 2026), so the balance is worth tackling promptly. CRA is generally more flexible with a taxpayer who has filed.
Step 8: Stay current
Most corporations fall behind for ordinary reasons: a bookkeeper leaves, the owner gets busy, one late year becomes three. Monthly bookkeeping and a calendar of deadlines keep it from happening again. The T2 is due six months after year-end, corporate tax is due two or three months after year-end, and GST/HST is due on your assigned schedule.
Sources: Income Tax Act, section 152; CRA, Changes to the Voluntary Disclosures Program; Government of Alberta, corporate income tax. General information, not advice for your specific situation.
