Ontario Probate Fees on a $920,000 Estate: $13,050 as of 2026
The earlier version of this article priced probate at a flat 1.5%, which on a $920,000 estate works out to $13,800. That number is wrong by $750.
What changed
According to Probate Calculator (probatecalculator.org/ontario, as of January 1, 2026), the Ontario Estate Administration Tax on a $920,000 estate is $13,050. That is about 1.42% of the estate, not 1.5%, because the rate applies only to the value above a threshold and not to the first slice.
If you used the old figure to size an estate plan, you overshot. Small error, but the fix is worth five minutes, and the list below covers what to do with it.
Five things to do this week
1. Rerun your own number, not ours
Open the Probate Calculator Ontario page and enter your estimated estate value. A flat percentage in your head will overstate the bill, and the gap grows with the size of the estate. Write the result down next to your will.
2. Total the estate the way the calculator will see it
Add the house, vehicles, non-registered savings and any business assets you personally own. A house, a car and a couple of bank accounts can cross $920,000 without anyone feeling wealthy. Ask your lawyer which assets count toward the tax base in your situation, since I'm only quoting the calculator's figure and not ruling on your file.
3. Decide where the cash for the tax will come from
The tax is a real bill, and about $13,000 is hard to cover if most of the estate is the house. Ask your estate lawyer how it gets paid and from which account. If the answer is "the executor will sort it out," you haven't planned it.
4. Tell your executor where the original will and the box key are
The safety deposit box in the original title is the point here: an executor who can't locate the will or the key spends weeks on paperwork before the tax even comes up. Put the bank branch, box number and key location in a sealed letter kept somewhere your executor already knows about. Do this today. It costs nothing.
5. Check the figure again each January
The calculator's number is dated January 1, 2026, and it can change. Set a calendar reminder for the first week of January so your planning figure never goes stale the way the old 1.5% did.
The correction in one line
Use $13,050 for a $920,000 estate, cite Probate Calculator and its January 1, 2026 date, and rerun the math for your own estate value. If you're self-employed and your business assets sit in your own name, the total can climb faster than you'd guess, so count them first.
Of the five, #3 gets skipped most often. People calculate the tax and then never ask who writes the cheque.
The earlier version of this article priced probate at a flat 1.5%, which on a $920,000 estate works out to $13,800. That number is wrong by $750.
What changed
According to Probate Calculator (probatecalculator.org/ontario, as of January 1, 2026), the Ontario Estate Administration Tax on a $920,000 estate is $13,050. That is about 1.42% of the estate, not 1.5%, because the rate applies only to the value above a threshold and not to the first slice.
If you used the old figure to size an estate plan, you overshot. Small error, but the fix is worth five minutes, and the list below covers what to do with it.
Five things to do this week
1. Rerun your own number, not ours
Open the Probate Calculator Ontario page and enter your estimated estate value. A flat percentage in your head will overstate the bill, and the gap grows with the size of the estate. Write the result down next to your will.
2. Total the estate the way the calculator will see it
Add the house, vehicles, non-registered savings and any business assets you personally own. A house, a car and a couple of bank accounts can cross $920,000 without anyone feeling wealthy. Ask your lawyer which assets count toward the tax base in your situation, since I'm only quoting the calculator's figure and not ruling on your file.
3. Decide where the cash for the tax will come from
The tax is a real bill, and about $13,000 is hard to cover if most of the estate is the house. Ask your estate lawyer how it gets paid and from which account. If the answer is "the executor will sort it out," you haven't planned it.
4. Tell your executor where the original will and the box key are
The safety deposit box in the original title is the point here: an executor who can't locate the will or the key spends weeks on paperwork before the tax even comes up. Put the bank branch, box number and key location in a sealed letter kept somewhere your executor already knows about. Do this today. It costs nothing.
5. Check the figure again each January
The calculator's number is dated January 1, 2026, and it can change. Set a calendar reminder for the first week of January so your planning figure never goes stale the way the old 1.5% did.
The correction in one line
Use $13,050 for a $920,000 estate, cite Probate Calculator and its January 1, 2026 date, and rerun the math for your own estate value. If you're self-employed and your business assets sit in your own name, the total can climb faster than you'd guess, so count them first.
Of the five, #3 gets skipped most often. People calculate the tax and then never ask who writes the cheque.
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