Probate Fees in Ontario (Estate Administration Tax) — 2026 Guide

A 70-year-old retired teacher in Etobicoke dies with a $720,000 estate — the family home, an RRSP with her son named as beneficiary, a TFSA with both children named, a non-registered investment account, and a chequing account. Her will leaves everything to her two adult children equally. The Ontario probate fee on her estate is not $720,000 × 1.5% — it is approximately $4,650. The reason is that the RRSP and TFSA pass directly to the named beneficiaries and bypass the estate, the house was held jointly with her late husband and re-titled in survivorship terms after his death, and only the non-registered investment account ($300,000) and the chequing account ($60,000) pass under the will and into the probate-fee base. The $360,000 that goes through probate is what the 1.5% applies to — after the $50,000 exemption, that is $310,000 × 1.5% = $4,650.

That arithmetic is the Ontario Estate Administration Tax in one example. This guide walks the full picture — the formula, the worked numbers on five estate sizes, the Small Estate process, the 180-day filing requirement, and the legal moves that change the probate-fee base.

The Ontario fee formula #

Ontario's Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998 sets the formula.^[1] For deaths on or after January 1, 2020:

• First $50,000 of estate value: $0
• Above $50,000: $15 per $1,000 (or fraction thereof), which is a flat 1.5%

Two practical notes:

• The $50,000 exemption is an exemption on the value, not a credit. An estate of $50,000 or less pays nothing. An estate of $200,000 pays $15 × 150 = $2,250 (1.5% applied to the $150,000 above the threshold).
• "Fraction thereof" matters at the rounding edges. A $150,001 estate pays the same as a $151,000 estate — both round up to the next $1,000 above the threshold.

Worked examples — five estate sizes #

The numbers scale linearly above $50,000. An additional $100,000 in estate value above the threshold always adds $1,500 to the fee.

The Small Estate Certificate (April 2021 onward) #

Effective April 1, 2021, Ontario added a simpler court process for small estates. The Small Estate Certificate is available for estates valued at $150,000 or less.^[2]

What it changes:

• Shorter application forms. The simplified application is materially less paperwork than the full Application for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee.
• Lower lawyer reliance. The simplified forms are designed to be completed by a non-lawyer, though many small-estate applicants still use a lawyer for the routine work.
• Same processing court. The application still goes through the Ontario Superior Court of Justice; the Small Estate Certificate has the same legal effect for the estate it covers.

What it does not change:

• The Estate Administration Tax. Estates between $50,000 and $150,000 still pay 1.5% on the portion above $50,000. A $120,000 estate pays $1,050.
• The Estate Information Return. Still due within 180 days of the certificate.

The threshold is on the estate value passing through probate — not on the deceased's total net worth. An estate where joint and beneficiary-designated assets fall outside the will but where the probate-passing portion is under $150,000 can use the Small Estate process.

The 180-day Estate Information Return #

Ontario is unusual in requiring a separate post-probate filing. The Estate Information Return (EIR) is filed with the Ministry of Finance within 180 calendar days of the Certificate of Appointment being issued.^[2]

What the EIR reports:

• All assets passing under the will (the probate-fee base) at date-of-death fair market value
• Liabilities of the estate
• Beneficiaries and their entitlements

Why the deadline matters: filing on time means the Ministry has four years to audit the estate. Missing the deadline removes the four-year limit — the Ministry can audit at any time after that, with no statutory expiry. For a complex estate, the four-year window is a meaningful protection against late re-assessments.

Since March 3, 2025, the EIR can be filed online via the Ministry of Finance's online services. The paper-form alternative continues to be available.

What is in the probate-fee base — and what is not #

The Ontario Estate Administration Tax is calculated on the value of property passing through probate. Three categories of asset are generally excluded:

Joint property with right of survivorship. Title passes by operation of law to the surviving joint owner. The matrimonial home jointly owned with the surviving spouse is the textbook example. Important: the Pecore v. Pecore presumption of resulting trust applies to joint accounts gratuitously held between a parent and adult child, and the joint account may still be part of the estate in substance even if it is jointly titled. Joint property is not a universal escape.

