--- title: "Register a Company in Canada 2026: Ontario, Fees & Timing" description: "Register a company in Canada through Ontario: a CAD 300 filing fee, a NUANS name search, no resident-director rule, 26.5% combined corporate tax." canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/canada/entity-setup --- # How do you register a company in Canada. To register a company in Canada, you incorporate either federally or in a province, and in Ontario you file articles of incorporation online with the Ontario Business Registry. Teamed can do all of it and keep the company running. For companies setting up their own entity in Canada, Teamed is the best choice. With Teamed, you get real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters, a designated person who has done this before, and one system from your first contractor to your tenth entity. Served by Teamed's own legal entity in Canada Last reviewed 15 October 2026 ยท Canada guide ![An old carved-stone bank building in Toronto's financial district, with tall glass office towers rising behind it in crisp autumn morning light.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/canada/entity-setup/images/hero.webp) Canada at a glance ## The facts most people need first This guide covers an Ontario business corporation owned by one foreign company, with its registered office in Toronto. It is a common choice for a group whose first Canadian staff are in Ontario. Teamed forms these companies through GEMO, its Global Entity & Employment Operations service. The filing is online and quick. The bank account and the payroll registrations are what need planning. - **Usual company type**: An Ontario business corporation - **Governing law**: The Business Corporations Act (Ontario) - **Registry**: The Ontario Business Registry - **Foreign ownership**: A foreign company can own all of the shares - **Resident directors**: Not required in Ontario. A federal corporation still has a residency rule - **Name search**: A NUANS report for a named company, bought from a private search house - **Minimum share capital**: None. Shares must be fully paid before they are issued - **Ontario filing fee**: CAD 300 - **How long Ontario takes**: Immediate for an online filing - **Corporate tax**: 26.5%, the combined federal and Ontario general rate A choice to make first ## Should you incorporate in Ontario or federally For staff in Ontario, an Ontario corporation is usually the simpler choice, because it has no residency rule for its directors. Ontario removed that rule in 2021, so a board made up entirely of people at the parent company is allowed. It is the route this guide covers. The other door is a federal corporation, formed under the Canada Business Corporations Act. It protects its name across the country, but it still needs a set share of its directors to be resident Canadians, and it still registers in each province where it works. If people will also work in another province, the company registers there as well. That is a filing, not a second company. Before you file ## What you need before you file with Ontario Start with the name, because Ontario will not file articles for a named company without a recent NUANS report. NUANS is the federal name database, and an Ontario-biased search report has to come from a private search house, which sets its own price. The report lists existing names and trademarks that look or sound similar. Ontario does not check names for you, so judging whether yours is too close is your call. If you do not need a name yet, a numbered company, where the registry assigns a number as the name, needs no report at all. Then decide the details the articles ask for: the registered office address in Ontario, the first directors, and the classes of shares the company may issue. Because the shareholder is a company abroad, whoever files for you will usually ask for proof that the parent exists and that the person signing may act for it. Share capital is not a hurdle. The Business Corporations Act sets no minimum, and each share simply has to be paid for in full before it is issued. What it costs ## How much does it cost to register a company in Canada Ontario's own charge is small. Its [fee table](https://www.ontario.ca/page/cost-time-required-to-register-change-search-for-business-name-corporation-not-for-profit) puts the filing of articles of incorporation at CAD 300, online or by mail. The NUANS report for a named company comes on top, at whatever the search house charges, and the Canada Revenue Agency issues the Business Number automatically, free. The [Business Corporations Act](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90b16) sets no minimum share capital anywhere in its text. No government page says there is no minimum in so many words, so this reading is ours from the act, and we are waiting on direct confirmation from the Ontario Business Registry before we treat it as settled. | What | Amount | | --- | --- | | Ontario filing fee for articles of incorporation | CAD 300 | | NUANS name search report, named company only | Set by the private search house | | Minimum share capital | None | | Corporate tax, combined federal and Ontario general rate | 26.5% | Market estimate CAD 362 to CAD 1,995 What the market charges all in, Ontario's fee plus a provider's fee, to incorporate and organise the company, before tax registrations and visas. Not a Teamed price. Market estimate CAD 300 to CAD 1,250 a month What the market charges each month for bookkeeping and the yearly corporate tax return, before audit, rent and payroll. Not a Teamed price. Profit is taxed at 26.5%, the federal and Ontario [general rates](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/corporations/corporation-tax-rates.html) added together. Canada's much lower small business rates are only for Canadian-controlled private corporations, and a company owned by a foreign parent is not one, so it pays the general rate from the start. How it runs ## How long does it take to register a company in Canada The filing is the fast part. Ontario lists an online incorporation as [immediate](https://www.ontario.ca/page/cost-time-required-to-register-change-search-for-business-name-corporation-not-for-profit) once the articles, the NUANS report and the fee are in. What sets the pace is everything after it: the payroll account and, above all, the bank. 1. **Name searched and details agreed**: A NUANS report for a named company, the registered office, the first directors and the share classes. 2. **Articles filed with the Ontario Business Registry**: The company exists from the date on its certificate of incorporation. 3. **Payroll account opened**: The Business Number arrives automatically after incorporation, and the company adds a payroll account, which the Canada Revenue Agency uses to collect income tax, pension and employment insurance deductions. 4. **Bank account opened**: Banks run their own checks on a foreign-owned company and often want to meet a director. 