Formally called Estate Administration Tax — everyday name "probate fees." Nothing on the first $50,000 of estate value, then $15 for every $1,000 above it. Enter the estate's value below for an instant estimate that shows the arithmetic.
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Enter the estate's value and, if it includes Ontario real estate with a mortgage, toggle the deduction. The estimate updates instantly — no email required.
Not every estate needs probate at all — what the estate holds, and what banks and the land registry will accept, decides that. See which courthouse handles probate for your municipality →.
The short version — the calculator above does the actual math for you.
Estate Administration Tax is charged when an application for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee — the formal document that gives an executor authority to administer an estate — is filed with the Superior Court of Justice. It's paid to the Minister of Finance, based on the value of the estate stated in the application.
The first $50,000 of value is tax-free. Above that, the tax is $15 for every $1,000, or part of one — a rate that works out to roughly 1.5% of the value over $50,000, with no upper cap. The one deduction the tax allows is a mortgage or other encumbrance registered against Ontario real estate included in the estate; other debts of the deceased don't reduce the taxable value.
If the value stated turns out to be wrong, the tax is adjusted — and the estate has ongoing reporting obligations to the Ministry of Finance after the certificate is issued, not just a one-time filing.
Whether it's required at all is a separate, and often cheaper, question.
Probate — and the tax that comes with it — isn't automatic. Whether it's needed turns on what the estate holds and what the institutions involved will accept. Assets that pass outside the estate entirely, such as property held in joint tenancy or a registered plan with a named beneficiary, are generally not counted toward the taxable value, and an estate made up mostly of those can sometimes avoid probate altogether.
Where probate is needed, the value entered in the application is what banks, the land registry and other institutions rely on — so it has to be right, and it's usually worth having a lawyer confirm which assets belong in the calculation before you file.
Say the estate is valued at $850,000 and includes an Ontario property with a $300,000 mortgage still registered against it on the date of death:
Without the mortgage deduction, the same $850,000 estate owes $12,000. Run your own value — with or without a mortgage — in the calculator above.
Yes — "probate fees" is the everyday name. Formally, Ontario charges Estate Administration Tax when a probate application (an application for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee) is filed with the Superior Court of Justice.
The total value of the assets the estate covers at the date of death. The one deduction the tax allows is a mortgage or other encumbrance registered against Ontario real estate included in the estate. Assets that pass outside the estate — for example jointly held property or accounts with a named beneficiary — are generally not included, though whether an asset truly passes outside the estate can be a legal question of its own.
No. Estates valued at $50,000 or less pay nothing, and some estates do not need probate at all — it depends on what the estate holds and what the institutions involved will accept. Checking whether probate is needed is often the first question worth answering.
It is paid to the Minister of Finance when the probate application is filed, based on the estate value stated in the application. If the value is later corrected, the tax is adjusted — estates also have ongoing reporting obligations after a certificate is issued.
Sometimes — how assets are held and how an estate is structured can change what flows through probate. That is planning territory where the details matter, and it is worth professional advice rather than a rule of thumb.
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