Does an Executor Have to Notify Canada Revenue Agency of a Death in BC?

If you have just been named executor, one early task is telling the Canada Revenue Agency that the person has died. Doing so stops benefit payments that should not continue.

This article covers how and when to notify, what information you need, and what happens to common benefits. Other tasks, such as the final return, come after.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

Is notifying the CRA your job?

Yes, generally. The legal representative must notify the CRA of the death, confirm all CRA balances are resolved, and cancel or transfer benefit payments. The legal representative is typically the executor named in the will.

If there is no will or executor, a person can be appointed through the courts, or can register with the CRA using Form RC552, with approval for CRA purposes only.

How and when to notify, and what to have ready

The CRA asks you to notify it as soon as possible to avoid benefit repayment. You can call Individual Tax Enquiries at 1-800-959-8281 or Benefit Enquiries at 1-800-387-1193. You can also mail Form RC4111, Notify the Canada Revenue Agency of a Death, to the deceased's tax centre.

• The date of death.
• The deceased's SIN or Temporary Tax Number, full name, date of birth and complete address.
• An assessed tax return or notice of assessment.
• Your own name, phone number and relationship to the deceased.

What happens to benefits

Canada Workers Benefit advance payments run only to the date of death, and the final-year benefit is claimed on line 45300 of the final return. Canada Child Benefit usually transfers to a surviving parent-spouse, otherwise the new primary caregiver applies through My Account or Form RC66.

For the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit and Canada Carbon Rebate, if the person died before the scheduled payment month, payments are no longer issued in that person's name or to the estate. If the person died during or after that month and the payment was not cashed, it must be returned to the CRA.

The final return and other CRA tasks

Notifying the CRA is only the first step. The legal representative must also file the final return for the year of death, file any returns the deceased had not filed for earlier years, and file T3 returns if required. The final return reports all of the deceased's income from January 1 of the year of death up to the date of death. Income earned by the estate after death may have to be reported on a T3 Trust Income Tax and Information Return.

If the person died between January 1 and October 31, the final return is due April 30 of the year following the death. If the person died between November 1 and December 31, it is due 6 months after the date of death, and any balance owing is due on that date too. Different dates can apply if the deceased, or a spouse or common-law partner living with them, was carrying on a business.

The late-filing penalty on the final return is 5% of the balance owing plus 1% of the balance for each full month the return is late, to a maximum of 12 months. The penalty may be higher if a late-filing penalty was assessed on the deceased's return for any of the 3 previous tax years, and the CRA may cancel penalties or interest where lateness was due to circumstances beyond the person's control.

Clearance certificate before you distribute assets

A clearance certificate confirms that the estate has paid the income tax and GST/HST, interest and penalties it owed, or that the Minister has accepted security. It lets the legal representative distribute assets without personal responsibility for those amounts, and it is requested on Form TX19. The legal representative should apply before distributing estate assets. If assets are distributed without one and tax is owing, the representative can be held personally liable for outstanding tax balances, up to the value of the assets distributed.

You wait until the required returns are filed and assessed before requesting it. The CRA sends an acknowledgement within 45 days, and the assessment can take up to 120 days. If the deceased or a business had a GST/HST account, Form GST352 must be completed together with Form TX19.

What to do next

Notifying the CRA is separate from notifying Service Canada. Service Canada must be notified of a death as soon as possible at 1-800-277-9914 in Canada and the US, and payments issued after the month of death must be returned. The executor named in the will or a court-appointed administrator applies for the CPP death benefit, ideally within 60 days of death.

• Confirm you are the legal representative.
• Gather the information the CRA asks for.
• Call the CRA or mail Form RC4111 as soon as possible.
• Notify Service Canada separately.
• Plan the final return, and ask a lawyer or accountant about anything unclear.

Frequently asked questions