I have had a number of Deceased receive a GST/HST credit cheque . T1 final returns have been filed and CRA notified quite some time age of date of demise.
Anyone have any insight as to what to do with these cheques?
A song sung by Bubbles comes to mind. 
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I have also had one customer receive that same thing
Not sure what’s up with that.
If everyone remembers those HST credits and Ontario Property Tax Credits were always added to the T1 at the time of completing the tax return.
Then McGuinty in his wisdom decided it should be spread over the entire year and not too long after the Federal Government followed with HST
These credits were always based on that year’s tax return and should be paid to the deceased person.
Well, that’s my political rant for the day.
Return them, or not…
CRA revised and adjusted GST/HST credits.
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/covid-19-gsthstc-increase.html
Luckily, the Tax Preparer need do nothing with them, as it is not the Tax Preparer’s business.
For the Executor, however, it is another story.
The Executor MUST account for the receipt of these funds properly in the Estate Accounts, and MUST deal with them and distribute them as directed by the Will.
I also have a married couple who have been married for years both receive the Ontario Trillium benefit (they live in the same household). They meet the qualifications to for one of them to receive it but I cannot understand why both of them are getting it monthly. Thoughts?
I understand these increased GST/HST payments are being issued as the government’s answer to helping deceased Canadians navigate their way through the Covid-19 crisis.
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One is likely getting the OSTC and the other the OEPTC. The OSTC portion of the OTB will be given to the spouse assessed first.
@joe.justjoe1 the boost to GST credits is for COVID-19 so since the deceased wasn’t alive when the crisis began, they have not earned the credits.
The Executor should contact CRA to inform them that they will be either returning or destroying the cheque. To destroy it requires an affidavit similar to the one they use when re-issuing a cheque that has been lost.
No, that is not exactly what S122.5 (3.001) says.
Walt will need to check on his exact dates of deceased to check his own clients individually, particularly those that died before 01 July 2019.
However, in the case that I am aware of, the eligible individual was alive during the relevant tax year, and was alive in the specified month, so a correction (increased payment) needed to be validly paid in relation to those periods. The Executor in these circumstances needs to account for it and distribute it according to the Will. Destroying a cheque, received in Trust, without signed Consents, in those circumstances could lead to civil liability or prosecution.
I had a similar experience. When my client passed. She received GST credit and also old age and Cpp. Payments received after her passing were returned by the estate. Since the GST usually overlaps with the tax year, there occurence is not uncommon.
It is quite proper for certain of these payments to be received after passing by the Executor of the Estate and distributed to Beneficiaries.
Since you do not give exact dates, it is unknown whether the funds in your case were correctly or incorrectly received, or if the Beneficiaries in your case are going to sue the Executor for the amount of improperly returned valid funds.
The executor has the liability for that.
As for the tax preparer, the tax preparer must ensure and reconcile that the T slips reconcile with the accounts of the estate, so as to ensure that the tax filing is prepared correctly.
OAS and CPP are always payable for the month of death. Date of death doesn’t matter. However, if received after the date of death, the income can go on either the terminal return or a rights and things return. So, if the date of death is the 15th, then CPP & OAS arrive around the 27th. In this case, you have a choice. OAS & CPP should not be received in the month following death.