1- Tax responsabilities

When a loved one passes away, the family and legal representative have to ensure that legal formalities are complied with and deadlines met.

The deceased’s legal representative is the person named in the will or a person appointed by the heirs to handle the estate if there is no will or if a representative has not been named in the will (administrator). In Quebec, this person is called the liquidator of the estate.

From a tax perspective, the main responsibilities of the legal representative are as follows:

• To file all tax returns for the deceased (including required tax elections);
• To pay all taxes for the deceased;
• To obtain a clearance certificate or authorization from the tax authorities to distribute the assets of the deceased;
• To let the beneficiaries know which of the amounts they receive from the estate are taxable based on elections made.

Notices to the tax authorities

The legal representative must notify the government authorities of the deceased person’s date of death as soon as possible.¹ Moreover, it is recommended that tax authorities and financial institutions be notified as soon as possible of the date of death if:

• The deceased was receiving OAS benefits;
• The deceased was receiving QPP or CPP benefits;
• The deceased was receiving GST/HST credits, or any advance payments for tax credits;
• The deceased was receiving the solidarity tax credit (Quebec);
• The deceased or his/her spouse was receiving the CCB or the Family Allowance or in the case of a deceased child in respect of whom these benefits were being paid;
• The deceased was receiving payments under an RRIF or an RPP.

Registration as legal representative and authorization of a representative

The legal representative must identify himself/herself to the tax authorities in order to have access to the deceased person’s tax information. A copy of the following documents must be provided:

• The death certificate;
• The will (including any codicills) or any other legal document identifying the liquidator or other legal representative;
• The will search certificates issued by the Chambre des notaires du Québec and the Barreau du Québec;
• The Request for the Canada Revenue Agency to Update Records²form (federal) and Form LM-14-V (Quebec).

The legal representative who wishes to grant access to the deceased’s tax information to another person, for example an accountant, must grant an authorization to the latter.

Impact of death on tax and benefit programs

Old Age Security Pension

The OAS pension is paid for the month during which the taxpayer died and has to be reported in one of the tax returns (see point 2 of this section) of the deceased. Any amounts received for months following the month of death have to be returned to the federal government.

Quebec Pension Plan and Canada Pension Plan

As with the OAS pension, the right to receive a QPP or CPP annuity ceases as of the month following the death. Any beneficiary eligible for one or more death or survivor benefits paid out by the QPP and CPP upon the death of the plan’s subscriber or main beneficiary (see Section XII) must submit the appropriate related request to the government authorities in question.

Goods and Services Tax Credit

The GST/HST credit is paid in July, October, January and April. If a single individual dies in a month before the credit payment is sent, the cheque must be returned. The estate is entitled to it if the individual dies during one of these months.

The surviving spouse may be eligible for the GST/HST credit. The spouse should contact the CRA and request any remaining credit for the year and file a tax return for the preceding year if this has not already been done.

Solidarity Tax Credit

Solidarity Tax Credit payments cease in the month following the death of the beneficiary. Revenu Quebec automatically continues to make the payments to the surviving spouse, if applicable.

Canada Child Benefit and Family Allowance

A surviving spouse who is the father or mother of a child in respect of whom the deceased was receiving the CCB, or the Family Allowance should contact the government authorities in order to have the benefits transferred to him/her. If, on the other hand, the surviving spouse was the recipient of these benefits, he/she can ask the government authorities to recalculate the benefits taking only his/her income into consideration.

If the person now responsible for the care of the child is someone other than the father or mother, this person has to submit a written request to the government authorities to be eligible to receive these payments.

If the deceased was an eligible child, the CCB³ entitlements cease the month following the death. The Family Allowance ceases the first day of the quarter following the death of the child. Any amounts received after these dates have to be returned.

Quebec Drug Insurance

The Quebec drug insurance contribution is payable for the month of death for a person covered by that plan.

Climate action incentive payment – Ontario and New Brunswick

Eligibility for the climate action incentive (see Section XII) ends as of the month following death.

Instalments

No instalments have to be paid for a deceased for the period following the date of death. Nevertheless, the legal representative should ensure that any amounts due prior to the date of death were in fact paid.

¹ For details on this matter, refer to: Legal representative – Canada.ca and Liquidators of a succession (steps to follow after death) – Revenu Québec.

² To obtain online access to the deceased’s tax information, the representative must register with the Represent a client service before sending a copy of the legal documents. Once the person is registered for this service, the representative identifier (RepID) must be provided on all required documents.

³ As of 2025, for six months following the death.