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Estate and Date-of-Death Property Appraisal Services in Ontario

An estate appraisal is a CUSPAP-compliant opinion of a property's fair market value at a past date, usually the date the owner died, prepared and signed by an AACI-designated appraiser. Executors, estate lawyers and accountants use it for the deceased's final tax return, where property is treated as sold at fair market value immediately before death, and for Ontario's Estate Administration Tax return. Aion prepares estate appraisals for office, retail, industrial and mixed-use buildings, apartment buildings of five or more units, farms and land across Southern Ontario, usually within 5–10 business days of the site visit.

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Our Estate and Date-of-Death Property Appraisal Services in Ontario Service Areas

Date-of-Death Appraisal for the Final Return

Values the property at fair market value immediately before death, the figure the Canada Revenue Agency treats as the sale price on the deceased's final return. The report states the effective date, the evidence available at that date and the reasoning, so the estate's accountant can rely on it if the return is reviewed.

Estate Administration Tax Valuation

Ontario counts real estate at its fair market value on the date of death, less mortgages, when estate administration tax is calculated. The province asks executors to keep documents supporting each value and notes that a professional appraiser may assist. For commercial and investment property, an AACI report is that support.

Retrospective Appraisal at Any Past Date

A value as at a date months or years ago: a death, a transfer, a partnership change or a change of use. The appraiser rebuilds the market as it stood then, relying on the sales and leases known at that date and using later evidence only as a check.

Land and Building Value Allocation

For a rental or business building, the deemed sale at death can bring back capital cost allowance claimed over the years. Only the building is depreciable, so on request the report allocates the value between land and building and states the method used.

Estate Freeze and Family Transfer Valuation

Estate freezes and transfers to a holding company, a trust or a family member turn on the property's fair market value at the transfer date. An independent appraisal at that date documents the figure for the owner's accountant and lawyer.

Beneficiary Buyout and Estate Distribution

When one heir keeps the building and buys out the others, or assets are divided between beneficiaries, an independent value at an agreed date keeps the split even and defensible. Where beneficiaries are already in dispute, the work runs under our litigation support and arbitration service.

Cluster of commercial centre buildings in Southern Ontario appraised for an estate.

CUSPAP-Compliant Estate and Date-of-Death Property Appraisal Services in Ontario

An estate appraisal fixes the fair market value of a property at the date the owner died, or at another past date an adviser names. It is ordered by estate trustees and executors, their lawyers and accountants, and by owners planning an estate freeze or a transfer to the next generation. Common appl

Commercial property in Southern Ontario appraised as at the owner's date of death.

What Is an Estate Appraisal and When Is It Needed in Ontario?

An estate appraisal is a written, evidence-based opinion of the fair market value of real property at a stated past date, prepared by an AACI-designated appraiser under CUSPAP. The date is usually the date of death. For commercial and investment property, three things depend on it: the deceased's final income tax return, the Estate Administration Tax return, and the division of the estate between beneficiaries.

The executor or the estate's lawyer usually instructs, often at the request of the estate's accountant. The report names them as its users, states the effective date, and explains how the value was reached, so it holds up if the Canada Revenue Agency or a beneficiary asks how the figure was set.

Timing matters less than evidence. An estate appraisal ordered a year after the death is still an appraisal as at the date of death: the appraiser works from the market evidence that existed then, not today's.

Commercial building in Ontario valued for an estate under CUSPAP.

Why Does the Deemed Disposition at Death Require a Value?

The Canada Revenue Agency treats a person who dies as having sold all their property immediately before death, at fair market value, even though nothing was sold. Any capital gain or loss on that deemed disposition is reported on Schedule 3 of the final return. For an office building, a plaza or a rental property held for decades, that gain can be the largest number on the return, and it rests on the appraised value.

Rental and business buildings carry a second effect. If capital cost allowance was claimed on the building, the deemed sale can bring it back into income as recapture. Land is not depreciable and buildings are, so the split between them changes the tax result. On request, the report allocates the value between land and building and states how.

Property that passes to a surviving spouse or common-law partner may not produce a gain on the final return when the rollover conditions are met. The value at the date of death is still worth having on file. The tax treatment is the accountant's call; the appraisal supplies the fair market value it depends on.