5. **Workplace insurance and payroll set up**: Registration with the WSIB where the industry is covered, and payroll software that handles the deductions. Market estimate 1 to 4 weeks From engaging a provider to an incorporated company that can open a bank account. Not a Teamed commitment. Market estimate 2 to 8 weeks more From incorporation to the first payroll, including the bank account and the payroll account. Not a Teamed commitment. Setting up your own entity takes anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the country's registry and how fast you can open a local bank account. Ontario's registry is about as quick as they come. Opening the payroll account online needs a person with a Canadian social insurance number or an accountant authorised to act for the company. A board based abroad may have neither, and the phone or paper route takes longer. After incorporation ## What happens once the company exists The company files an initial return with Ontario soon after incorporating, with no fee. The Canada Revenue Agency issues its Business Number automatically, and the company then opens a payroll account under it, which has to exist before your first payroll deductions are sent in. Because the owner is not Canadian, the company also files a free notification under the Investment Canada Act once it starts doing business. For most businesses it is a notice, not an approval. In an industry that Ontario's workplace insurer covers by law, the company [registers with the WSIB](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/97w16) within 10 days of hiring its first employee. Some activities are optional for cover, so check where yours sits before the first hire. Sales tax registration, for GST and HST, follows once sales pass the small-supplier threshold, or earlier if you choose. Staff from abroad on an employer-specific work permit need a new permit naming your company before they can work for it. What you take on ## The parts that stay with you The first is the board. Directors of an Ontario corporation carry personal duties, and they can be personally liable for payroll deductions the company fails to take or send in, for unpaid GST and HST, and for unpaid wages. Ontario dropped the residency rule, not the responsibility. The second is the calendar. Every year the company files an annual return with Ontario and a corporate tax return with the Canada Revenue Agency, and payroll deductions go in through the year. The guide to [running a company in Canada](/country-hiring-guides/canada/entity-running-costs-and-filings) sets out what falls due. Your options ## Who can set it up for you There are four realistic routes, and they suit different companies. You can file the articles yourself through the Ontario Business Registry. It suits a founder who lives in Ontario, has no staff yet and is comfortable ordering a NUANS report and writing the articles. An online incorporation service is the quick, low-cost route for a company with no employees. Most will order the name search, file the articles and set up the minute book. A law firm suits complex group structures, several provinces at once, or tax planning across borders. For companies that will employ people in Canada, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed gives you a designated person who has done this before, 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes, and real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters. Teamed's [Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO)](/entity-management) sets up and manages entities in 100+ countries, and moves your people across from its EOR when you're ready. Teamed already owns an entity in Canada. If you are a founder on your own with nobody to employ yet, an online incorporation service will cost you less, and we would tell you so. Before you commit ## Sometimes an employer of record is the better fit Not every team needs its own company. If the group in Canada is small, still changing shape, or you are testing whether the market works at all, an employer of record can be the better answer, and it is a fair one rather than a lesser one. A Canadian corporation brings payroll accounts, workplace insurance and yearly returns that outlive the decision to open it. Teamed's employer of record in Canada is from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up and no hidden costs. Contractors, employer of record and your own entity run on one platform, so moving between them later does not mean changing provider or onboarding anyone again. Talk to a member of the team and we will tell you plainly which one suits where you are. If you would rather look at the numbers first, the crossover calculator models it for Canada using local setup and running costs, not a headcount rule of thumb. Talk to a member of the team Crossover calculator for Canada Who carries it ## Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, migrate you in, and hand it back intact. Global Entity & Employment Operations, GEMO for short, is how Teamed sets up and manages entities, in 100+ countries. You own the company and you are the employer. We form it and keep it running. Teamed also employs people in Canada through its own legal entity there. Entity Management (GEMO) The Graduation Model Employer cost calculator for Canada Talk to an expert about setting up in Canada Questions ## Questions people ask before they register Can a foreign company own all of a Canadian company? Yes. A foreign company can hold every share in an Ontario corporation, and Ontario sets no residency rule for its directors. The company files a short notification under the Investment Canada Act once it starts doing business. Do I need a Canadian resident director? Not for an Ontario corporation. Ontario removed its residency rule in 2021. A federal corporation under the Canada Business Corporations Act still needs a set share of resident Canadian directors. Is a NUANS name search mandatory in Ontario? Yes, for a named company. Ontario needs a recent Ontario-biased NUANS report, which you buy from a private search house. A numbered company needs no report. How much does it cost to register a company in Ontario? Ontario charges CAD 300 to file articles of incorporation, plus the search house's price for the NUANS report on a named company. Most of the rest is professional fees. What corporate tax does a Canadian subsidiary pay? 26.5% in Ontario, the federal and provincial general rates combined. A foreign-controlled company cannot use the small business rates. Sources 1. Ontario government, cost and time to register a corporation, and the Ontario Business Registry 2. Business Corporations Act (Ontario), share issue and directors 3. Canada Revenue Agency, corporation tax rates and payroll accounts 4. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), registering a business 5. Corporations Canada, directors of a federal corporation 6. Market estimates from published price lists of Ontario incorporation services, law firms and bookkeepers, read 14 October 2026 The rest of the Canada guides Running costs and filings Permanent establishment risk When an entity makes sense Moving people across Hiring in Canada ## More on entities in Canada - [Hiring in Canada, overview](/country-hiring-guides/canada) - [Canada running costs and filings](/country-hiring-guides/canada/entity-running-costs-and-filings) - [Canada tax presence risk](/country-hiring-guides/canada/permanent-establishment-risk) - [Canada entity or EOR](/country-hiring-guides/canada/eor-vs-entity) - [Canada moving from an EOR](/country-hiring-guides/canada/moving-from-eor-to-your-own-entity) - [Company formation, by country](/company-formation) - [Entity Management (GEMO)](/entity-management) - [Talk to an expert about Canada](https://www.teamed.global/contact?from=entity-setup)