GST Credit

Responsibility: Canada Revenue Agency

Upon the death of a GST credit recipient, you must notify the Canada Revenue Agency. You are required to return any payments received after the death. If the person died during or after the month of a payment and is entitled to that payment, a new cheque will be issued to the estate.

Generally, GST/HST credit payments are made on the fifth day of July, October, January and April. If we are not aware of a person's death, we may continue to send them. In this case, return the payments to us.

Note:
We administer provincial programs related to the GST/HST credit. If the deceased was receiving a payment under one of these programs, you do not have to take any further action. We will use the information provided for the GST/HST credit payments to adjust the credit, if applicable.

What if the deceased was single and receiving the GST/HST credit?

• If a single person dies in a month before we send a quarterly GST/HST credit remittance, no one else is entitled to that remittance. We cannot make any further payments on behalf of that person or to his or her estate.
• If a single person dies in the month or after the month we send a GST/HST credit payment and the payment has not been cashed, please return it to us and we will send it to the estate.
• If a single person dies in the month or after the month we send a GST/HST credit remittance and the payment has not been cashed, please return it to us and we will send it to the estate.
• If the deceased had children for whom he or she was receiving the GST/HST credit, the person now responsible for the children's care should contact us, as he or she may be entitled to receive the credit for them.

What if the deceased's GST/HST credit includes an amount for a spouse or common-law partner?
If the deceased had a spouse or common-law partner, the spouse or common-law partner may be entitled to the credit regardless of the deceased's net income. If the deceased's GST/HST credit includes an amount for the spouse or common-law partner, the spouse or common-law partner should do the following:

• contact us to apply to receive the credit for the remainder of the year for himself or herself and the children involved
• file an income tax and benefit return for the previous year, if they have not already done so.

What if the surviving spouse or common-law partner's GST/HST credit includes an amount for the deceased?
If the surviving spouse's or common-law partner's GST/HST credit includes an amount for the deceased, we will recalculate the credit payments without reference to the deceased's net income. The payments will include an amount for the surviving spouse or common-law partner and the applicable children only.

What if the deceased is an eligible child?
Entitlement to GST/HST credit payments for a deceased child stops in the quarter after the date of death. You must inform us of the date of death so that we can update our records.