Beneficiary-designated assets. Life insurance, RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, and registered pension plans with valid named beneficiaries pay directly to those beneficiaries. The proceeds bypass the estate and the probate-fee base. The catch is the word "valid" — designations that have not been updated since a divorce, that name a predeceased beneficiary, or that conflict with the will create complications that sometimes push the asset back into the estate.

Trust assets. Property held in a properly funded inter vivos trust (alter-ego trust for testators 65+, joint partner trust for couples 65+, or a family trust) sits outside the deceased's estate and outside the probate-fee base.

The Ontario-specific planning tool worth mentioning: multiple wills.

Multiple wills — Ontario's distinct probate-fee tool #

Ontario is the most well-known Canadian province for the use of multiple wills to reduce the Estate Administration Tax. The strategy uses two simultaneous wills:

• A primary will governing assets that require probate (real estate in the deceased's name alone, bank accounts above the threshold, brokerage accounts).
• A secondary will governing assets that do not require probate — typically private-company shares, certain personal items, and other property the executor can transfer without a court-issued certificate.

Only the primary will is submitted for probate. Only the assets governed by the primary will are in the Estate Administration Tax base. The secondary will operates outside the probate process, and its assets escape the 1.5% fee.

The strategy is most relevant to business owners with significant private-company shareholdings. On a $5 million estate where $2 million is in private-company shares, the tax saving is roughly $30,000 (1.5% of $2 million). The structure has been validated by Ontario case law, and is now a routine part of estate planning for business-owner clients.

The downsides: two wills require more drafting work and review, the executor has to administer both consistently, and a misalignment between the two wills can trigger litigation. Multiple wills are not a DIY tool — they are a structure best built with a lawyer experienced in business-succession planning.

Specific planning moves that matter in Ontario #

Beyond multiple wills, the practical Ontario probate-fee reduction moves:

• Update beneficiary designations on registered accounts. Stale designations are the single most common avoidable issue. After every life event — marriage, divorce, birth, death of a previously named beneficiary — check the designations on RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, life insurance, and pensions.
• Joint ownership with spouse. The matrimonial home jointly owned with right of survivorship sidesteps probate on the first spouse's death. Note this works only between spouses — adding an adult child to title is far more complicated.
• Alter-ego trusts (testators 65+). Property transferred to an alter-ego trust during life is outside the estate at death. The trust is taxed as the settlor while they are alive (capital gains rollover applies on transfer in), and the property is distributed under the trust rather than the will at death.
• Plan for life insurance proceeds explicitly. A life insurance designation naming the estate as beneficiary brings the proceeds into the probate-fee base. Designating an individual or a trust avoids this. Where the insurance is meant to fund a specific bequest or estate liquidity need, the designation should match that purpose.

What does NOT reduce the Ontario probate fee #

Several "tips" that show up in informal estate-planning advice and do not actually work:

• A holograph will instead of a formal will. A holograph will is still probated. The Estate Administration Tax applies the same way.
• A "simple" will with fewer clauses. The tax is on estate value, not document length.
• Naming the estate as beneficiary of registered accounts. This makes the situation worse, not better — it pulls the registered balance into the probate-fee base.
• Giving everything away the year before death. Possible in principle but triggers a deemed disposition of capital property (capital gains tax owing) and irrevocably surrenders control. The probate-fee saving is rarely worth the immediate income-tax cost.

What we focus on at It's Simple Will #

The probate fee calculator walks the Ontario formula and produces a worked number for any estate value. Use it as the starting point for whether probate-fee planning is worth the effort in your situation — the answer depends a lot on the size of the estate that would actually pass through probate, not on your total net worth.

The Will Creator at app.itssimplewill.ca produces an Ontario-compliant will and walks the beneficiary-designation cross-check that is the single highest-yield, lowest-effort probate-fee tactic for most Ontario testators.

Related reading: what is probate in Canada, probate fees across Canada, and how to write a will in Ontario.