Probate Fees Calculator — Every Province
The same estate pays wildly different probate fees depending on where you live: $0 in Manitoba, $525 flat in Alberta, five figures in Nova Scotia, Ontario or BC. Pick your province, enter the estate value, and see your fee — and what all thirteen jurisdictions would charge on the same estate.
How each province charges
Probate fees — Ontario calls its version the Estate Administration Tax — are provincial court fees on the value of the estate passing through the will. The structures fall into four families:
Percentage above an exemption — ON: 1.5% over $50,000 · BC: 0.6% on $25–50K + 1.4% over $50K (+ $200 filing)
Pure percentage — SK: 0.7% · NB: 0.5% · NL: 0.6% + $60 · NS: tiers, then $16.95/$1,000 over $100K · PEI: tiers, then 0.4%
Flat caps — AB: $35–$525 max · YT: $140 · NWT/NU: ≤ $435 (nominal court tariffs)
Zero — MB: eliminated Nov 2020 · QC: notarial wills skip probate (non-notarial ≈ $211 court verification)
The differences compound with estate size. Alberta's cap means a $30-million estate pays the same $525 as a $300,000 one; Nova Scotia's marginal $16.95 per $1,000 is the country's steepest and keeps running with no ceiling. This is why identical financial lives produce five-figure differences in estate costs purely by postal code — and why probate planning is a big industry in Ontario and BC and nearly irrelevant in Alberta and Manitoba.
Worked example: a $750,000 estate coast to coast
| Jurisdiction | How it's computed | Fee |
|---|
| Nova Scotia | $1,002.65 + $16.95 × 650 | $12,020 |
| Ontario | ($750,000 − $50,000) × 1.5% | $10,500 |
| British Columbia | $150 + $9,800 + $200 filing | $10,150 |
| Saskatchewan | $750,000 × 0.7% | $5,250 |
| Alberta | flat bracket, over $250,000 | $525 |
| Manitoba | fees eliminated Nov 2020 | $0 |
Same estate, a $12,000 spread. And note what the fee is charged on: only the probatable estate. A $750,000 net worth where the house is jointly owned and the RRSP and TFSA have named beneficiaries might probate only $200,000 — turning Ontario's bill from $10,500 into $2,250. The composition of the estate matters as much as the province.
Probate questions, answered
Which assets have to go through probate?
Assets in the deceased's name alone with no beneficiary: solely-owned real estate, bank and non-registered accounts, vehicles. Bypassing probate: anything with a valid beneficiary designation (RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, insurance, pensions) and joint-tenancy property. Real estate usually counts net of its mortgage.
Which province is highest? Lowest?
Highest: Nova Scotia ($16.95/$1,000 above $100K), then Ontario (1.5%) and BC (1.4% + $200). Lowest: Manitoba ($0 since Nov 2020), Quebec notarial wills ($0), Alberta (capped at $525).
Is probate a tax on beneficiaries?
No — it's paid by the estate before distribution, and Canada has no inheritance tax. The bigger cost at death is usually income tax on the final return: deemed disposition of capital gains and RRSP/RRIF income inclusion often dwarf probate by 5–10×.
How do people legally reduce probate fees?
Beneficiary designations on all registered accounts and insurance; joint tenancy with a spouse on the home; multiple wills in Ontario and BC for private company shares; a notarial will in Quebec; alter-ego or joint-partner trusts after 65. Each has trade-offs — adding adult children as joint owners can trigger capital gains, creditor exposure, and family disputes.
Why does Manitoba charge nothing?
Manitoba eliminated probate charges on November 6, 2020 (previously $70 + 0.7%). Estates still go through the process and pay small filing fees, but the value-based fee is gone.
What about property in another province?
Probate is granted where the deceased lived, but real estate elsewhere may need a resealing or ancillary grant in that province — and its fees can apply to that property. Out-of-province cottages are the classic double-probate trigger.
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