How to prepare a deceased person's return in TurboTax

If you want to complete the deceased's final return yourself, get the CRA guide T4011, Preparing Returns for Deceased Persons before proceeding. This publication is available on the CRA website.

Important: You must prepare the deceased taxpayer's return on its own. You cannot prepare your late spouse's return as a coupled return with your own return. (To prepare a coupled return, both spouses must have the same marital status, either "Married" or "Living common-law".)
Attention: Your deceased spouse's marital status is what it was on the day of his or her death - either "Married" or "Living common-law." Choose "Widowed" as your own marital status when you prepare your own return.

On the deceased taxpayer's return do the following:

  1. Marital status screen: Report the deceased's marital status as it was at the time of death (e.g., "Married", "Living common-law", "Single".

    Select No to indicate that you will prepare a separate return. You must prepare a deceased person's return on its own. You cannot prepare it as a coupled return with the surviving spouse.

    Select Yes to indicate that the return is for a deceased person.

  2. Province or territory: Make sure that this is where the deceased was living at the date of death.
  3. Personal information window:
    1. In the First Name field, enter "The estate of".
    2. In the Last name field, enter late followed by the rest of the person's name (e.g., late John T. Smith).
    3. Enter the date of death.
  4. Identification section of the T1 General form: In the address field, give your address as the return address.
  5. Information about your spouse or common-law partner: Provide the required information about the deceased's spouse or common-law partner, including their income.
    Note: A deceased person cannot receive the spousal amount; however, it can be transferred to the surviving spouse.
  6. Details of marital status: Answer No. The deceased person's marital status remains as it was at the time of death.
  7. Enter the date of death at the bottom of the Identification section of the T1 General.
  8. Complete the GST/HST credit area. However, there is no GST/HST credit based on the year of death.
  9. Answer No to the Elections Canada question.
Note:
  • You cannot use NETFILE to file a return for a deceased person.
  • Medical expenses can cover a 24-month period, as long as it includes date of death.
  • You cannot deduct funeral expenses, probate fees, or fees to administer the estate.