BC vs Ontario: Probate on a $1M Estate With a Cottage (2026)

The Scenario: Same $1M Estate, Same Cottage, Two Provinces

Here is the question almost everyone gets backwards. You own a home and a cottage, your registered accounts have grown, and the estate now clears $1 million. You assume that whether you die in Vancouver or Vaughan, the probate bill will swing by thousands of dollars. It does not. On a $1M estate, the entire BC-versus-Ontario probate difference is $600. The cottage is where the real money goes — and that has almost nothing to do with the province.

Take the same person — widowed, two adult children, no spouse for a section 70(6) rollover — and place them in Burlington (Ontario) or Kelowna (BC). Same estate, same assets, same family. Only the province of residence changes. Here is what they leave behind:

Three things happen at death. Provincial probate is assessed on the gross value of assets passing through the will. Section 70(5) of the Income Tax Act triggers a deemed disposition of the cottage at fair market value — a $400,000 accrued gain. And the principal residence exemption under section 40(2)(b) can shelter only one property per family unit per year, so the family chooses which property to protect. Let us run each piece, province by province.

Probate: $14,250 in Ontario vs $13,650 in BC

This is the part everyone overweights. Both provinces charge probate as a percentage of the gross estate, and on a $1M estate the two land within a few hundred dollars of each other.

Ontario calls it the Estate Administration Tax: $0 on the first $50,000, then $15 per $1,000 (1.5%) on everything above. On a $1,000,000 estate:

• First $50,000: $0
• Remaining $950,000 × $15 per $1,000 = $14,250

British Columbia uses a tiered schedule under the Probate Fee Act: $0 on the first $25,000, $6 per $1,000 from $25,000 to $50,000, and $14 per $1,000 on everything above $50,000 — plus a flat $200 court filing fee. On a $1,000,000 estate:

• First $25,000: $0
• $25,000 to $50,000: $6 per $1,000 = $150
• Above $50,000 ($950,000) × $14 per $1,000 = $13,300
• Probate subtotal: $13,450, plus the $200 court filing fee = $13,650 total

The gap is $600 in BC's favour. That is the entire probate advantage of choosing one province over the other on a $1M estate. For context, a single restaurant meal for the family the night after the funeral costs more relative to the estate than this difference matters. The myth that BC and Ontario are wildly apart on probate comes from confusing probate with the income tax bill — which is where the cottage comes in.

The Full Provincial Comparison Table (Ranked)

To put BC and Ontario in context against the rest of the country on the same $1M estate, here is the ranked picture from cheapest probate to most expensive:

BC and Ontario sit near the expensive end of the percentage-based provinces, separated by $600. Quebec (with a notarial will) and Manitoba are the only two provinces where probate is effectively $0 on any estate size, and Alberta caps at $525. For the full breakdown across every province and territory, see our cross-Canada probate fees comparison.

The Cottage Capital Gain: This Is the Real Cost

The cottage was bought for $150,000 and is worth $550,000 at death — a $400,000 accrued gain. Under section 70(5), death triggers a deemed disposition at fair market value, so that gain is realized whether or not the cottage is sold. The 2026 capital gains inclusion rate is 50% (the proposed increase to 66.67% was cancelled on March 21, 2025, so do not let anyone quote the two-thirds rate), which means $200,000 of taxable capital gain lands on the terminal return.

Here is the catch that costs families the most: the principal residence exemption shelters only one property per family unit per year. This estate owns two — a $450,000 home with a $200,000 gain and a $550,000 cottage with a $400,000 gain. The family can designate only one as the principal residence. Designate the cottage, and the home's $200,000 gain becomes taxable. Designate the home, and the cottage's $400,000 gain becomes taxable. The smart move is to shelter the property with the larger gain — the cottage — but that exposes the home's gain instead.

Run the cottage gain at the top rate. The $200,000 taxable capital gain (50% of the $400,000 gain), stacked on the terminal return at the top combined marginal rate, generates roughly:

• Ontario at 53.53%: about $107,000 in tax
• BC at 53.50%: about $107,000 in tax

The province changes the cottage tax bill by a few hundred dollars. The probate difference is $600. The cottage gain is over $100,000. This is the entire point: on a $1M cottage estate, the province you die in is almost irrelevant, and the capital gain on the second property is the dominant event. For the full mechanics of how Canada taxes an inherited cottage, see our inheritance tax overview.

Total Settlement Cost: BC vs Ontario Side by Side

Putting probate and the cottage capital gain together — designating the cottage as the principal residence and exposing the home's $200,000 gain instead would change the income tax line, so for a clean comparison we shelter the larger cottage gain and tax the home's gain:

BC wins by roughly $600 — the probate difference — and that is the whole story. The income tax is identical because both provinces sit at the top of the federal-plus-provincial scale within 0.03 of a percentage point. If the family had designated the home instead of the cottage as the principal residence, the income tax line would have doubled (the $400,000 cottage gain instead of the $200,000 home gain), pushing the total past $107,000 in tax. The designation choice swings the bill by more than $50,000. The choice of province swings it by $600.

