Some timing relief is granted to the deceased’s personal representative when a death occurs before the deceased has filed a tax return to report income received in the year.

Generally speaking, the final return is due on or before the following dates:

• If the death occurred between January 1 and October 31 inclusive, the due date for the final return is April 30 of the following year.
• If the death occurred between November 1 and December 31 inclusive, the due date for the final return is six months after the date of death.

A person may die after December 31, 2016, but on or before the filing due date for his or her 2016 return. If he or she has not filed that return, the due date for filing the return and paying any balance owing, is six months after the date of death. The due date for filing the 2016 T1return of a surviving spouse or common law partner who was living with the deceased is the same as the due date for the deceased’s 2016 return. However, any balance owing on the surviving spouse’s or common law partner’s 2016 return must still be paid on or beforeApril 30, 2017, to avoid interest charges. For previous year returns that are already due but were not filed by the deceased, the due dates for filing those return as well as payment of any related taxes owing remain the same.

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