A requirement for all estates
Income taxes must be dealt with for every estate.
However, before anyone can start to deal with the income taxes of the deceased or the estate, that person must be recognized by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as the ‘representative of the deceased’.
This requirement that someone become the ‘representative of the deceased’ is a requirement for all estates.
Usually the representative for income tax purposes is the estate trustee (it would be very unusual to have someone other than the estate trustee named as the legal representative).
What to file and when to file depends on the circumstances:
Executor named in the Will
A person who is the named executor in the last Will of the deceased can ask to be recognized by CRA as the representative of the deceased by properly filing a copy of the Will and the request.
The sooner this application is filed the better, to expedite estate adminstration.
We frequently assist with this step which can be taken with or without probate, and even if probate is planned, the request to become the representative for tax purposes can be filed before probate is obtained.
Intestacy & next of kin
If there is no Will (an intestacy), and if the proposed estate trustee is the next of kin of the deceased, they can apply to be recognized as the representative of the deceased before probate is completed.
This filing is effected properly by filing an RC552, cover letter, and appropriate enclosures.
Not executor, not next of kin
For almost everyone else, probate will be required before you can file the required form to CRA to recognition as the representative of the deceased for tax purposes.
If there is no will and the estate trustee is not the next of kin, or if there is a Will but the estate trustee was not an executor named in the Will, probate will be required before the estate trustee can be recognized by CRA the representative of the deceased and the estate for income tax purposes.
Once probate is obtained, a complete RC552 together with a cover letter and the required enclosures and attachments must be filed.
Filing choices
The request to become the representative of the deceased can be filed:
- By the representative themselves through their MyCRA account
- By us or the representative by mail sent to the correct CRA office.
We frequently file requests to be named the representative of the deceased on behalf of our clients, as this is the first step in the process of assisting estate trustees to deal with the income taxes of the deceased and their estate.
Approval timing
It usually takes CRA 4-8 weeks to recognize a representative of the deceased and before any other step can be taken with the deceased’s tax returns. Accordingly, the sooner the proper application to be the representative is filed the better.
Next steps: an authorized representative of the representative
After the estate trustee is recognized as the representative of the deceased, the next step is for the representative of the deceased (usually the estate trustee) to appoint their own ‘authorized representative’. Learn more about authorized representatives here.