Beyond the Numbers: Where BC and Ontario Actually Differ

Multi-jurisdiction probate — the cottage trap

Real estate is probated where the property sits, not where the deceased lived. An Ontario resident who owns a cottage in BC will typically need a BC grant of probate for the BC cottage and an Ontario Certificate of Appointment for the Ontario assets — two applications, two fee schedules, often two lawyers. This double process is the single most expensive surprise in cross-province cottage estates, and it is invisible until the executor starts filing. If you own real property in more than one province, have an estate lawyer review whether an alter ego trust or a separate holding structure avoids the second probate entirely.

Executor terminology and process

Ontario calls them estate trustees; BC calls them executors or, if there is no will, administrators. The substantive process is similar — both require a court grant before financial institutions and land registries will release or transfer assets. BC's grant of probate runs 2 to 4 months; Ontario's Certificate of Appointment runs 8 to 16 weeks. Neither province lets the executor transfer real estate before the grant issues, so a cottage cannot be sold or re-registered to the kids until probate clears in both.

Legal and accounting fees

Probate fees are not the only cost of settling. Legal fees for estate administration run $3,000 to $10,000 in both provinces depending on complexity, and a cottage estate — with real estate transfers, a possible multi-province filing, and a capital gains calculation — sits toward the higher end. The terminal T1 return plus a possible estate T3 return adds $1,500 to $3,000 in accounting fees. On a $1M cottage estate these professional fees can add another 1 to 2% to the total, and they are nearly identical between BC and Ontario.

4 Strategies to Cut This Bill in Either Province

1. Designate the property with the larger gain as principal residence

This is the highest-leverage decision on the entire estate. The family unit gets one principal residence designation per year, and it should shelter the property with the biggest accrued gain per year of ownership. In our scenario, sheltering the cottage's $400,000 gain instead of the home's $200,000 gain saves roughly $53,500 in tax. The CRA's per-year calculation is precise — an accountant runs the formula for both properties before the terminal return is filed. Getting this designation right is worth 90 times more than the BC-versus-Ontario probate difference.

2. Name beneficiaries on RRSPs, RRIFs, and TFSAs

Registered accounts with a named individual beneficiary transfer directly and bypass the estate, removing them from the probate base in both provinces. If this estate held $300,000 in registered accounts, naming beneficiaries would save roughly $4,500 in Ontario probate and $4,200 in BC. The income tax on a registered account at death does not change with the designation, but the probate savings and faster transfer are guaranteed. TFSAs are particularly clean: naming a successor holder (a spouse) keeps the account out of the estate and the balance is not taxable at death.

3. Use life insurance to fund the cottage tax so the kids keep it

The classic cottage problem: the heirs want to keep the property but cannot pay the six-figure capital gains tax without selling it. A permanent life insurance policy with the children as named beneficiaries delivers tax-free cash that covers the terminal-return tax, letting the family keep the cottage. The proceeds bypass probate in both provinces when an individual (not the estate) is the beneficiary. For a $107,000 projected tax bill, a policy in that range solves the liquidity squeeze — premiums depend on age and health, so price it well before the gain has grown further.

4. Consider a trust for the out-of-province property

If the cottage and the home are in different provinces, an alter ego trust (available to those 65 and older) can hold the out-of-province real estate, keeping it out of the estate and avoiding the second probate process entirely. The trade-off: trusts cost money to set up and administer, and they do not avoid the capital gains tax — only the probate and the multi-jurisdiction headache. This is an estate-lawyer conversation, not a DIY structure, but for a family with real estate in two provinces it can be worth it.

The Verdict: BC Wins by $600 — but the Cottage Is the Real Fight

On a $1M estate with a cottage, British Columbia is cheaper than Ontario by exactly the probate difference: $13,650 versus $14,250, a $600 edge. Income tax is a tie at the top of the scale — 53.50% in BC versus 53.53% in Ontario. If your only question is "which province has cheaper probate on a $1M estate," the answer is BC, barely.

But that is the wrong question. The cottage carries a $400,000 accrued gain, and the principal-residence designation decides whether the family pays roughly $53,500 or over $107,000 in capital gains tax. That single choice swings the bill by more than $50,000 — more than 80 times the probate difference between the two provinces. Province of residence determines the probate fee. The principal-residence designation, the beneficiary structure, and the cottage liquidity plan determine the tax bill. The tax bill is bigger, and it is the same in both provinces.