Ontario's Estate Information Return, explained

You got the certificate. The court part is over. One report is still owed: the Estate Information Return. It goes to the Ontario Ministry of Finance, and it has a hard deadline. It is easy to miss. Here is the whole rule, in plain words.

What is the Estate Information Return in Ontario?

It is a report about the estate. It lists what the person who died owned, and what each thing was worth. The Ministry of Finance uses it to check the estate tax you paid.

Three things it is not:

• Not a tax return. No income, no CRA. It is a list of assets and values.
• Not a court filing. The court’s part ended with the certificate. This return goes to a different office — the Ministry of Finance.
• Not optional. Even when the estate owed no tax — $50,000 or less — the return must still go in.

Who must send it

The estate representative sends it. That is the person the certificate names — the estate trustee. If the court gave you an estate certificate, this return is your job.

A couple of rarer certificates do not need one. For example: the certificate that names a replacement (succeeding) estate trustee, and the certificate for an estate trustee during litigation — a court fight.

The EIR deadline in Ontario: 180 days

The clock starts the day the court issues the certificate. From that day, you have 180 calendar days to send the return.

One warning: some older websites still say 90 days. That was the old rule. It changed on January 1, 2020. The deadline now is 180 days.

What if you find a mistake?

• Wrong or missing asset or value? Send a revised return within 60 days of finding out.
• A small slip — a name, a date, a file number? Send a written notice within 60 days.
• Found new property later? Give the court a sworn statement of its value within 6 months of finding it, and pay the extra tax on that value then. A revised return is due within 60 days too.
• If you only learn of a mistake more than four years after the tax was due, no revised return is required.

The penalties for missing it

Skipping the return, or putting false or misleading information in it, is an offence. A person found guilty can face:

• a fine of at least $1,000 — and up to twice the tax, if that is more;
• or up to two years in jail;
• or both.

There is more. The Ministry can check and reassess the tax for four years after it became payable. And if the return was never sent, or wrong information was given through carelessness or on purpose, there is no time limit at all. Keep the estate records for four years — that is Ontario’s own guidance, and it matches the four-year check window.

Why people miss this return

• The deadline starts when everything feels finished. Getting the certificate feels like the end. This return comes after.
• It goes to a different office. The court gave you the certificate. The return goes to the Ministry of Finance instead.
• “No tax” does not mean “no return.” Small estates that paid $0 still must send it.

What it has to do with the tax you already paid

When you filed your application, you paid a deposit. It became the Estate Administration Tax when the certificate issued. The return tells the Ministry what the estate was really worth, so it can check that value against the tax you paid.

• If new property turns up, more tax is owed on it.
• If you paid too much, you can ask the Ministry in writing for the extra back. The return must have gone in within four years of the certificate, and the written request within 12 years.

Related guides

• Ontario’s Estate Administration Tax, explained
• Executor duties in Ontario, in plain words
• How to probate a will in Ontario, step by step
• Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee

Sources

• Estate Information Return (ontario.ca)
• O. Reg. 310/14 — the return, its deadlines, and revised returns
• Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998 (penalties s. 5.1, assessments s. 4.5)

All sources checked 14 July 2026.