Section 22, Regulation 26/05, requires businesses with Ontario gross sales less than $2 million during the previous fiscal year to file the verification statement or financial statements (if preferred). Newly amended, Section 22(1.1) provides time limited burden relief for medium to large businesses, to also file a verification statement or financial statements (if preferred). Please note, this time-limited exemption expires as of December 1, 2024. For more information, please click here.
The financial filing requirements for all businesses are shown in the table below:
|
Item |
Registrant’s sales in Ontario during the previous fiscal year |
Column 2 Annual financial documents required and time limitations |
Column 3 Other Financial documents required |
|
1. |
< or = to $2m |
Verification Statement (or Review Engagement Report if the registrant prefers)
No time limit |
n/a |
|
2. |
$2m to < or = $10m |
Either Verification Statement or Review Engagement Report or Audit Report as the registrant prefers
Time limited – for registrants with year ends December 1, 2020 to November 30, 2024.
Outside of this time limitation a review engagement or an audit opinion must be filed. |
n/a |
|
3. |
$10m to < or = $20m |
|
|
|
4. |
$20m + |
Quarterly financial statements |
For registrants with Ontario gross sales below $2 million per annum in the prior year, filing an annual verification statement is required. Alternatively, if the registrant prefers, it can file annual financial statements in the form of a Review Engagement Report or an Audit Report in lieu of the verification statement.
Registrants with Ontario gross sales in excess of $2 million per annum in the prior year, are also required to file a verification statement. Alternatively, financial statements in the form of a Review Engagement Report or Audit Report may also be submitted. The verification statement does not require attestation from a Certified Professional Accountant and can be prepared internally. However, the Review Engagement report or Audit Report must be prepared and signed by a Licenced Public Accountant (LPA) licensed under the Public Accounting Act, 2004. This use of the verification statement for reporting purposes is time limited for 4 consecutive years, from December 1, 2020 to November 30, 2024.
However, if during the period, a registrant is otherwise required to prepare an annual financial statement with a review engagement report or audit opinion for any purpose, the registrant shall provide this report to TICO.
Please note that for those businesses with Ontario gross sales greater than $2 million in the prior fiscal year with year ends falling between January 1, 2020 and November 30, 2020 must file a Review Engagement Report or Audit Report (if preferred) for this year but can file a verification statement from 2021-2024.
A registrant who only reports retail sales, and annual Ontario gross sales greater than $10 million but less than $20 million is required to file semi annual interim financial statements.
A registrant who reports only wholesale sales, or combined wholesale and retail sales with annual sales greater than $10 million but less than $20 million, is required to file quarterly financial statements.
The registrant with sales greater than $20,000,000 annually are also required to file quarterly financial statements.
The verification statement is available in a PDF fillable form, requiring specific financial information, which can be obtained from the registrant’s financial records. All fields on the form must be filled out even if the balance is nil. Therefore, no data fields on the verification statement should not be left blank.
All financial statements in the form of a Review Engagement Report or Audit Report should be complete and include a balance sheet, income statement, disclose the Ontario gross sales, either in the income statement or the notes to the financial statements, and a reconciliation of funds held in trust including disclosure of trust account(s) balance(s) and customer obligations and liabilities.
TICO's financial inspectors review the financial statements and the verification statements to ensure that the registrant is meeting certain financial requirements. Specifically, the statements indicate whether the registrant is maintaining positive levels of working capital and a trust surplus position. This review of the financial statements and the verification statements often is the basis for TICO's on site inspection program.
To download a copy of the Verification Statement - click here
For useful infomation for accountants - click here
As of April 1, 2024, TICO has instituted new late filing fees to encourage timely submission of required documentation and payment for registration renewals and Compensation Fund filings. This will allow TICO to ensure efficient processing without the need for extensive reminders and individual follow-ups.
|
Type |
Late Fee |
|
Annual financial statement filing (due within 90 days of year-end) |
$100 |
|
Compensation Fund (Form 1) filing (due within 90 days of year-end) |
$100 |
|
Registration renewal (due within 90 days of year-end) |
$100 |
|
Notice of business change (due within 5 days of change) |
$25 |
While registrants must meet the filing requirement outline above, the Registrar has the discretion to grant a filing extension. Extensions are granted sparingly and on a case-by-case basis. Submitting a filing extension request does not guarantee that an extension will be granted. If you are seeking a filing extension, please complete and submit the filing extension request form as early as possible to
To access the Request for Filing Extensions Form - click here