What Happens to a Deceased Person's Tax Return and Final CRA Filings in Ontario?

A final T1 return must be filed for every person who dies. If death occurs between January 1 and October 31, it is due April 30 of the following year, and if death occurs between November 1 and December 31, it is due 6 months after the death. When the deceased or a spouse or common-law partner living with them carried on a business, the return is due June 15 of the following year for deaths from January 1 to December 15, and 6 months after death for deaths from December 16 to 31, but payment is still due on the regular date.

There are three optional returns: rights or things, partner or proprietor, and income from a graduated rate estate. The estate's T3 return is due 90 days after the trust's tax year-end.

Before distributing property, a legal representative must obtain a clearance certificate on Form TX19, and distributing without one makes the representative personally liable for unpaid tax up to the value distributed. A certificate is not needed before each interim distribution, as long as enough property is kept back to pay any liability to the CRA. Ask only after all returns are assessed, the tax is paid or secured, and proof of authority is sent to the CRA.