Closing a business does not automatically close any of its CRA program accounts. GST/HST, payroll and corporate income tax accounts each close separately, and each one needs its own notice, final return or dissolution paperwork before the CRA treats it as closed.
Close or keep the account open?
If a shutdown is temporary, consider whether you will continue commercial activities before requesting cancellation. While the account stays open, file each required return. A nil return is appropriate only when there is no tax, ITC or adjustment to report; no sales alone does not necessarily make the return nil.
Closing each CRA account when you shut down the business
A business can hold several CRA program accounts under one business number, and none of them closes just because the others do.
Payroll account
Before closing a payroll account, remit all outstanding payroll source deductions, calculate the pension adjustment for employees who accrued benefits under a registered pension plan or deferred profit-sharing plan, file your final payroll information returns, and give former employees their T4 or T4A slips.
Corporate income tax account
To wind up a corporation, send an application for dissolution to the government body that incorporated it. Once it is dissolved, consult Form RC145, Request to Close Business Number Program Accounts, to see whether you need to file it and attach a copy of the articles of dissolution. Otherwise, the CRA still considers the corporation active and expects a return even with no tax payable.
GST/HST account
Closing the GST/HST account is a separate step: notify the CRA with the account’s business number, legal name, cancellation date and reason, then file a final return. A voluntary registrant must generally have been registered for at least a full year before requesting cancellation, unless it has stopped making taxable supplies. See Cancel a GST/HST account for the closure steps and final-return adjustments.
Quebec accounts
Revenu Québec generally administers both GST/HST and QST for businesses registered in Quebec, subject to exceptions. When you deregister, it calculates GST and QST owing on inventory you still hold, at fair market value: Revenu Québec’s own example shows $8,000 of retained non-capital inventory producing $400 GST (5%) and $798 QST (9.975%). Its last-reporting-period guidance explains these final-period adjustments and the return’s due date. Confirm how both accounts are affected and retain the documentation for the final filings.
Related guides
Sources
Official guidance checked October 21, 2026.