# Sole proprietor or incorporate in Ontario: make the call and start the registration today

Every contractor who goes out on their own in Ontario hits the same fork: register as a sole proprietor or incorporate. Ask around and the answers conflict. The accountant says one thing, WSIB's phone line says another, and the Reddit thread you found at midnight swears both ways. So the decision stalls, and everything behind it stalls too: the bank account, the insurance, the first invoice with your own name on it.

This page puts real screens and real prices on that decision. By the end of it you will have seen what each path costs all-in, what each one asks of you, and the registration itself filled in to the final review screen, whichever way you lean. The wizard is free to fill in, needs no account until the moment you actually file, and works from a phone.

## How contractors describe the problem

The fork is one of the most repeated questions tradespeople ask each other, in exactly these words:

> "I wanna know if yall are sole proprietors or corp and what's the pros and cons"
>
> [an HVAC tech going out on his own, on r/ProHVACR](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProHVACR/comments/1iozrug/starting_a_business_in_ontario_canada_help/)

One WSIB quirk comes up over and over as the thing that pushes sole proprietors toward incorporating:

> "For example if I bill 1000 for a job. I bought a new tool some nails and fuel expenses which totaled 300. I pay wsib on the full 1000 i billed. I can't understand the reasoning for this and it just seems to make sense to incorporate even if I only were to bill for 50000 in a year."
>
> [a sole proprietor on r/SmallBusinessCanada](https://www.reddit.com/r/SmallBusinessCanada/comments/ybyp08/sole_proprietor_ontario_wsib_question/)

> "But the part that threw me off was the accountant and wsib themselves saying I should pay premiums on total invoice amount."
>
> [the same contractor, after asking the professionals](https://old.reddit.com/r/SmallBusinessCanada/comments/ybyp08/sole_proprietor_ontario_wsib_question/)

And people who did incorporate sometimes report the payoff was not what they expected:

> "I went corporation to separate myself from the company, but I've learned since that it adds no extra legal protections in Canada. I don't know if it actually helped, but the tax structure might be better since I don't pay myself. Talk to an accountant."
>
> [a Red Seal contractor on r/ProHVACR](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProHVACR/comments/1iozrug/starting_a_business_in_ontario_canada_help/mcwe3il/)

The pattern under all of it: the decision feels bigger than it is because nobody shows you both paths priced side by side. So here they are.

## See all three paths priced on one screen

Open [the launch wizard](/start-your-business/wizard). No account is needed to look. Step 1 puts the whole fork on one screen: a named corporation, a numbered corporation, or a sole proprietorship, with the price of each written on the screen instead of behind a quote request.

![Step 1 of the launch wizard with all three structures on one screen: named corporation, numbered corporation, and sole proprietorship, with the Ontario and federal incorporation prices shown](https://ardhbbgplznadlvhywms.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/guide-assets/sole-proprietor-vs-incorporate-ontario/wizard-fork.png "The fork on one screen: named, numbered, or sole proprietorship, with real all-in prices.")

The numbers as the wizard shows them: an Ontario corporation is $400.00 CAD all-in, which includes about $314 in government fees. A federal corporation is $300.00 CAD all-in, including about $274 in government fees. Both prices are pre-tax, with HST added at checkout. A named corporation needs a NUANS name search, which the wizard runs for you as you type. A numbered corporation skips the naming question entirely: you get a number like 1234567 Ontario Inc. and can adopt a business name any time after.

Every step also has an "Ask COO About This Step" button that explains the decision on that specific screen, so you are never guessing at what a field means.

## What each choice changes

In contractor terms, not lawyer terms:

- **Sole proprietorship**: you and the business are the same legal person. Cheapest and fastest to register, income is simply your income, and there are no shares or minute book to maintain. The flip side is in the quotes above: the business's debts are your debts, and sole proprietors in construction describe WSIB premiums calculated on gross billings, not on what lands in their pocket.
- **Corporation**: a separate legal entity with its own tax filing, shares, and paperwork. Many GCs, bonding companies, and commercial clients expect to deal with one. The wizard's own sole proprietorship screen says it plainly: most contractors find they need to incorporate within their first year to get bonded, qualify for commercial work, and limit personal liability.

Which one is right depends on your income, your risk, and the contracts you chase. That part is an accountant conversation, and this page will not pretend otherwise. What the wizard removes is the excuse to stall: both registrations are a few screens, and the sole proprietorship path is built to be upgraded from your dashboard later.

