What is Ontario Incorporation

Ontario incorporation is a legal entity that is incorporated or registered under the Ontario Business Corporation Act. (OBCA).  Like an individual Ontario corporation has its own legal rights and responsibility. Incorporating an Ontario Incorporation may be complex and need some legal guidelines, that’s why many individuals hire a lawyer. But it is pricey and for many people, it is hard to afford. But with Business Ontario the whole process of incorporating an Ontario incorporation is fast, user-friendly, and affordable. You can easily start your business using our Online platform by answering some simple questions and steps that will take 5-8 minutes.

What are the Benefits of incorporating an Ontario incorporation?

Name Protection: When you register with a name Ontario Incorporation that means your name is protected in Ontario. No other incorporation or business can use your Ontario Incorporation’s name. If there is any business, try to use your Ontario incorporation name. You have the right to take action against conflicting business names.

Limited liability: An Ontario incorporation is a legal entity and distinct from its owner(s) or shareholder (s). That’s why shareholders’ personal assets are protected from any of the business’s liabilities and debts. That opportunity does not have other types of businesses like sole Proprietorship or Partnership business. For this reason, this is an attractive option for some business owners. Incorporating Ontario incorporation means your personal assets are protected from the business’s liabilities and debts.

Tax advantages: When you incorporate Ontario incorporation that means you will pay corporate tax, which is usually lower than personal income tax rates. If you register other forms of businesses like sole proprietorship you will be charged personal income tax rates. However, when your business expands and your revenue increases, there’s a chance you’ll find yourself in a higher tax rate.

Raising Capital: A corporation can raise capital to boost and expand its business. An Ontario incorporation can attract investors and raise capital through the sale of shares. That is not possible in individual labels due to legal and other rules and regulations.

What are the requirements to register an Ontario Incorporation:

• A non-conflicting name for Ontario Incorporation with a Legal ending/suffix
• Articles of Incorporation. (share structure)
• A registered office address in Ontario. P.O. Box is not allowed to be used as a corporation-registered office address. If you do not have it, you may choose our registered office address and mail scanning service
• Minimum of one director who meets specific eligibility criteria.
• Minimum one Incorporator (who applies to incorporate Ontario Incorporation)

Who Can Be a Director/ Owner for an Ontario Incorporation?

• Directors must be at least 18 years old
• Not bankrupt
• Not found incapable by a court in Canada or elsewhere

There is no residency required to incorporate Ontario Corporation in Ontario. A non-resident means:

• Non-residents living outside of Canada
• Non-residents having work permits/Study permits/Refugees etc.
• Non-residents living in Canada

These aforementioned persons can register for Ontario Corporation. The Government of Ontario removes residency requirements to register a business in Ontario even if it is Ontario Corporation.

Steps of the Incorporate Ontario Incorporation:

Step 1. Name Your Ontario Corporation:

• In Ontario, there are two options for naming an Ontario corporation:  a numbered corporation or a named corporation. Both have the same legal rights and tax benefits except for the name. Choose any option that you want.
• Numbered Corporation: A numbered corporation is a company that is assigned a unique identification number by the government Registry instead of a chosen name. For example 12345678 Ontario Inc.” where “1234567″ is the unique number assigned by the government. & “Inc.” is here legal suffix.
• Named Corporation: In a named corporation you choose your Ontario corporation name instead of government assigning a Numbered name. For example:  “ABC Consulting Inc.”
• The name should have three parts Distinctive + descriptive + legal suffix.  And comply with Ontario’s naming regulations. You can choose your legal element for both numbered and named corporations like “Limited,” “LTD.”,” INC.”, “Incorporated,” or “Corporation.” Etc.
• An Ontario Nuans Reservation Report, also known as “Ontario NUANS Report”,  is required to incorporate your Ontario Incorporation.
• In our every corporation package, even Ontario incorporation has unlimited name search options until fulfilling the naming requirement of the government.

Step 2. Prepare and file Articles of Incorporation

• In this step, you must choose your corporation share structure.  Articles of incorporation basically outline a corporation’s main information and Share structure. Currently, there are three share structures for Ontario Incorporation:

• Standard Share Structure: It is basically one class share Structure. The standard Share structure has unlimited one-class common shares.
• Advanced Share structure: This structure is more popular and here there are two share classes: A.Common shares class with class voting Right and B.Common Share class with non-voting right

• Customize Share Structure: this share structure allows you to categorize more share structures such as common, preferred, voting, non-voting, etc. as per your corporation’s needs.

