Incorporate a Law Professional Corporation in Ontario for $35
Start your law or paralegal professional corporation for $35, HST included, with government and Law Society fees shown separately. A CPA reviews your name, your shares and your trust accounting before we file.
The Law Society of Ontario issues a Certificate of Authorization to a professional corporation under By-Law 7 and the Law Society Act, and both lawyers and licensed paralegals may incorporate. We prepare and file your articles for $35.00, HST included, and the registry fee is passed on at cost. Open Corporation for $35 is a department of Gondaliya CPA.
Do not bill through the corporation before the certificate is in hand. A Chartered Professional Accountant reviews your share register and your trust accounting before anything is filed.
Why Lawyers and Paralegals Incorporate
Active business income inside the $500,000 federal business limit is taxed at 9% federally and 2.2% in Ontario from 1 July 2026, a combined 11.2%. Fees left in the corporation are taxed once, at that rate.
Legal income arrives unevenly. A contingency file settling in one year pushes a proprietor into the top personal bracket, and a corporation lets you spread the draw across several years.
Paralegals get the same deferral on a smaller base. Where the whole billing is spent each year, incorporation can usually wait.
Our Official Partners
Law Society Rules for a Professional Corporation
The regulator is the Law Society of Ontario, under the Law Society Act and By-Law 7, together with the professional corporation provisions of the Business Corporations Act (Ontario).
Renew every year. The Law Society says a Certificate of Authorization is renewed by 31 December through your LSO Connects account, whenever it was first approved. Changes in shareholders, directors and officers are reported to the Law Society as well as to the Ontario Business Registry.
Typical Share Structure for a Law Professional Corporation
| Share class | Who holds it | Voting | Dividend entitlement | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class A common | The licensee | Yes | Discretionary | Control |
| Class B common | A second licensee | Yes | Discretionary | A two-licensee practice or a later buy-in |
| Class C non-voting common | A licensee shareholder | No | Discretionary | Separates dividend timing from control between partners |
| Class D preferred | The licensee | No | Fixed, redeemable | Freezes value before a second licensee joins |
| Class E preferred | The licensee | No | Fixed, redeemable | Consideration on a section 85 rollover |
Section 120.4 of the Income Tax Act closes one option. The excluded shares exception does not apply to shares of a professional corporation, and subsection 248(1) names lawyers in that definition. The Law Society bars family shareholdings anyway, so we plan the salary side and test it as reasonable under section 67.
HST for Lawyers and Paralegals
Legal services are taxable. Unlike medicine or dentistry, nothing a lawyer or paralegal supplies is exempt, so fees carry 13% in Ontario. Our GST/HST registration guide sets out the timing.
Common CRA Issues for Law Corporations
Trust funds posted as revenue
A trust deposit booked as income, or fees taken from trust with no invoice raised. It distorts the income statement and the HST return together.
No HST on recovered disbursements
Every recovery treated as an agency disbursement, when some are really your own supply.
Work in progress left out of income
Billed-basis accounting was repealed, so unbilled work in progress is now brought into income at the lower of cost and fair market value.
Shareholder benefits
A vehicle, home office or personal legal work run through the corporation without a charge-back, taxed under subsection 15(1).
Personal services business
An incorporated licensee working set hours for one firm with no other clients can lose the small business deduction.
First-Year Compliance Calendar
| When | What is due | Who files it | What happens if it is late |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right after incorporation | Certificate of Authorization application | The licensee, to the Law Society of Ontario | The corporation may not practise law or provide legal services |
| Within 60 days of incorporation | Initial Return under the Corporations Information Act, no fee | Us, in the Ontario Business Registry | Non-compliance under that Act |
| Week one to two | Business number and RC0001 corporate tax account | Your CPA | Nothing to file the T2 against |
| Before the first account | HST registration | Your CPA | Tax assessed on billed fees, plus interest |
| Within 15 days of a change | Notice of change for directors, officers or registered office | Us or your CPA | Non-compliance under the Corporations Information Act |
| Within 53 weeks of incorporation | First fiscal year end chosen | Your CPA | Difficult to change afterwards |
| 15th of the following month | Payroll source deductions | The corporation | Penalty of 3% to 10%, 20% on a repeat |
| One month after each reporting period | HST return | Your CPA | Penalty and interest |
| 31 December each year | Certificate of Authorization renewal | The corporation, through LSO Connects | The certificate lapses |
| 3 months after year end | Corporate tax balance, with the small business deduction | The corporation | Interest at the prescribed rate |
| 6 months after year end | T2 return and Ontario Annual Return | Your CPA, and us | Late filing penalty, and non-compliance under the Corporations Information Act |
Most of these are expensive to fix later.
Whether to incorporate this year
A paralegal or junior practitioner drawing everything they bill may not save enough to cover a T2 and statements.
The share register
Only licensees, and a separate common class from the start if a second licensee is joining.
The name
Built to Law Society standards before the NUANS report is ordered.
Year end and pay
A year end set against your collection cycle, and the salary and dividend mix weighed against RRSP room, CPP and LawPRO instalments.
HST, association and conversion
Registration before the first account, any associated corporation, and a section 85 rollover if a practice is converting.
AFFORDABLE Incorporation Pricing for Lawyers and Paralegals
Our fee is $35.00 with HST included. Every government and Law Society fee is its own line.
| Item | Amount | HST | Total | Who charges it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incorporation preparation and filing | $35.00 | Included | $35.00 | Open Corporation for $35 |
| Ontario Articles of Incorporation, filed online | $300.00 | Not applicable | $300.00 | Ontario Business Registry |
| Ontario NUANS name search report | $25.00 | Included | $25.00 | Ordered through us |
| Ontario Initial Return and Annual Return | $0.00 | Not applicable | $0.00 | Ontario Business Registry |
| Certificate of Authorization, application and annual renewal | Confirmed before filing | Charged by the Law Society | Confirmed before filing | Law Society of Ontario |
| Bookkeeping, trust reconciliation, payroll and the T2 | Quoted on request | Included in the quote | Quoted on request | Gondaliya CPA |
A professional corporation cannot be a numbered company, so the NUANS report is always needed.
Our Services for Lawyers
Our professional fees include HST. Government fees are separate, itemised and charged at cost with no mark-up.
NUANS Report for Lawyers
The Ontario name search every law professional corporation needs, because a number cannot be used as its name.
Incorporation Service for Lawyers
Articles filed under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) with the professional corporation provisions the Law Society requires.
Address Service for Lawyers
A registered office address in downtown Toronto for the public register and corporate mail.
Payroll Service for Lawyers
Payroll for your own salary and your staff, with source deductions remitted on time and T4 slips filed.
One Window Service for Lawyers
The articles, the business number, the HST and payroll accounts and the Initial Return set up in one engagement.
Corporate Annual Filing for Lawyers
The Ontario Annual Return filed in the Ontario Business Registry within six months of year end, with director and address changes kept current.
Corporate Tax Filing for Lawyers
The T2 with GIFI statements, work in progress brought into income and the general and trust books kept apart.
Federal Incorporation for Lawyers
The Law Society authorizes corporations under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario), so a law practice incorporates in Ontario.
Holding Company Setup for Lawyers
A holding company cannot own shares of a law professional corporation. We explain the alternatives for surplus.
The Bundle for Lawyers and Paralegals
After incorporation the ongoing work moves to Gondaliya CPA. We keep the general and trust books apart, reconcile the trust account monthly to the client ledgers, track unbilled work in progress, file the HST returns, run payroll, prepare the T2 and the Ontario Annual Return, and set the salary and dividend mix each year.
Why Lawyers and Paralegals Use Us
Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation is registered with CPA Ontario under firm registration number 61330051. Our clients have left us 1,300+ five-star Google reviews, and we work from 13 Ontario offices, open 9:00 AM to 8:30 PM, Monday to Sunday. We back every filing with a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 60-day fee-matching policy, and we are a Xero Partner Award Winner 2026. Open Corporation for $35 is a department of Gondaliya CPA.
- CPA Ontario firm registration number 61330051
- 1,300+ five-star Google reviews
- 13 Ontario offices
- Open 9:00 AM to 8:30 PM, Monday to Sunday
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- 60-day fee-matching policy
- Xero Partner Award Winner 2026
Google Reviews
Free CPA Consultation for Lawyers and Paralegals
Case Studies: Lawyers and Paralegals
Three Ontario practice files, each showing where the licensee started and what changed before anything was filed.
Toronto Sole Practitioner – Leaving a Firm
The problem: A litigator leaving a firm wanted to open a practice with a spouse as a shareholder.
What we did: We explained that the Law Society allows only licensees as shareholders, incorporated with the litigator as sole shareholder, and set a salary for the spouse’s actual work.
The result:
- Law Society rules met
- Certificate in hand before billing
- Salary planned for real work
Mississauga Paralegal – Small Claims Practice
The problem: A paralegal billing well below the top bracket asked whether to incorporate.
What we did: We showed that most income was being drawn each year, so incorporation could wait, and registered the practice for HST instead.
The result:
- Honest advice
- HST registered on time
- Incorporation planned for later
Brampton Real Estate Lawyer – Converting a Practice
The problem: A proprietor with a busy real estate practice wanted to incorporate with a second lawyer joining.
What we did: We moved equipment and work in progress in on a section 85 rollover and issued a separate common class to the second lawyer.
The result:
- No tax on the transfer
- Two classes from the start
- Trust books set up separately
Six steps from the intake form to a corporation the Law Society can authorize.
Send the intake form
Your licence, any second licensee, your practice and how you plan to pay yourself.
A CPA reviews the file
Shareholders, the name, the year end and the HST position.
The name
Checked with a $25.00 NUANS report, because a number cannot be used.
You approve the draft
You see the articles, the share classes and the registered office before anything is filed.
Filed online
The articles go through the Ontario Business Registry at $300.00, and you receive the certificate of incorporation.
Certificate and accounts
You apply to the Law Society for the Certificate of Authorization, and we open the business number, HST and payroll accounts.
Meet the Lead CPAs Behind Your Law Professional Corporation
A Chartered Professional Accountant checks your shareholders and the HST position before anything is filed.
What Our Clients Say
These Google reviews belong to Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation and cover every service the firm provides. See all reviews.
Incorporating a Law Practice Anywhere in Ontario
We incorporate lawyers and paralegals from thirteen Ontario offices, and the filing is electronic, so no visit is needed. See also incorporation in Toronto.
Law Professional Corporation FAQs
Can a lawyer incorporate in Ontario?
Can a paralegal incorporate a professional corporation in Ontario?
Can my spouse own shares in my law professional corporation?
Do lawyers and paralegals charge HST?
Can a law practice use the HST quick method?
How much tax does a law professional corporation pay?
What must a law professional corporation be called?
When is the Certificate of Authorization renewed?
Related Professions We Serve
Engineers
- Certificate of Authorization
- Licensed shareholders
- HST on fees
Pharmacists and Pharmacy Owners
- Professional corporations
- Excluded shares
- Staff payroll
Nurses and Nurse Practitioners
- Professional corporations
- Exempt health services
- Payroll
IT Consultants
- One-client contracts
- Personal services business risk
- HST on fees
Read our Ontario incorporation service for the wider rules.
A Corporation the Law Society Can Authorize
Pay $35 including HST, and a Chartered Professional Accountant checks the shareholders, the name and the year end before anything is filed.
No legal advice. Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation is a firm of Chartered Professional Accountants licensed by CPA Ontario, firm registration number 61330051. It is not a law firm. We prepare and file corporate documents and we provide accounting and tax advice. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and reading it creates no solicitor and client relationship. For legal advice, including advice on a shareholder agreement before you sign it, consult a lawyer licensed in the province where your corporation carries on business.
Open Corporation for $35 is a department of Gondaliya CPA.
