Does my corporation need to file anything special before it can pay out sale proceeds to me tax-efficiently?

Often, yes, depending on how you want the money paid out. If part of the payout represents the non-taxable portion of a capital gain your corporation realized, for example on an asset sale, the corporation generally needs to file a specific election adding that amount to its capital dividend account before, or as part of, actually paying it out to you as a tax-free capital dividend. Miss the election, file it late, or get the calculation wrong, and that portion can lose its tax-free character and simply be taxed as an ordinary dividend instead.

Beyond the capital dividend account, other aspects of paying out sale proceeds efficiently — managing refundable dividend tax on hand, timing dividends around your corporation's own tax year, or coordinating multiple dividends across a family group — can also depend on specific calculations and correctly timed filings, not just writing a cheque once the sale has closed.

Because these elections often have to align precisely with when the payment is actually made, and the numbers need to be calculated correctly against your corporation's actual tax attributes, coordinating the filing and payment timing with an accountant before any money moves out of the corporation avoids accidentally turning a tax-free payment into a taxable one.