Purpose	Effective date	What the value is used for	Who usually instructs
Final return (deemed disposition)	Date of death	Capital gain or loss; recapture of capital cost allowance	Executor, on the accountant's request
Estate Administration Tax	Date of death	Value of Ontario real estate in the estate, less mortgages	Executor or estate lawyer
Distribution or buyout	Agreed date	Equalising shares between beneficiaries	Executor, beneficiaries' counsel
Estate freeze or family transfer	Transfer date	Fair market value for the transaction	Owner, accountant, lawyer

Commercial workshop building in Ontario valued at a past date for an estate.

How Is Real Estate Valued for Ontario's Estate Administration Tax?

Ontario's Estate Administration Tax is calculated on the value of the estate at the date of death. Real estate in Ontario is included at its fair market value on that date, less any mortgages or other encumbrances registered against it. Estates valued at $50,000 or less pay no tax.

The province asks executors to base each value on fair market value at the time of death and to keep the documents that support it, and notes that a professional appraiser may assist in recommending a value. For a commercial building, an apartment building or a farm, an AACI appraisal is that support.

The Estate Information Return is due within 180 calendar days after the estate certificate is issued. If the property sold after the death, the date-of-death value still applies. A sale soon after the date is strong evidence of that value, and the report explains how it was weighed.

Multi-storey commercial office building in Southern Ontario appraised for estate administration tax.

How Does a Retrospective Appraisal Rebuild a Past Market?

A retrospective appraisal answers the question as of the effective date, not today. The appraiser relies on sales and leases agreed before or around that date, adjusts them for differences from the subject, and uses later transactions only to confirm the direction of the market. CUSPAP requires the report to state both the effective date and the date of the report, so no reader confuses the two.

The site visit happens now, so the report states what it assumes about the property's condition at the effective date, and why: photographs from that period, the leases and rent roll in place, building permits, tax bills, and what the executor or tenants confirm. If the building has been renovated, altered or sold since, the report describes the property as it was.

Income property is valued from the income in place at the date. Leases, rent rolls and operating statements for that year carry more weight than current ones, because a buyer on that date could only have known the lease position at that time.

Commercial warehouse building in Southern Ontario valued for a deemed disposition at death.

Who Prepares an Estate Appraisal, and What Should You Send?

Estate appraisals of commercial, industrial, farm and land property, and of buildings with five or more units, are signed by an appraiser holding the AACI, P.App designation from the Appraisal Institute of Canada. They are prepared under CUSPAP, the Canadian Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, which governs retrospective assignments as well as current ones. Aion's estate appraisals are led and signed by Ashita Chandra, AACI, P.App, and every report is reviewed by a second appraiser before it is issued.

Houses, condominium units and buildings of up to four units are residential appraisals and outside our practice; the Appraisal Institute of Canada's Find an Appraiser directory lists residential appraisers.

To quote, send the date of death or the date your adviser needs, the address or PIN, who is instructing and who will rely on the report, the leases and rent roll in place at that date, that year's property tax bill, and a note of any work done since. Fees are quoted per property, with a written quote before any work starts; what affects the fee explains the range.

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What Is an Estate Appraisal and Who Needs It in Ontario?

Common applications: the final income tax return, the Estate Administration Tax return, distributing property between beneficiaries, a buyout by one heir, an estate freeze, and transfers to a holding company or trust.
Property covered: office, retail, industrial and mixed-use buildings, apartment buildings of five or more units, farms, and vacant or development land.

How Does the Estate Appraisal Process Work in Ontario?

Instruction and date: you confirm the effective date, who instructs and who will rely on the report.
Documents: leases, rent roll and operating statements in place at the date, that year's tax bill, and any record of changes since.
Site visit: the appraiser inspects the property as it is now and records what has changed.
Research at the date: sales and leases agreed before or around the effective date; later transactions only as a check.
Analysis: direct comparison, the income approach for income property, and land and building allocation on request.
Review and delivery: a second appraiser reviews the report; delivery is usually 5–10 business days after the site visit, longer when records from the date are thin.

Why Does an Estate Appraisal Matter for Executors and Beneficiaries?

The executor signs the final return and the Estate Information Return, and the values in both are theirs to support. A documented fair market value at the date of death is the support the Canada Revenue Agency and the province expect to see.

