What to do when a loved one dies

Dealing with the death of a loved one is difficult. With this in mind, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) wants to help make filing their final tax return easier. This simple checklist will help you with the first few steps you should take.

Checklist

• Gather all of the deceased’s income tax information so that when it is time to prepare their return, everything will be ready and easy to access.
• Notify the CRA of the date of death as soon as possible, by calling the CRA at 1-800-959-8281, or by filling out the form on the back of Information Sheet RC4111, What to Do Following a Death, and sending it to your tax services office or tax centre.
• Request that CRA stop the following benefit and credit payments, and if applicable, transfer them to a survivor:
  • goods and services tax / harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credit
  • working income tax benefit advance payments
  • Canada child benefit
• Advise Service Canada of the deceased's date of death. For more information, or to get the address of the Service Canada Centre nearest you, call 1-800-622-6232.
• Make sure you are named, and on the CRA’s files, as the legal representative, or get in touch with the legal representative who will deal with the CRA.

For the legal representative: when filing the deceased’s final tax return

• The due date for the final return depends on the deceased's date of death. For more information, see Information Sheet RC4111 or Guide T4011, Preparing Returns for Deceased Persons.
• Do you need to report income earned by the estate after the date of death? If so, you will need to prepare a T3 return.
• No instalments have to be paid for a deceased person after their death. The only instalments that have to be paid are those that were due before the date of death.
• Determine whether or not you need a clearance certificate before you distribute any property.

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