What is the Estate Information Return (EIR)?
The EIR is a mandatory filing required after an estate certificate is issued in Ontario. It supports the calculation and verification of the Estate Administration Tax (EAT) assessed during probate.
What has changed?
You can now submit the EIR directly to the Ministry of Finance from within Estateably. There is no printing, scanning, or mailing required.
Do I need to sign the return before submitting?
No. Because the submission is transmitted electronically, no physical or digital signature is required from the estate representative.
Which files can use this feature?
Direct EIR submission is available for Ontario estate files only. You will see an EIR Submission tab in the left-side menu on any Ontario file.
What do I need to do before I start a submission?
Complete data entry on the file first. The submission screen lets you review information but not edit it directly. Confirm the following sections are accurate and up to date:
Intake — Certificate Information, Deceased Information
Contacts — Estate Representatives
Inventory — Real Estate in Ontario, Bank Accounts, Investments, Vehicles, Other Assets
If anything needs correcting, update the relevant section of the file first, then return to EIR Submission.
What information does Estateably pull in automatically?
The review screen pre-fills Certificate, Deceased, Representative, and Inventory information directly from your file. Each section links back to its source — any correction is made in the file itself, not on the review screen.
What do I still need to fill in myself?
A short set of additional fields under About This Submission:
Is this an amended return? — Select Yes if an EIR has already been submitted for this estate. Select No for an original filing.
Deposit amount, if applicable — the deposit paid at the time of probate, if any.
Preferred language — English or French, which determines the language the Ministry receives the submission in.
Email confirmation (optional) — an email address to be notified once the submission is delivered to the Ministry.
Do I need to report assets that had a $0 balance on the date of death?
No. Estate Administration Tax is based on date-of-death values of probateable assets in Ontario. If an asset's value was $0 on the date of death but acquired value afterward, it does not need to be reported. Use the Exclude from EAT checkbox when creating or editing an asset to exclude it from the EIR submission.
How are the tax figures calculated?
Ontario Estate Administration Tax is calculated on the gross value of assets passing through a will (probated assets). The tax is $0 for the first $50,000 and $15 per $1,000 (1.5%) for any portion above $50,000. Estate value is rounded up to the nearest thousand.
Can I attach supporting documents?
Yes. Accepted file types are PDF, DOC, DOCX, MSG, XLSX, XLS, BMP, TIFF, JPEG, and PNG, up to 10 MB per file, with no limit on the number of documents. Uploaded files are stored automatically under the EIR Submission folder in the file's Documents section.
How long does it take for the Ministry to receive my submission?
Estateably collects submissions throughout the day and transmits them to the Ministry overnight. The Ministry receives the filing the next business day. A disclaimer on the submission screen confirms this timing before you submit.
How will I know my submission went through?
After you click Submit EIR, the Submission Scheduled screen confirms the filing is queued and shows a summary: the deceased's name, scheduled date and time, court file number, court location, and payment details. Once Estateably transmits the filing, the status updates to Submission Sent. The Ministry then processes the filing within 24 hours and contacts the Estate Representative(s) directly.
What if I need to correct or amend a submission after submitting?
A Resubmit button is available from both the Submission Scheduled and Submission Sent screens. What happens next depends on where the original filing stood:
Original still scheduled (not yet sent): the resubmission overwrites it. Only the most recent version is sent to the Ministry.
Original already sent: the resubmission is filed as a separate, additional filing. Select Yes for Is this an amended return? when completing it.
Who should I contact with questions or issues?
It depends on the question:
Questions about how the feature works in Estateably (data entry, the submission screen, upload issues, submission status): contact Estateably support or see the Online EIR Submission article for a full step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots.
Legal or tax questions about the Estate Information Return or Estate Administration Tax: contact the Ontario Ministry of Finance directly at 1-866-ONT-TAXS (1-866-668-8297), or visit the Government of Ontario website.