To notify the Canada Revenue Agency that someone has died, either call the CRA at 1-800-959-8281 or complete the update request on the back of the RC4111 form and mail it, with supporting documents, to the tax centre serving the province or territory where the deceased person lived.1Canada Revenue Agency. What to Do When a Loved One Dies Reporting the death promptly stops benefit payments that would otherwise pile up as overpayments the estate has to return, and it lets the legal representative access the deceased person’s tax account and file the final return.
Phone or Mail: Two Ways to Report the Death
The phone option is faster. Call 1-800-959-8281 with the deceased person’s Social Insurance Number, full name, date of birth, and date of death in front of you, along with your own identifying information.2Canada Revenue Agency. Contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
If you prefer to notify in writing, use the “Request for the Canada Revenue Agency to Update Records” form on the last page of the RC4111 information sheet. Download the PDF from the CRA’s forms and publications page; it must be opened and filled out in Adobe Acrobat Reader.3Canada Revenue Agency. RC4111 Notify the Canada Revenue Agency of a Death
Mailed notifications are generally processed within 28 business days of receipt. The CRA does not send a separate confirmation. The change shows up when you access the deceased person’s account through the CRA’s online services.
What Goes on the Form
The update request has three sections, and all three need to be completed legibly so the CRA can match the notification to the right tax account.
About the Deceased Person
Enter the full name, nine-digit Social Insurance Number, date of birth, date of death, and last known address.3Canada Revenue Agency. RC4111 Notify the Canada Revenue Agency of a Death The name and SIN must match previous tax filings exactly. Even a small spelling difference can trigger verification steps that slow processing.
About the Surviving Spouse or Common-Law Partner
If the deceased person had a spouse or common-law partner at the time of death, enter that person’s full name and SIN. The surviving spouse or partner signs and dates this section. The CRA uses this information to adjust household benefit calculations, particularly the GST/HST credit and the Canada Child Benefit, so leaving it blank can delay payments the surviving partner is entitled to receive.
About You
The final section identifies you as the person notifying the CRA. Give your name, telephone number, mailing address, and your relationship to the deceased. Also specify whether you are the executor, administrator, liquidator, or acting in some other capacity.4Canada Revenue Agency. Notify the CRA of a Date of Death This is the address the CRA will use for all future correspondence about the estate, so check it carefully.
Documents to Send With the Form
Attach proof of both the death and your authority to act for the estate. The CRA accepts a certified copy of the death certificate or a statement from a funeral director as proof of death.3Canada Revenue Agency. RC4111 Notify the Canada Revenue Agency of a Death If a court has formally appointed you as the estate’s representative, include a copy of the letters probate, letters of administration, or the equivalent document from your province or territory.
Missing documents are the most common reason a notification stalls. Until the CRA can verify the death and your authority, the request sits in a queue, and benefit payments keep going out. Send copies rather than originals, and consider registered mail so you can track delivery.
Where to Send It
Mail the package to the tax centre that handles the province or territory where the deceased person last lived. The CRA publishes a directory of tax services offices and tax centres at canada.ca under “Contact the CRA.”5Canada Revenue Agency. Find a CRA Address Look up the correct address first. Sending the form to the wrong centre adds transit time while it is rerouted internally.
What Happens to Benefit Payments
Once the CRA processes the notification, it stops benefits tied to the deceased person. The two programs most people run into are the GST/HST credit and the Canada Child Benefit.
GST/HST Credit
A deceased person is no longer eligible for the GST/HST credit.6Canada Revenue Agency. GST/HST Credit Payments issued after the date of death are overpayments, and the estate has to return them.7Canada Revenue Agency. Reasons for Stopped or Changed Payments – GST/HST Credit If the deceased person’s credit included an amount for a surviving spouse or common-law partner, the CRA recalculates the credit for that person separately. For the July 2025 to June 2026 payment period, the maximum annual credit is $533 for a single individual, $698 for a married or common-law couple, and $184 for each child under 19.8Canada Revenue Agency. GST/HST Credit: How Much You Can Get
Canada Child Benefit
If the deceased person was receiving the Canada Child Benefit for a child and the surviving spouse or common-law partner is also the child’s parent, the CRA usually transfers the payments to the surviving parent automatically. In most cases no new application is needed.9Canada Revenue Agency. Keep Getting Your Payments – Canada Child Benefit (CCB) The surviving parent may need to give updated income information so the CRA can recalculate the benefit based on the household’s new situation. Related provincial and territorial child benefit programs administered through the CRA are adjusted at the same time.4Canada Revenue Agency. Notify the CRA of a Date of Death
After the Notification
Notifying the CRA is the first administrative step, not the last. The legal representative is also responsible for filing the deceased person’s final T1 return, paying any balance owing, and, before distributing estate assets, requesting a clearance certificate on Form TX19 so the CRA can confirm all taxes have been paid or secured.10Canada Revenue Agency. Apply for a Clearance Certificate Those steps have their own deadlines and documents, but none of them can begin cleanly until the RC4111 notification has been processed and you have access to the deceased person’s tax account.