{"id":10460,"date":"2025-11-12T13:28:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T18:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/?p=10460"},"modified":"2025-11-26T15:43:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T20:43:56","slug":"when-to-incorporate-your-side-hustle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/when-to-incorporate-your-side-hustle\/","title":{"rendered":"When to Incorporate Your Side Hustle (Side Hustle Series)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Welcome to the last post in our Side Hustle Series. After following the advice from our previous articles, you\u2019ve likely set up a profitable side hustle that is starting to take off. Congrats! As things continue to go well, you might wonder what makes sense as a next step. Our answer? Incorporation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this post, we\u2019ll go over how to incorporate a business, including when is the best time to do so. Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/why-start-a-side-hustle-in-canada\/\">Why Start a Side Hustle in Canada?\u00a0 (Side Hustle Series)<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/register-a-business-while-working-full-time-ontario\/\">How to Register a Business While Working Full-Time (Side Hustle Series)<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/the-right-business-structure-for-your-side-hustle-ontario\/\">Choosing the Right Business Structure for Your Side Hustle (Side Hustle Series)<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/tax-basics-for-side-hustlers-in-canada\/\">Tax Basics for Side Hustlers in Canada (Side Hustle Series)<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/invoicing-and-getting-paid\/\">Invoicing &amp; Getting Paid (Side Hustle Series)<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/bookkeping-for-beginners\/\">Bookkeeping for Beginners (Side Hustle Series)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Does it Mean to Incorporate a Business?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In plain terms, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/incorporation.php\">incorporating a business<\/a> means changing your business structure from a Sole Proprietorship or General Partnership to an incorporated entity. This is often done to create a separate legal entity (the corporation) under which you will run your business.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Canada, you can incorporate your business at a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/incorporate-canada-federal.php\">federal<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/incorporation-online.php\">provincial<\/a> level.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the Difference Between Corporation and Incorporation in Ontario?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s common to mix up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/incorporated-vs-corporation-what-is-the-difference\/\">corporation and incorporation<\/a>. Think of incorporation as the \u201chow\u201d of forming a business, and corporation is the \u201cwhat\u201d, also known as the result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s the Difference Between Registering and Incorporating a Business in Ontario?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/what-is-the-difference-between-registering-a-business-and-incorporating\/\">A registered business<\/a> is tied directly to an individual or individuals. Incorporation means the business is tied to a corporation, making it a separate entity from the business owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/forms\/ontario-incorporation-named-numbered.php\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"524\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/start-a-corporation-4.webp\" alt=\"Businesswoman on phone. Ready to set up your corporation the right way? Incorporate now!\" class=\"wp-image-8224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/start-a-corporation-4.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/start-a-corporation-4-300x157.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/start-a-corporation-4-768x402.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why You Should Incorporate Your Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Incorporated businesses have several benefits that come along with the designation. If you plan to expand on a national or global scale, this is a crucial first step. Here are some main perks you can enjoy as an incorporated business:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Safeguard your business name in your desired jurisdiction (federally or provincially).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Personal liability protection from potential debts and liabilities associated with your business.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tax advantages, because corporations are taxed at a lower rate than Sole Proprietorships or General Partnerships.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The flexibility to adapt the corporation itself as your business evolves.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Incorporate a Business in Ontario<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Incorporating a business in Ontario follows a process that involves filing legal documents called <strong>Articles of Incorporation<\/strong>. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Registered office address<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Directors full names and addresses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Share structure (one or two classes of shares, or custom share structure)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Selected legal ending for the corporation name<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Incorporating is an exciting time, but also a stressful one. At Ontario Business Central, we have your back. We\u2019ll walk you through everything you need to know and file the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/forms\/ontario-incorporation-named-numbered.php#ontincorp\">incorporation order<\/a> for you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Much Does it Cost to Incorporate a Business in Ontario?