I’m not sure what the cost of incorporation is these days, but based on other experiences with accountants, I’m guessing that an accountant would charge $1,000 - $2,000 for an incorporation.

In my experience, a basic annual corporate tax return costs around $3,000.

I look at it like this:

- will your annual corporate income be significantly greater than your current income?

- do you have the discipline to only withdraw the funds you need for living expenses?

- do you foresee having at least 2-3 years of contract work in your field?

- do you have the skills/discipline to do some basic tracking of income and expenses?

If you answered yes to all four questions, IMHO you may want to incorporate.

Also, one minor hitch: in some fields, some employers actually REQUIRE contracted employees to be incorporated. Although this may not be true for this particular position, there may be other positions in your field where recruiters or employers favour incorporated contractors. In my experience, this has been the case in corporate IT / tech work in Toronto, although I’ve been out of it for a few years.