Can You Claim Personal Tax Credits Twice on a Final Return in Canada?

When someone dies, the legal representative files a final return. In some situations they can also file extra returns for the same year, and many people ask whether the basic personal amount and the age amount can be claimed again on each one. For the credits on lines 30000 to 30450 and line 30500, including the age amount, the answer is yes: they can be claimed in full on each return filed, unless the person was resident in Canada for only part of the year.

This article explains which credits can be repeated, which claims must be shared across returns, and what cannot be claimed at all. It ends with a simple example of how a rights or things return can lower the total tax. Rules differ with the facts, so an accountant or lawyer can confirm how they apply to a particular estate.

This article covers Canadian federal tax law, which applies in every province.

The short answer

The CRA allows the credits on lines 30000 to 30450 and line 30500, which include the age amount, to be claimed in full on each return filed for the person who died. They are not prorated because the person died part way through the year.

That is why optional returns can reduce tax. Income moved to a separate return can be taxed with its own set of credits. The limit is that other claims cannot be multiplied in the same way. The total of those claims across all returns cannot be more than what would have been allowed if only the final return were filed.

The three optional returns

Optional T1 returns are not required, and they may reduce or eliminate tax. They are only available for eligible income sources and time periods. The three types are:

• Rights or things, marked "70(2)".
• Partner or proprietor, marked "150(4)".
• Income from a graduated rate estate, marked "104(23)(d)".

For rights or things, you use the T1 package for the year of death and the province of residence at death, and write "70(2)" in the top right corner of page 1. Only the eligible income goes on that return, not on the final return. The saving comes from claiming certain credits and deduction amounts again on the separate return.

For a partner or proprietor return, where a business's short fiscal period ends because of death, the legal representative may elect to exclude that business income from the final return and file an additional return as if for a separate person.

Credits you can claim in full on each return

The credits on lines 30000 to 30450 and line 30500 can be claimed in full on each return filed, and the age amount is one of them. In plain terms, the basic personal amount is not cut down for the days after death, and it is not shared between the returns.

There is one exception. If the person was resident in Canada for only part of the year, the personal amounts are prorated by days of Canadian residence divided by days in the year. This is a different situation from simply dying during the year.

Claims that must be split, and costs you cannot claim

Some claims are shared across the final and optional returns. The following table compares the main ones.

Medical expenses on the final return can cover any 24-month period that includes the date of death, if they are not claimed elsewhere. The claim is the amount above the lesser of $2,834 or 3% of net income (line 23600) from all returns filed for the year of death, for tax year 2025. Receipts must be attached. The dollar figure is indexed each year, so check the year of death.

Funeral expenses, probate fees and estate administration fees are not deductible.

A simple worked example

Suppose a person dies in the autumn. Before death, they had earned salary for a pay period that ended before death, and it is paid to the estate afterwards. That kind of salary is a qualifying right or thing. Their regular income, such as pension and other earnings, is already on the final return.

If everything went on the final return, one set of personal credits would apply to all of the income. Instead, the legal representative can elect to report the unpaid salary on a separate return marked "70(2)". That return is taxed as though it were for a separate person, so the personal credits can be claimed in full again on it. The saving in a case like this comes from claiming certain credits and deduction amounts again on the separate return, which is how the overall tax may end up lower.

If the person also had a disability amount or medical expenses to claim, those would not be doubled. The disability amount total across all returns cannot exceed the allowable amount for the calendar year, and medical expenses can be split across returns. Timing matters too. If rights or things are distributed to beneficiaries before the election period ends, section 70(2) does not apply to them, and the beneficiary includes the amount in income when received.

What to do next

• Confirm the date of death and whether the person was resident in Canada for the whole year.
• List income that was owed but unpaid at death, and check whether it could be rights or things, such as unpaid salary or vacation pay.
• Check whether the person had a business whose short fiscal period ended because of the death, which may allow a partner or proprietor return.
• Gather medical receipts for the 24-month period that includes the date of death.
• Keep in mind that rights or things distributed to beneficiaries before the election period ends are not covered by section 70(2), and the beneficiary includes the amount in income when received.
• Allow for the due dates. The rights or things deadline is the later of one year after death and 90 days after the notice of assessment for the final return.

Because the claims interact, it is worth having an accountant or lawyer prepare or review the returns before they are filed.

Frequently asked questions