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By Jason Heath, CFP on February 6, 2026
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

By Jason Heath, CFP on February 6, 2026
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

What to know about filing taxes after a death in Canada, including notifying the CRA, executor duties, final returns, and clearance certificates.

When you are managing the tax affairs of someone who has died, there are important steps to take to notify the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), represent the deceased taxpayer, and finalize their tax filings.

You should contact the government as soon as possible. This includes steps like cancelling a provincial health card, driver’s license, and applying for Canada Pension Plan (CPP) death and survivor benefits.

From a tax perspective, you should contact the CRA by phone or by mail. If you call CRA Individual Tax Enquiries at 1-800-959-8281, you should make sure you have on hand the person’s:

You should report their date of death and stop any ongoing benefits that may need to be repaid.

There are several other government agencies you should also notify.

To formally represent someone who has died with CRA, you can do so as a legal representative or name an authorized representative. A legal........

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