Canadian estate tax estimate · Free
Canada has no inheritance tax. So why do heirs still lose six figures?
There's no death tax here — but the moment you die, the CRA treats you as having sold everything you own. That "deemed disposition," plus the full value of your RRSP/RRIF and provincial probate fees, can quietly carve a large hole out of what your family actually receives. This free tool estimates that gap from your own numbers.
Runs entirely in your browser. Your numbers are never uploaded or stored on a server.
The free estimate
Enter what you own. See what your heirs would actually keep.
Rough numbers are fine — you can refine them later. Nothing here asks for account numbers, names, or logins. Every figure is computed on your device.
Your estate tax exposure estimate
Everything runs on your device. We use your inputs only to compute your estimate right here in the browser.
How it works
Real Canadian tax rules, run on your numbers
Enter your assets
Home, cottage or rental, non-registered investments, and your RRSP/RRIF — plus your province and whether you have a spouse. Rough figures work.
See the gap instantly
Your device applies the deemed-disposition rules, capital-gains inclusion, RRSP/RRIF income tax, and your province's probate formula, then shows the headline gap. Free.
Unlock the full report
For $29 you get the line-by-line math, the levers that legally shrink the bill, a one-pager to hand your accountant, a filing-deadline checklist, and a print-ready PDF.
Why this matters
"No inheritance tax" is true — and misleading
Canada scrapped estate and inheritance taxes decades ago. But the tax system gets its share a different way: on the day you die you're deemed to have sold your capital property at fair market value, and your registered accounts collapse into income. The bill lands on your final tax return, and your estate pays it before your heirs receive anything. For families with a cottage, a portfolio, or a healthy RRSP, that's often the single largest cost of dying.
- Runs 100% in your browser — your numbers never leave your device.
- No account, no login, nothing to upload or trust us with.
- Every figure is an estimate, clearly labelled, with the method shown.
- Ends by pointing you to confirm the specifics with your own accountant.
Questions
Common questions
Is this tax or financial advice?
No. EstatePilot is an educational estimator. It applies published Canadian tax rules to the numbers you enter and shows you a ballpark figure — it never tells you what you personally should do, and it doesn't know your full situation. Every result is labelled "estimate only," and the report ends by telling you to confirm the specifics with your accountant. Treat it as a prompt for the right conversation, not a filing.
How accurate is the number?
It's a careful estimate, not a filed return. To keep it defensible and simple, it applies your province's top combined marginal rate to the taxable income created at death, uses the 50% / 66.67% capital-gains inclusion brackets, includes the full RRSP/RRIF balance as income, and applies your province's published probate formula. Real returns involve graduated brackets, other income, credits, and elections — so treat the figure as an upper-to-mid estimate that shows the shape of the problem. The paid report shows every line so your accountant can refine it.
Doesn't a spouse avoid all of this?
Largely, at the first death — a surviving spouse or common-law partner generally lets you roll registered plans and capital property over on a tax-deferred basis, so most of the bill is deferred, not erased. It comes due on the second spouse's death. If you tell us you have a spouse, the report shows the "with spouse vs. without" comparison so you can see what's being postponed.
How is my information handled?
The whole estimate runs in your browser; your numbers are used only to compute your result on your own device and are never uploaded. If you unlock the full report, a small coded summary of your figures is passed to the payment step so your personalised report can be rebuilt on the results page — it contains no names, account numbers, or logins (we never ask for those).
What's free and what costs money?
Running the estimate and seeing your headline gap — the total lost to tax and fees, and what your heirs would keep — is free. For $29 (one time) you unlock the full report: the line-by-line math behind every number, the legal levers that shrink the bill (spousal rollover, principal-residence exemption, life-insurance offset), a one-page brief to hand your accountant, a filing-deadline checklist, and a print-ready PDF.
Why the 50% and 66.67% capital-gains rates?
Canada includes a portion of a capital gain in taxable income. Under the framework announced after 2024, the first $250,000 of gains in a year is included at 50% and gains above that at 66.67% (two-thirds). Inclusion rules have been the subject of change and deferral, so we apply this as a stated estimate — your accountant will confirm the rate in force for the year of death.
Two minutes now can save your family a very expensive surprise.
See the estate tax gap your heirs would face — and the levers that can shrink it.
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