Registering a business name costs $60, lasts five years, and lets a sole proprietor or partnership operate under a brand name. It does not create a separate company or protect your personal assets.
Ontario Business Registration Services from Name Search to CRA Accounts
Bestax registers or incorporates your Ontario business, files the returns the registry requires, and opens your tax accounts, all in one engagement.
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Which One Are You Starting?
Ontario gives you two ways in, and they solve different problems.
Incorporating costs $300, creates a separate legal entity, limits your liability, and opens the door to Ontario's small business tax rate of roughly 12.2% on the first $500,000 of profit.
Not sure which fits? That is the first question your free consultation answers, with the tax math for your expected income, because incorporation usually starts paying for itself only once profits pass a threshold.
Our Process to Register a Business in Ontario
Whether you register a business in Ontario as a sole proprietor or incorporate, the engagement follows five steps. Here is what we do at each one and why.
Step 1: We confirm the structure against your numbers
Liability risk, expected profit, and whether you will hire decide the answer. We run this first because switching structures later means re-registering everything from bank accounts to tax numbers.
Step 2: We clear the name
Named corporations need an Ontario-biased NUANS report, valid for 90 days, and the name must end in Inc., Ltd., or Corp. Numbered corporations skip the search entirely and can register an operating name later. We check names against existing corporations and trademarks before filing, because a rejected name costs you the wait without the certificate.
Step 3: We file through the Ontario Business Registry
Online filings typically process within one to five business days. You receive the certificate and your company key, which is the access code every future registry filing needs, so we store it with your records.
Step 4: We file the initial return within 60 days
Ontario corporations must file an initial return with the registry within 60 days of incorporating. We file it with the incorporation, because this small deadline is the one new owners most often miss.
Step 5: We open your CRA accounts
Business Number, corporate tax account, HST where it applies, and payroll if you are hiring. HST registration becomes mandatory once revenue passes $30,000, and registering early recovers the tax paid on startup costs, so we time it to your numbers.
Business Incorporation in Ontario: Rules That Work in Your Favour
Business incorporation in Ontario runs under the Ontario Business Corporations Act, filed through the Ontario Business Registry. The government fee is $300 online, and the corporation exists once the certificate is issued.
Two Ontario rules work in your favour.
There is no director residency requirement, so non-residents and newcomers can incorporate here without a Canadian director, which federal incorporation does not allow.
And your corporate name is protected across Ontario once registered.
The ongoing obligations are real but manageable: an annual return filed through the registry, an annual meeting or written resolution, and a minute book kept current. We put every date in your compliance calendar at setup, because a corporation that stops filing risks administrative dissolution.
Provincial or Federal? Where Company Registration in Ontario Wins
Company registration in Ontario is the right call for a business operating in one province: fewer steps, no extra-provincial filings, and no director residency rule.
Federal incorporation wins when you need your name protected across Canada or plan to operate in several provinces, and our federal company registration service handles that route.
The price difference is smaller than it looks.
Federal costs $200 but adds registration steps in each operating province, while Ontario's $300 is one filing.
We put the comparison for your plans in writing before you pay anything, because moving a corporation between systems later requires a continuance filing you should not need.
Business Incorporation in Mississauga and the GTA
Our office sits on Hurontario Street, so business incorporation in Mississauga, Brampton, and across the GTA can happen in person, with documents signed the same day. Clients elsewhere in Ontario complete everything online, and the registry does not care which route you take.
What the location really buys you is continuity.
The team that incorporates you also files your corporate taxes, and our small business tax service picks up the file from day one, so the share structure and tax plan are designed by the same people who will live with them at filing time.
Ontario Registry Fees at a Glance
| Item | Fee and timing as of August 2026 | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario incorporation, filed online | $300, typically 1 to 5 business days | Creates the corporation and your liability protection |
| Business name registration | $60, valid 5 years | Required to operate under any name other than your legal name |
| NUANS name search (named corporations) | Roughly $15 to $60, valid 90 days | Numbered corporations skip it entirely |
| Initial return | Due within 60 days of incorporating | The first compliance deadline, and the most missed |
| Annual return via the registry | Every year | Corporations that stop filing risk dissolution |
What Makes Bestax Different for Ontario Registrations
The initial return is filed with the incorporation, not remembered later. The 60-day deadline arrives while founders are busy opening bank accounts. Filing both together means the deadline never exists for you.
The structure decision is made on your tax numbers. Bestax is an accounting firm, so the incorporate-or-not question is answered with your projected income run through both structures, not with a sales pitch for the more expensive option.
CRA accounts open with the company. Business Number, HST, and payroll are set up by the people who will file those returns, so nothing waits on a second provider and nothing is registered wrong.
The company key is stored, not lost. Every future registry filing needs it, and replacing a lost key takes days you may not have. Ours goes into your corporate record at setup.
One fixed quote, government fees shown separately. You see our fee and the registry's fee as two lines before anything is filed.
What Ontario Founders Say About Bestax
I had a wonderful experiance with bestax while setting up my company. They made everything so simple and took care of all the paper work. Very efficient team for company registration in Mississauga!
Google review 1 of 4: Jason Duffy
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Ontario Registration FAQs About Bestax
Business names are usually registered within one business day. Numbered corporations typically complete within one to five business days.
One fixed quote, with the $300 government fee listed separately at cost. Nothing is filed until you approve.
Yes. Ontario has no director residency requirement, so non-residents can incorporate here. We confirm your eligibility before filing.
Yes. Initial return, bylaws, minute book, share certificates, and CRA accounts are all part of the setup.
Yes. We incorporate the company, transfer the business in, and close the old registrations. The tax on the transfer is planned first.
Yes. If the numbers favour staying a sole proprietor, we say so. You get the comparison in writing either way.