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Basic Ontario incorporation with Ontario Business Central, which includes a BN number and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/nuans.php\">NUANS<\/a> report (which is mandatory in Ontario, whether it\u2019s done by us or a third party), is $109.99. Optional add-ons include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Preliminary corporate name search<\/strong> for $15.40<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tradename registration<\/strong> for $66.00 (subject to a $60 government fee)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Payroll registration<\/strong> for $21.99<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>HST registration<\/strong> for $54.99<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/forms\/corporate-supplies.php\"><strong>Corporate Supplies Package<\/strong><\/a> for $161.99<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Set fees<\/strong> (Draft Articles, Preparation of Documents, Electronic Filing Fee, Handling, and Government Registration Fee) for $457.35<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Signs It\u2019s Time to Incorporate Your Side Hustle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You have an annual revenue of over $30,000.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You want to limit personal liability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You\u2019re hiring people or planning to grow.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You want to keep personal and business finances separate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You&#8217;re working with clients who prefer or require dealing with a corporation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step-by-Step: How to Incorporate in Ontario with Ontario Business Central<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Choose your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/nuans.php\"><strong>Business Name<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fill out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/incorporation-online.php\"><strong>Ontario Incorporation Form<\/strong><\/a> online.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/forms\/corporate-supplies.php\">corporate add-ons<\/a>: Minute Book, seal, shares ledger.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Receive your documents.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You&#8217;re done!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ready to Take the Leap?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Incorporation is a big step, yet it opens many doors for growth and protection. You don\u2019t have to figure it out alone; Ontario Business Central is here to help every step of the way. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/contactus.php\">Contact us today<\/a> and revisit our side hustle series to take the next step on your journey with confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"&#x6d;a&#x69;&#108;&#x74;&#111;&#x3a;&#x69;n&#x71;&#117;&#x69;&#114;&#x69;&#101;s&#x40;&#111;&#x6e;&#116;&#x61;&#114;i&#x6f;&#98;&#x75;&#115;&#x69;&#110;e&#x73;s&#x63;&#101;&#x6e;&#116;r&#x61;l&#x2e;&#99;&#x61;\">&#x69;&#x6e;&#x71;&#x75;&#x69;&#x72;&#105;&#101;&#115;&#64;onta&#x72;&#x69;&#x6f;&#x62;&#x75;&#x73;&#105;&#110;&#101;&#115;&#115;cen&#x74;&#x72;&#x61;&#x6c;&#x2e;&#x63;&#97;<\/a><br>Toll-Free: 1-800-280-1913<br>Local: 1-416-599-9009<br>Fax: 1-866-294-4363<br>Office Hours: 9:00am \u2013 5:00pm<br>Monday \u2013 Friday E.S.T.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Ontario Business Central Inc. is not a law firm and cannot provide a legal opinion or advice. This information is to assist you in understanding the requirements of registration within the chosen jurisdiction. It is always recommended, when you have legal or accounting questions that you speak to a qualified professional.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to the last post in our Side Hustle Series. After following the advice from&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10461,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,188],"tags":[180,146,179,172],"class_list":["post-10460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-incorporation","category-side-hustles","tag-business-planning","tag-corporation","tag-new-business-owners","tag-side-hustle"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle.webp",1150,767,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle.webp",1150,767,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle.webp",1150,767,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle-150x150.webp",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle-300x200.webp",300,200,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle-1024x683.webp",1024,683,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle.webp",1150,767,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle.webp",1150,767,false],"obc-archive-card":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle-720x405.webp",720,405,true],"obc-archive-card-2x":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle.webp",1150,767,false],"obc-archive":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle-960x540.webp",960,540,true],"obc-archive-2x":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle.webp",1150,767,false],"rt_custom":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/entrepreneur-considering-incorporation-side-hustle.webp",1150,767,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Laura Harvey","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/author\/laura-harvey\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/category\/starting-a-business\/incorporation\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Incorporation<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/category\/tips-resources\/side-hustles\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Side Hustles<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Welcome to the last post in our Side Hustle Series. After following the advice from...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10460"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10462,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10460\/revisions\/10462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}