It also keeps beneficiaries on equal terms. When one heir keeps a building and the others take cash, an independent value at an agreed date is the figure everyone can check, instead of a broker's opinion or an online estimate.

What Should You Know Before Commissioning an Estate Appraisal?

Confirm the date with the accountant first. Date of death, transfer date and buyout date can all differ.
An MPAC assessment is not a date-of-death value. It is a mass appraisal at the province's valuation date, not an opinion of fair market value on the date that matters.
Old records help. Leases, rent rolls and photographs from the period carry more weight than anything from today.
A later sale is evidence, not the answer. The report weighs it against the market at the date.
Houses and buildings of up to four units are residential work. Use the Appraisal Institute of Canada's Find an Appraiser directory for those.

Which Other Past Dates Need an Appraisal Besides the Date of Death?

The date of death is the most common effective date, but it is not the only one. Several tax events look back to a fixed date, and each needs the market as it stood on that day.

Valuation Day, December 31, 1971. Capital gains tax began in Canada in 1972. For real estate owned since before then, the property's value on Valuation Day is part of how the gain is calculated when it is sold or deemed sold. Families who have held a farm, a plaza or a downtown building since the 1960s often need that value decades later, when the original records are gone.
February 22, 1994. Owners who used the former $100,000 capital gains exemption could file an election (Form T664) that treated property they held that day as sold and reacquired, which raised its cost. For real estate, the election rests on fair market value at that date. If the election was filed without an appraisal, or the support has been lost, a retrospective value supports the figure.
The 21-year rule for trusts. A trust that holds real estate is deemed to sell its capital property every 21 years at fair market value. Trustees need a value at each anniversary.
Transfers and reorganisations. A transfer of property to a corporation, an estate freeze or a sale between family members happens at fair market value on the transfer date. Many agreements include a price adjustment clause, which only works if the value behind it can be defended.

Effective date	Event	Who usually asks
Date of death	Deemed disposition; Estate Administration Tax	Executor, estate lawyer, accountant
December 31, 1971	Cost of property owned before 1972	Accountant
February 22, 1994	Support for a capital gains election	Accountant
A trust's 21st anniversary	Deemed disposition by the trust	Trustees, accountant
Transfer date	Estate freeze, rollover or family sale	Owner, accountant, lawyer

Each is a retrospective appraisal like a date-of-death report: the appraiser works from the sales, leases and records of that period and states the effective date and the report date separately. Records from the 1970s are thinner, so the report says which evidence it relied on and how much weight each piece carries. The tax treatment of each date is the accountant's question; the appraisal supplies the value.

How Are Part Interests and Company-Owned Buildings Valued for an Estate?

The estate owns what the deceased owned, which is not always the whole building.

A share held as tenant in common passes through the estate. The report values the whole property and states the deceased's share of that value. Whether a buyer would pay less for an undivided part interest than its share of the whole is a separate question, analysed only when the executor or counsel asks, with the market evidence for any difference. How any discount is treated for tax is for the accountant and counsel.
A share held as joint tenant usually passes to the surviving owner outside the estate, so it is often left out of the Estate Administration Tax value. The final return can still report a deemed disposition of the deceased's share unless a spousal rollover applies. Who beneficially owns a jointly held property is a legal question for the estate's lawyer; the appraisal values whatever interest counsel identifies.
A building owned by a corporation was never owned by the deceased; the deceased owned shares. The deemed disposition applies to the shares, and a Chartered Business Valuator usually values them. The real estate appraisal supplies the value of the property inside the company, which is often most of what the shares are worth. Post-mortem tax planning on those shares depends on the same figure, so the appraisal is usually the first report the accountant needs.
Mortgages and leases are handled differently. The appraisal values the property itself, and the Estate Administration Tax return then deducts the mortgage registered against it. Leases in place are part of the property, so an income property is valued with them.

One report that states the value of the whole, the deceased's share and, where the property sits in a company, the basis the business valuator needs, saves a second assignment later.

What Happens If the CRA or a Beneficiary Questions the Value?

An estate appraisal is written on the assumption that someone will test it.

The Canada Revenue Agency can ask how a value on the final return was reached, and it may have one of its own appraisers review the report. If it disagrees, it can reassess the return. For individuals, the normal reassessment period runs three years from the date of the notice of assessment. A report that sets out the comparable sales, the adjustments and the reasoning is the executor's answer to that question.

