Fix a corporation inactive status when opening a business account

Overview

When you're opening a business account, we check your corporation's status with your provincial or territorial business registry. If that check comes back inactive, it usually doesn't mean anything is wrong with your business. It just means your corporation isn't currently in good standing with the registry.

Why this happens

The most common reason is a missed filing. Many business owners don't realize that filing a tax return with the CRA and staying in good standing with your business registry are two separate things.

• The CRA handles your corporate income tax return.
• Your provincial or territorial registry requires a separate filing (often called an Annual Return) to keep your corporation active.

Even if you've filed your taxes on time, your corporation can still be marked inactive if the Annual Return (or equivalent filing) hasn't been submitted to your registry. This is easy to miss, since not every registry sends a reminder.

How to fix it

To bring your corporation back into good standing, you'll need to file the outstanding return(s) with the registry where your business was incorporated. Since requirements and processes vary by province and territory, the best next step is to go directly to your relevant registry's website.

Once your filing is processed, your registry will update your corporation's status. This isn't instant: it can take the registry a few days to reflect the change.

Coming back to finish your application

Once your corporation is active again, come back to Wealthsimple and pick up where you left off. Select Edit your details to return to your application, then we'll re-check your corporation's status with the registry. If it now comes back active, you'll be able to continue opening your account right away.

If it still shows as inactive, it likely means the registry hasn't finished processing your filing yet. Give it a little more time before checking again.