Steps 3. Details of Owner/Director:

In this step, you need to give details of director/owner.

• Director: A director is an individual who oversees the management and operations of a corporation. He is making key decisions on behalf of the company.
• Director/owner Full name and address
• You can fix director number initially or you can add up to 10 directors now or later.

Steps 4. Details of Incorporator, officer, and Shareholder:

In this step, you need to give details of the Incorporator, officer, and Shareholder.

• Incorporator: An incorporator is a person or entity responsible for setting up a corporation. signing and filing the necessary incorporation documents with the government.
• Shareholder: A shareholder is an individual or entity who owns shares in a corporation. Shareholders can be voting or non-voting rights.
• Officer – Officer(s) can be anyone. They are appointed by the board of directors to manage the daily operations of a corporation.  Some common office designations are: the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, CEO, CFO or Secretary, etc. They are basically responsible for executing the board’s policies and strategic plans.

Steps 5. Details of Registered Head Office:

• The registered head office is the official head address of a corporation.
•  All legal documents, government correspondence, and notices will be sent to corporate head office.
• The registered office address must be a physical address in Ontario, P.O. Box address is not allowed for Ontario Incorporation
• The registered Head office’s address is recorded in the public records and must be provided at the time of incorporation.
• If your registered office is a legal land description address, you must have a P.O. Box connected to it.
• If you don’t have an Ontario provincial Registered address, we provide a registered address and mail scanning service.

Step 6. Other information:

You also have the following information available to incorporate your Ontario Incorporation:

• Description of Your Business Activity that must be matched with NAICS code.
• Timeline of Registration process. We offer 1 Hour super-fast timeframe with additional cost.
• SERP name does not guarantee your name is available to register in Ontario

Post-Incorporation Mandatory Items:

There are some items that must be needed after registering a corporation. These are-

• Initial Return: It’s a mandatory filing for all newly incorporated Ontario corporations with Service Ontario. Within 60 days of incorporation, corporations must file an Initial Return/Notice of Change (Form 1) to provide details about the directors, officers, and registered head office. Please keep in mind it is not a tax filing with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
• Minute book: A minute book is a centralized record-keeping system that holds all essential corporate documents. It typically includes Bylaws, Meeting Minutes, Shareholder Registry, Director Registry, Regulatory Filings, and all resolutions. Without a minute book, a corporation is not complete. According to CBCA “Your corporation must keep certain corporate records at its registered office (or at some other location in Canada, as set out by the directors).”
• Business Number: A Business Number (BN) is a unique nine-digit (example: 780780123) identifier assigned by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to a business or corporation. This number is used for various tax-related accounts and business activities. The BN is required for various CRA accounts, including:
• GST/ Harmonized Sales Tax (HST): For collecting and remitting goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax. Example: 123456789 RT0001.
• Payroll Account: For deducting and remitting employees, including yourself, source deductions. Example: 123456789 RP0001.
• Import/Export Account: For import/export activities cross the Canadian border. You must need these accounts. Example: 23456789 RM0001.
• Corporate Income Tax ID: For filing corporate income tax returns. You can say as Corporation SIN.
• WSIB Account: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board registration (WSIB). If you have employees, you may also need to register for WSIB coverage to provide workplace injury insurance.
• Annual Return: Every Ontario corporation must file its Annual Return with the Government of Ontario to keep Ontario Corporation active. Keep in mind it is not an Annual Tax Return with CRA.

Post-Incorporation Ancillary Items:

• Corporate Seal: A corporate seal is often used to formalize documents. It’s a professional look on corporation documents. Seal mainly embosses the corporation’s name on Corporation Paper documents.
• Share Certificates: It is a proof of ownership of a corporation. Each share certificate has mentioned the shareholder’s name, share number and class of shares.
• Business Licenses and Permits: To conduct business in Ontario, you can require a few different licenses and permissions. It is dependent on the type of Business operation. These could include industry-specific certificates, health and safety permits, and municipal company licenses.
• Canada domain (.ca Domain): The .ca domain is top-level domain for Canada. It is a popular choice for businesses, organizations, and individuals looking to establish a Canadian presence online. It is managed by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA).