Incorporate Your Photography or Videography Business for $35
Start your photography or videography corporation for $35, HST included, with government fees shown separately at cost. A CPA reviews your year end, your equipment and the HST on your deposits before we file.
Photography carries no Ontario licence, so your corporation is an ordinary one and family members may hold shares, subject only to the tax rules. We prepare and file it for $35.00, HST included, and pass the registry fee on at cost. Open Corporation for $35 is a department of Gondaliya CPA.
Your year turns on timing. Paragraph 12(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act brings a wedding deposit into income when it is received, and paragraph 20(1)(m) allows a reserve only where the contract and the event date are documented. A Chartered Professional Accountant sets that up before anything is filed.
Why Photographers and Videographers 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%. Against the top Ontario personal rate of 53.53%, about 42 cents more of each dollar stays in the business until you draw it.
Income is seasonal. Weddings and events cluster from May to October, corporate video lands in budget season, and January is quiet. A corporation lets you draw a level wage instead of pushing one good summer into the top bracket.
Agencies, venues, developers and production companies often contract only with a business that has a business number, an HST number and a certificate of insurance.
Our Official Partners
The Rules That Matter for a Photography Corporation
Photography and videography are not regulated professions, so there is no college, no professional corporation and no restriction on who holds a share. You incorporate under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) or the Canada Business Corporations Act. What costs money is capital cost allowance.
| Asset | CCA class | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camera bodies, lenses, lighting, gimbals | Class 8 | 20% | The catch-all class, including tools costing $500 or more |
| Edit computers and systems software | Class 50 | 55% | General-purpose computer equipment |
| Application software, tools under $500 | Class 12 | 100% | Not systems software |
| Vehicle carrying gear to shoots | Class 10 | 30% | Unless it is a passenger vehicle caught by Class 10.1 |
| Passenger vehicle above the limit | Class 10.1 | 30% | $39,000 plus tax for vehicles acquired in 2026 |
| Goodwill, a purchased client list | Class 14.1 | 5% | Declining balance |
Typical Share Structure for a Photography Corporation
| Share class | Who holds it | Voting | Dividend entitlement | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class A common | The photographer or videographer | Yes | Discretionary | Control and the growth in the business |
| Class B common | A spouse or partner | No | Discretionary | Dividend flexibility, if a split income exception is met |
| Class C common | Adult children | No | Discretionary | Tuition years, where the child works in the business |
| Class D preferred | The founder | No | Fixed, redeemable | Freezes value, or section 85 consideration |
| Class E common | A holding company, added later | Yes | Discretionary | Moves surplus out of operating risk |
Section 120.4 of the Income Tax Act decides whether the family classes pay. The excluded shares exception needs 10% of votes and value and fails where 90% or more of business income comes from services, so it rarely helps a studio. Two routes remain: a family member aged 18 or over who works in the business on a regular, continuous and substantial basis, usually an average of 20 hours a week, and dividends to a spouse once the owner is 65.
Where neither applies, we price a reasonable salary for real work instead. The classes still go into the articles now, because adding one later costs articles of amendment.
HST for Photographers and Videographers
Photography and videography are taxable at 13% in Ontario: wedding coverage, event video, commercial stills, editing, albums and prints. Registration is required once taxable sales pass $30,000 in a calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters. Our GST/HST registration guide sets out the timing.
Common CRA Issues for Photography Corporations
Deposits with no reserve support
Every transfer booked to sales, then a reserve claimed with no contract, event date or unearned balance to back it under paragraph 20(1)(m).
HST remitted in the wrong period
Retainers treated as consideration on receipt, or tax collected on bookings taken before the HST account was open.
Equipment written off in full
A body or lens expensed as a supply instead of added to Class 8. The deduction is cut back to the class rate, with interest.
Personal use of corporate gear
A camera or van owned by the corporation and used privately, taxed as a shareholder benefit under subsection 15(1).
Second shooters treated as contractors
Regular assistants paid a day rate with no equipment of their own and no right to send a substitute. CPP and EI are assessed against the corporation.
A library with no active business
A corporation whose main purpose becomes earning royalties from property can be a specified investment business under subsection 125(7) and lose the small business deduction.
Meals claimed in full
Client dinners and location scouting, which section 67.1 limits to 50%.
First-Year Compliance Calendar
| When | What is due | Who files it | What happens if it is late |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 invoice or gear purchase | HST registration | Your CPA | Credits lost on equipment, and tax charged with no valid number |
| Before the first booking | Contract wording that separates a deposit from a payment on account | You, with your lawyer | HST falls due on receipt |
| Within 53 weeks of incorporation | First fiscal year end chosen | Your CPA | A year end inside wedding season strands deposits |
| 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 |
| 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, with the deposit reserve claimed, and the Ontario Annual Return | Your CPA, and us | Late filing penalty, and non-compliance under the Corporations Information Act |
Each point is cheaper to settle now than after the first season.
Whether it helps this year
A studio billing $60,000 and spending all of it saves little, and a T2 and a second HST account cost money.
The year end
A 31 December year end sits on top of next summer’s deposits. A year end after the season lets the reserve work.
Equipment and copyright
The CCA classes opened correctly, gear moved in under section 85 or rented to the corporation, and who owns the library. Under section 13(3) of the Copyright Act an employer owns work made in the course of employment unless agreed otherwise.
HST timing
Voluntary registration before a heavy year, the quick method, and contract wording so subsection 168(9) applies.
Shares and pay
Family dividends tested under section 120.4, the salary and dividend mix, associated corporations, and passive income kept under $50,000.
AFFORDABLE Incorporation Pricing for Photographers
Our fee is $35.00 with HST included. Every government fee is its own line, at the amount the government charges.
| 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 |
| Federal Articles of Incorporation, filed online, if you choose federal | $200.00 | Not applicable | $200.00 | Corporations Canada |
| Ontario NUANS name search report, named company only | $25.00 | Included | $25.00 | Ordered through us |
| Ontario Initial Return and Annual Return | $0.00 | Not applicable | $0.00 | Ontario Business Registry |
| Bookkeeping, payroll, HST and the T2 | Quoted on request | Included in the quote | Quoted on request | Gondaliya CPA |
A numbered company needs no NUANS report. Municipal licence fees, where your city charges one, are confirmed before you apply.
Our Services for Photographers
Our professional fees include HST. Government fees are separate, itemised and charged at cost with no mark-up.
NUANS Report for Photographers
The Ontario name search for a named company. Many studios start with a numbered company and register their studio name.
Incorporation Service for Photographers
Articles filed under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario), with share classes ready for family members and a holding company.
Address Service for Photographers
A registered office address in downtown Toronto for the public register and corporate mail, separate from your home.
Payroll Service for Photographers
Payroll for your own salary and for second shooters and editors who are employees, with T4 slips filed.
One Window Service for Photographers
The articles, the business number, the HST and payroll accounts and the Initial Return set up in one engagement.
Corporate Annual Filing for Photographers
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 Photographers
The T2 with GIFI statements, the CCA schedule and the deposit reserve supported by your booking schedule.
Federal Incorporation for Photographers
A federal corporation suits a studio shooting across provinces or selling a brand nationally.
Holding Company Setup for Photographers
A holding company that takes surplus out of the studio once it builds up.
The Bundle for Photographers and Videographers
After incorporation the ongoing work moves to Gondaliya CPA. We keep a booking schedule tying every deposit to an event date so the reserve is supported, separate deposits from payments on account for HST, maintain the CCA schedule as gear is bought and sold, track licensing income apart from shoot revenue, file the HST returns, run payroll, prepare the T2 and the annual return, and set the salary and dividend mix each year.
Why Photographers 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 Photographers and Videographers
Case Studies: Photographers and Videographers
Three Ontario studio files, each showing where the owner started and what changed before anything was filed.
Toronto Wedding Studio – A Year of Deposits
The problem: A wedding photographer held retainers for the next two seasons and had been paying tax on them as they arrived.
What we did: We incorporated with a year end after the season, reworded the contract so retainers are deposits, and set up a booking schedule to support the reserve.
The result:
- Deposits taxed when earned
- HST due when deposits are applied
- Year end set after the season
Mississauga Video Producer – A Heavy Equipment Year
The problem: A videographer about to buy cinema cameras and an edit suite was still below the HST threshold.
What we did: We registered for HST voluntarily before the purchase, opened Class 8 and Class 50 correctly, and claimed the enhanced first-year deduction.
The result:
- HST recovered on the gear
- Correct CCA classes
- Enhanced first-year claim
Ottawa Commercial Photographer – The Library
The problem: A commercial photographer with a growing stock library wanted to incorporate and keep the archive.
What we did: We moved the gear and the library in on a section 85 rollover and documented copyright ownership between the photographer and the corporation.
The result:
- No tax on the transfer
- Copyright ownership in writing
- Licensing tracked separately
Six steps from the intake form to a corporation that can hold your gear, deposits and library.
Send the intake form
Your work, the shareholders, the gear you own and the deposits you hold.
A CPA reviews the file
Year end, CCA classes, HST timing on deposits and how you plan to pay yourself.
The name
A numbered company needs no search. A named company is checked with a $25.00 NUANS report.
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.
Accounts
Business number, HST and payroll accounts in the corporation’s name.
Meet the Lead CPAs Behind Your Photography Corporation
A Chartered Professional Accountant checks your year end and the HST on your deposits 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 Photography Business Anywhere in Canada
We incorporate photographers and videographers from thirteen Ontario offices, and the filing is electronic, so no visit is needed. See also incorporation in Toronto.
Photography Incorporation FAQs
Should a photographer incorporate in Ontario?
Do photographers charge HST in Ontario?
Do I charge HST on a wedding deposit?
What happens to HST if a client cancels and I keep the retainer?
What CCA class is camera equipment in?
Who owns the copyright in photographs I take for a client?
Is licensing income taxed differently from shoot income?
Do I pay United States tax on stock photo royalties?
Related Industries We Serve
Salons and Barbershops
- Seasonal cash flow
- HST on services
- Equipment
IT Consultants
- Agency contracts
- Personal services business risk
- HST on fees
Construction and Skilled Trades
- Deposits and holdbacks
- Subcontractor or employee
- Equipment
Immigrants and Newcomers
- Starting a business in Canada
- CCPC status
- Banking and accounts
Read our Ontario incorporation service and the federal incorporation service for the wider rules.
A Corporation for Your Gear, Deposits and Library
Pay $35 including HST, and a Chartered Professional Accountant checks the year end, the capital cost allowance classes and the HST timing on your deposits 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.
