Estate administration tax (probate fees)

When an owner dies, the personal representative may need a court-issued certificate or grant to deal with the estate. Probate charges attach to that step. Heirs of a business may meet them if the owner’s shares or other business interests form part of the estate. This entry covers Ontario and British Columbia only. Check the rules of the province or territory where the estate is administered.

Ontario and British Columbia

Ontario’s Ministry of Finance says the Estate Administration Tax is charged on the value of the estate if an estate certificate is applied for and issued, and that, subject to the exclusions it lists, the value covers all assets the deceased owned at the time of death, including business interests. Some certificates carry no tax. In British Columbia, the Probate Fee Act requires a fee to be paid to the government on behalf of the estate before any grant or resealing, by the personal representative in a representative capacity only, except in the cases where section 2 says no fee is payable. It defines the value of the estate itself.

What to ask

• Which province’s court will issue the certificate or grant
• Whether the business interest is counted in the value of the estate
• Whether the lawyer expects the certificate to be needed before the business can be sold

For the sale side of an inherited business, see Can I sell a business I inherited but never ran?