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Dentist guide · 2026
Dentistry professional corporations in Ontario.
A dentistry professional corporation lets a dentist leave income in a company taxed at about 11.7% for a December 31, 2026 year-end and about 11.2% from 2027, against a top personal rate of 53.53%, and bring family in as non-voting shareholders. The RCDSO sets the rules on who can own and run it. Here is how it works and when it pays.
The RCDSO rules
Who can own and run the corporation.
- Voting shares: dentists who are members of the College.
- Non-voting shares: College members, a voting dentist's spouse, child or parent, or a trust for the dentist's minor children.
- Directors and officers: dentists who are members of the College.
- Incorporation: under the Ontario Business Corporations Act. Federal incorporation is not permitted.
- Business: restricted to the practice of dentistry and activities related or ancillary to it.
- Certificate of Authorization: $750 to apply. Every certificate expires on August 31 and must be renewed each year, whatever date it was issued. The renewal is $175 if you pay by July 31 and $200 after that, which is why July is the month to diarize.
When it pays
The corporation defers tax on income you do not need to spend. Associates with modest surplus and heavy student debt often wait; practice owners with equipment loans, staff and steady profit usually benefit early. Dividends to a spouse are limited by the income-splitting rules until you turn 65, the same as for physicians. Dividends to adult children or parents stay caught indefinitely, because a professional corporation cannot use the excluded-shares exception.
What we do for dentists
Incorporation — with the documents your RCDSO application needs, though the application to the College is yours to file — monthly AI-assisted bookkeeping reviewed by a person, payroll for the team, year-end statements and the T2, the family's personal returns, and compilation reports from the CPAs on our team when a lender asks for one.
More for dentists
Setting up the corporation: naming and RCDSO steps
Buying a dental practice: the tax side
Associate dentists: contractor, employee and taxes
HST and input tax credits after the 35% rule
Salary versus dividends in 2026 (written for physicians; the same rules apply)
Quick answers
What dentists ask about incorporating.
Can my spouse own shares in my dentistry professional corporation?
Yes. A voting dentist's spouse, children and parents can hold non-voting shares, and a trust can hold them for minor children. Voting shares, directorships and officer roles are limited to dentists.
What does the RCDSO charge for a Certificate of Authorization?
$750 for the initial application, then $175 a year to renew if you pay by July 31 or $200 after. Certificates expire on August 31 every year and must be renewed annually, whatever date they were issued.
Can a dentistry professional corporation be federally incorporated?
No. The RCDSO requires incorporation under the Ontario Business Corporations Act.
Should an associate dentist incorporate?
Only once there is income left over after living costs and debt payments, and provided the associate is genuinely an independent contractor. See our guide for associates.
Source: RCDSO, Health Profession Corporations; the 2026 Ontario Budget for the small business rate change, which is prorated across a year straddling July 1, 2026. General information, not advice for your situation.
Thinking about incorporating your practice?
Call 647-870-8498 or email info@ghayurtax.com. We will run the numbers and handle the filings.