CRA Clearance Certificate: Documents, Filing, and Timeline

A CRA clearance certificate is a document from the Canada Revenue Agency confirming that a deceased person’s estate, a trust, or a dissolving corporation has paid all income tax, GST/HST, interest, and penalties owed at the time the certificate was issued. As a legal representative, you get one by filing Form TX19 with supporting documents after every required tax return has been filed, assessed, and paid in full. The certificate itself is free, but the CRA’s service standard is 120 calendar days from receipt of a complete request.1Canada Revenue Agency. Service Standards 2025-2026

Why You Need One Before Distributing Anything

Subsection 159(2) of the Income Tax Act requires every legal representative — executor, administrator, liquidator, or corporate director handling a dissolution — to obtain a clearance certificate before distributing any property under their control. The certificate confirms either that all tax debts have been paid or that the Minister of National Revenue has accepted security for the payment.

Skip this step and subsection 159(3) makes the consequence personal. The representative becomes personally liable for any unpaid tax, interest, and penalties, whether those amounts were assessed before or after the distribution took place.2Department of Justice Canada. Income Tax Act RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp) – Section 159 Liability is capped at the value of the property distributed, but it can include amounts you didn’t know about at the time, and interest runs from the date of distribution.

Once the certificate is in hand, liability shifts from you to the estate, trust, corporation, beneficiaries, or other recipients of the assets. That shift is the whole point of the process.

What the Certificate Covers

The certificate reaches further than income tax. It covers all amounts owed under the Income Tax Act and Part IX of the Excise Tax Act, so GST/HST is included. CRA Information Circular IC82-6 confirms the scope also extends to Canada Pension Plan contributions, Employment Insurance premiums, and any provincial or territorial taxes the CRA administers on behalf of other governments.

Interest on overdue balances compounds quickly at the CRA’s prescribed rates, which are set quarterly. Delay in settling an entity’s tax obligations grows the exposure that the certificate is meant to close off.

When to Apply

Timing is where most representatives stumble. The CRA is explicit: do not submit a clearance certificate request at the same time you file outstanding tax returns. Doing so delays the assessments and, in turn, delays the certificate. Follow this sequence:

  • File all required returns first. For a deceased individual, this typically means the final T1 return for the year of death and any T3 Trust Income Tax and Information Returns for the estate. For a corporation, all T2 returns up to the date of dissolution, plus any outstanding GST/HST returns.
  • Wait for all Notices of Assessment. Every return you filed must be assessed and the notice received.
  • Pay or secure all balances owing. Amounts assessed must be paid in full, or the CRA must have accepted security.
  • Resolve all outstanding disputes. No pending adjustment requests, objections, taxpayer relief applications, or appeals can be open when you apply.

Only after all four conditions are met should you submit Form TX19. Apply too early and the file sits until the outstanding items clear, with the 120-day clock not meaningfully running.

Documents for an Estate or Trust

The application starts with Form TX19, Asking for a Clearance Certificate. The form captures the representative’s identifying information, the deceased’s details, and the date of death, but it needs a supporting package to be complete.

For the estate of someone who has died, include:

  • A complete, signed copy of the will with any codicils, renunciations, and disclaimers, plus all probate documents. If the person died without a will, attach the Letters of Administration or Letters of Verification issued by a provincial court.
  • Any other documents proving you are the legal representative.
  • A detailed list of every asset owned by the deceased at the date of death, including jointly held assets and all RRSPs and RRIFs (even those with a named beneficiary), showing each asset’s adjusted cost base and fair market value at the date the estate distributed it.
  • A detailed statement of how assets have been distributed so far, plus a statement of proposed distribution for any holdback or residual amounts still to be paid out.
  • Names, addresses, and social insurance numbers for any beneficiaries receiving property other than cash.

For trusts, the requirements are similar but add a copy of the complete trust agreement and any amendments. A testamentary trust must include the will and probate documents described above. An inter vivos trust needs a list of all assets transferred into it, with descriptions, adjusted cost bases, and fair market values at the date of distribution.

If you want the CRA to communicate with your accountant, lawyer, or another person, submit Form AUT-01, Authorize a Representative for Offline Access, signed by all legal representatives.

Documents for a Dissolving Corporation

When dissolving a corporation, attach a copy of the directors’ or shareholders’ resolution confirming the intention to dissolve and the date of dissolution. All T2 corporate income tax returns must be filed through that date, and any GST/HST or payroll accounts must be settled. The final T2 return should include Schedule 100 (Balance Sheet Information) showing how assets were distributed.

