Who Can Apply for a CRA Clearance Certificate in Canada?

You are a family member looking after an estate, and nobody has gone through a formal probate process. You want to know whether CRA treats you as someone who can apply for a clearance certificate, and what that role puts on you.

The answer depends on your role and your documents. This article walks through who counts, what the informal route looks like, and why the label carries personal responsibility.

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

Who counts as a legal representative

CRA describes a legal representative as a person who administers, winds up, controls or otherwise deals with a property, business or estate, and whether someone qualifies depends on the facts. The label is broader than a title in a will.

In practice, the legal representative is typically the executor named in the will. In Quebec, it is the person registered as liquidator. If there is no will or executor, a person who applies to the courts may be appointed administrator under provincial or territorial law.

Acting without a formal appointment

While you wait for a court appointment, or if none is made, you can ask CRA to recognize you for tax matters by submitting Form RC552. This covers CRA matters only, not other estate duties. The title of the form differs between CRA pages, so check its current name.

There is an important limit for clearance certificates. For an intestate estate, the certificate package requires the administrator appointment, meaning letters of administration or verification. So an RC552 may let you deal with CRA, but it does not replace the appointment document when you apply.

If there is a will, the clearance package needs the signed will with codicils, renunciations, disclaimers and probate documents. Whether an estate can avoid probate altogether, and what that means for you, is a question for a lawyer.

What the role means for you

• You are jointly and severally liable with the taxpayer for unpaid amounts under the Act, to the extent of your control of the property.
• If the deceased had not filed a required return, anyone who administers, manages or otherwise deals with their property or estate must file that return.
• Before distributing property in your possession or control, you must obtain a certificate, although you need not get one before each distribution if enough property remains to cover any liability.
• Distributing without one makes you personally liable for the unpaid amounts, limited to the value of the property distributed.

Distribution happens when you give up control and transfer the property, and appropriating property for yourself also counts,. So if you are a legal representative, keeping an item or taking money from an account yourself is treated as a distribution under the rule. Whether a family member qualifies as a legal representative depends on the facts.

Once a certificate is issued, liability for any remaining tax rests on the estate, trust, corporation, beneficiaries or others who received the assets, rather than the representative. If new assets are discovered later, you must obtain another certificate before distributing them, and a certificate covers only property controlled up to the request date.

Several representatives and the paperwork

If there is more than one representative, offline access for additional representatives uses Form AUT-01, which for clearance certificates must be signed by all legal representatives. Online, you authorize representatives through Represent a Client or the representative authorization service.

To tell CRA you are the representative, send a death certificate or funeral director's statement, a document naming the executor (such as the will or letters of administration), Form RC552 if there is no will, and an updated estate mailing address, with the deceased's SIN on each document. These are generally processed in 28 business days.

What to do next

• Work out whether you are the named executor, an appointed administrator, or neither.
• If you are neither yet, ask a lawyer about the appointment process in your province or territory.
• Send CRA your status documents, including RC552 if there is no will.
• File the required returns and wait for the notices of assessment before requesting the certificate.
• Obtain the certificate before distributing or taking anything for yourself, although you need not get one before each distribution if enough property remains to cover any liability.

CRA acknowledges a clearance request within 45 days, and assessment can take up to 120 days if all documents are provided, though an audit may be needed first. If a request is denied, the denial states what is missing or what action is required, and you can reapply once the issues are resolved.

Frequently asked questions