I am cleaning up an errant taxpayer who passed away in 2024…but am wondering whether the DoD should be entered in TC on the prior returns (2017-2023)?
I’m thinking only the last return filed should have it? I assume (hah!) that CRA will adjust the entire file in any event. All payments have ceased anyway, so not a big problem.
DOD only goes in the year of death
Thanks - even if I can’t file that yet?
Putting the date of death in the return triggers their system to send mail to “the estate of so and so” and issue cheques to the estate rather than the person directly since they are dead and “can’t” cash them. It would probably stop any direct deposits and force a paper cheque in the case of refunds. In returns that are not actually the date of death returns it doesn’t do anything else as far as I am aware. In date of death returns it also triggers things like being able to use capital losses carrying forward against regular income and other things that only apply in the year of death. If I was doing the returns I’d tend to put the date of death on all the returns being careful to get the year right so that the 2019 return for instance doesn’t calculate as a date of death return. It could probably be done either way however - report or don’t report a final date of death on any or all of the returns.
Thanks - kinda follows my thinking. Don’t care about the money as one year is a VDP anyway and all the rest are non-taxable, but have small generated refunds.
This one has been a journey!
I have often filed the last year return prior to death with the DoD entered in TaxCycle. For example, if someone died in Jan 2025 and I am filing their 2024 T1, I will enter the DoD. As noted by @laurie, this triggers various actions at CRA - it does not mean they died during THAT tax year.
Yep - that’s what I’d originally done…and then second-guessed myself!