If the corporation was voluntarily dissolved and the charter is not reinstated, refunds can only be issued to the sole shareholder, or to a legal representative when there are multiple shareholders. If those conditions aren’t met, the refund stays with the Crown.

How to Submit the Application

You can submit Form TX19 and the supporting documents either online or by mail. The CRA’s “Submit Documents” feature within the My Account or Represent a Client portals is faster and provides a digital confirmation number as proof of receipt.

To mail the package, send it to the tax services office for your region:

  • Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland and Labrador: Nova Scotia Tax Services Office, Estates and Trusts Audit, 47 Dorchester St, Sydney NS B1P 6K3
  • Quebec: Western Quebec Tax Services Office, Audit – Clearance Certificates, 110-151 du Lac Ave, Rouyn-Noranda QC J9X 0G7
  • Ontario and Nunavut: GTA East Tax Services Office, Audit – Clearance Certificates, 1050 Notre Dame Ave, Sudbury ON P3A 5C1
  • Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Northwest Territories: Eastern Prairie Tax Services Office, Audit – Clearance Certificates, Post Office Box 1022, Winnipeg MB R3C 2W2
  • British Columbia and the Yukon: Coastal and Central British Columbia Tax Services Office, Estates and Trusts Audit, 9755 King George Blvd, Surrey BC V3T 5E1

Sending the application to the wrong office adds a routing delay on top of the already substantial processing time.

How Long It Takes

The CRA’s published service standard is 120 calendar days from receipt of a complete request, with a target of meeting that standard 90% of the time.1Canada Revenue Agency. Service Standards 2025-2026 The clock only runs meaningfully once the CRA has everything it needs. Missing documents or unassessed returns will stretch the timeline well beyond four months.

During the review, the CRA may request additional information: detailed ledgers, supporting receipts, or explanations of specific transactions. Responding promptly keeps the file moving. Slow responses can push the process past six months and hold up distributions that beneficiaries are counting on. The most common cause of delay, though, is applying before all returns have been assessed.

Distributing Assets Before and After the Certificate

The statutory rule is straightforward: do not distribute property until you hold the certificate. Distributing even a portion of the assets before clearance exposes you to personal liability for any tax debts that surface later, up to the value of what you distributed.2Department of Justice Canada. Income Tax Act RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp) – Section 159 Financial institutions know this rule and will often refuse to release funds held in trust or corporate accounts without seeing the physical certificate.

Once you have the certificate, you can distribute the remaining assets to beneficiaries or shareholders. The certificate is your proof that the CRA’s claim against the property has been satisfied, and your personal liability for the entity’s tax obligations ends at that point.3Canada Revenue Agency. Apply for a Clearance Certificate

If New Assets Surface Later

A clearance certificate is not necessarily the last word. If new assets or property come to light after the certificate was issued, such as a forgotten investment account, an unclaimed insurance policy, or real estate in another province, and those assets affect the income or capital gains reported on the tax returns, you must obtain a new clearance certificate before distributing the newly discovered property.3Canada Revenue Agency. Apply for a Clearance Certificate The original certificate only covers what was known and reported at the time.

Contact the regional tax services office where the original request was filed. You’ll likely need to amend the relevant tax returns, wait for reassessment, and then submit a fresh clearance certificate application for the new property. Distributing those assets without going through the process again puts you back in the personal liability position the first certificate was designed to prevent.

Closing CRA Accounts After Distribution

Receiving the certificate and distributing assets does not automatically close all of the deceased person’s or corporation’s accounts with the CRA. For corporations, file Form RC145, Request to Close Business Number Program Accounts, with a copy of the articles of dissolution to close the business number and associated program accounts.4Canada Revenue Agency. Closing CRA Program Accounts Skipping this step means the CRA still considers the corporation to exist and will expect annual T2 filings.

Before closing a payroll account, remit all outstanding source deductions, calculate the pension adjustment for any employees who accrued benefits under a registered pension plan or deferred profit-sharing plan, file final payroll information returns, and provide T4 or T4A slips to former employees or recipients. GST/HST accounts have their own closure process through the CRA’s business registration portal. Leaving these accounts open after dissolution keeps the filing obligations alive and can trigger penalties of its own.