## Start as a sole proprietor for $100 if speed wins

Pick the sole proprietorship card and the form gets shorter, not longer. You enter an operating name, no "Inc." or "Ltd." required, and the price note is on the screen rather than in fine print: $100.00 CAD all-in, which includes the $60 ServiceOntario Master Business Licence fee.

![The sole proprietorship path selected in the wizard: an operating name field with no legal suffix required, and the $100 all-in price including the $60 ServiceOntario Master Business Licence fee](https://ardhbbgplznadlvhywms.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/guide-assets/sole-proprietor-vs-incorporate-ontario/sole-prop-price.png "Sole proprietorship selected: an operating name, the $100.00 all-in price with the $60 government fee inside it, and the plain warning that many contractors incorporate within a year.")

The same screen works from a phone, so the decision you have been putting off can be settled from the truck:

![The sole proprietorship path of the wizard on a phone, showing the operating name field and the $100 all-in Master Business Licence price note](https://ardhbbgplznadlvhywms.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/guide-assets/sole-proprietor-vs-incorporate-ontario/sole-prop-price-mobile.png#portrait "The same decision on a phone. The whole registration works from the truck.")

## Give it an owner and an address

Step 2 for a sole proprietor is your name and your address, and the business address borrows the owner's address by default. There are no share classes, shareholders, or minute book anywhere on the path. One honest note: the form section is titled "Directors & Officers" because the corporation paths share it; for a sole proprietorship, the only name on it is yours.

![Step 2 of the sole proprietorship path: one person with a name and address, the business address defaulting to the owner's address, and no share classes or shareholders anywhere](https://ardhbbgplznadlvhywms.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/guide-assets/sole-proprietor-vs-incorporate-ontario/sole-prop-owner.png "The whole of step 2 for a sole proprietor: your name and your address, which the business address borrows by default. No share classes, no minute book.")

## Review what you file and what you pay

Step 3 is the full review: identity, people, address, and an order summary with one number on it. This is the sole proprietor version:

![The sole proprietorship review step: order summary showing Sole proprietorship (Ontario) at $100.00 CAD including about $60 in government fees, and the ServiceOntario Master Business Licence filing authorization](https://ardhbbgplznadlvhywms.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/guide-assets/sole-proprietor-vs-incorporate-ontario/sole-prop-review.png "The sole proprietor review: $100.00 all-in for the Master Business Licence, HST added at checkout. This guide stops here, before any payment.")

And the same screen on the incorporation path, here for a numbered Ontario corporation:

![The incorporation review step for a numbered Ontario corporation: order summary showing Ontario incorporation at $400.00 CAD including about $314 in government fees, and the Articles of Incorporation filing authorization](https://ardhbbgplznadlvhywms.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/guide-assets/sole-proprietor-vs-incorporate-ontario/incorporation-review.png "The same review screen on the incorporation path: $400.00 all-in for a numbered Ontario corporation, with the government fees inside that number.")

Read the box under the consent checkbox on either path: CRA Business Number, WSIB, and trade licences are handled separately from your dashboard once the registration exists. Nothing on this screen signs you up for anything beyond the filing itself. Past this point is a Stripe payment page, which is where this guide stops.

## What it costs and what it is not

The prices are the ones on the screens above: $100.00 for an Ontario sole proprietorship, $400.00 for an Ontario corporation, $300.00 for a federal corporation, each all-in with the government filing fees included and the government portions shown as approximate. HST is added at checkout. Filling in the wizard costs nothing, and your answers save under a guest session until you decide to file, which is when a real account is required.

What this is not: legal or tax advice. Whether incorporation saves you tax depends on numbers this page has never seen, and the WSIB treatment that frustrates the contractors quoted above has rules of its own worth confirming directly. Registering a business is also not WSIB coverage, not insurance, and not a trade licence. Those come after, and they are the reason the wizard ends at a dashboard instead of a receipt.

> **On AEC Stack:** the same flow continues past registration. [Start your business](/start-your-business) shows the full launch path, where the dashboard tracks the after-registration list, CRA numbers, WSIB, insurance, and licensing, as a checklist instead of a shoebox of bookmarks.

If the fork has been stalling you, open [the wizard](/start-your-business/wizard) and price both paths against your own situation. The decision gets easier the moment it stops being abstract.