Executors carry personal exposure. An executor who distributes the estate before obtaining a clearance certificate from the CRA (Form TX19) can be personally liable for tax the estate still owes. A defensible value on the final return reduces the chance of a reassessment after the money has gone.

Beneficiaries test the value too. When one beneficiary keeps the property and buys out the others, the value sets the cheque. When the property is sold, the date-of-death value sets the capital gain that reduces everyone's share. A beneficiary who disagrees can ask the court to review the executor's accounts, and the appraiser may be asked to explain the report. Aion's reports are written for that reader: the evidence, the adjustments and any assumption about the property's condition at the date are all stated.

If a second appraisal reaches a different figure, the difference usually comes from three places: the comparables chosen, the effective date used, or an assumption about the property. Under CUSPAP, one appraiser can review another's report and say whether its conclusion is supported. A review is often quicker than a full second appraisal, and it focuses the disagreement on the point that matters.

How Are Farms, Apartment Buildings and Development Land Valued for an Estate?

Each property type brings its own question at the date of death.

Farms. Farmland that passes to a child can roll over at the deceased's cost when it was used principally in farming. The executor can elect a transfer amount between that cost and fair market value, often to use the deceased's lifetime capital gains exemption, so the fair market value at death is needed to plan the election. The report separates land, buildings and any residence. Production quota is not real estate; the report states whether it is included, and quota is usually valued separately.

Apartment buildings of five or more units. Value rests on the rents in place at the date. In Ontario, most units first occupied before November 15, 2018 are subject to the annual rent increase guideline, so rents below market cannot simply be raised, and a buyer at the date would have priced that in. The report uses the rent roll, vacancy and operating costs for that year, and notes any above-guideline increase applications or units under renovation.

Mixed-use buildings. A ground-floor store with apartments above is valued on both incomes. The commercial lease terms in place at the date and the residential rents under the guideline are analysed separately, then brought together.

Development and vacant land. Land is valued on its planning status at the date: the official plan designation, the zoning, and any applications filed or approved by then. An approval granted after the death does not count, although an application already under way at the date affects what a buyer would have paid.

Why Not Use the MPAC Assessment, a Listing Price or a Broker's Opinion?

Executors often have a figure to hand already. None of the usual ones answers the question the CRA and the province ask, which is fair market value at the date of death.

The MPAC assessment is a mass appraisal for property tax. Current assessments are based on market conditions at January 1, 2016, not the date of death, and are produced by models for whole classes of property without an inspection.
A listing or asking price is what a seller hoped for, not what the market paid, and it is rarely set at the right date.
A broker's opinion of value is useful for marketing a property. It is not prepared under CUSPAP, is rarely signed by a designated appraiser, and seldom addresses a past date or explains its evidence.
Insurance replacement cost is the cost to rebuild, not what a buyer would pay.
A sale after the death can be the best evidence of all when it was at arm's length, exposed to the open market and close to the date. A quick sale to settle the estate, or a sale between family members, carries less weight. The report explains how any such sale was weighed against the other evidence.

An AACI appraisal ties the value to the date, the property as it was, and the market evidence of that time, in a form the executor can file and defend.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Estate Appraisal

What is a date-of-death appraisal?

An appraisal of a property's fair market value on the day the owner died, prepared under CUSPAP and signed by an AACI-designated appraiser. Executors use it for the final tax return and the estate administration tax return.

Why does the CRA need a value if nothing was sold?

The deceased is treated as having sold their property at fair market value immediately before death. The gain over the property's cost is reported on the final return, so the value sets the tax.

Can you appraise a property as of a date several years ago?

Yes. The report relies on the sales and leases available at that date, states its assumptions about the property's condition then, and prints both the effective date and the report date.

Does Ontario's estate administration tax need an appraisal?

Ontario real estate is counted at fair market value at the date of death, less mortgages, and executors must keep documents supporting each value. The province notes that a professional appraiser may assist.

Is the MPAC assessment good enough for an estate?

No. MPAC's assessment is a mass appraisal at a province-wide valuation date. An estate needs fair market value on the date of death for that specific property.

Can you split the value between land and building?

Yes, on request. It matters for a rental or business building, because only the building is depreciable and the deemed sale can bring back capital cost allowance.

What if the property was sold after the death?

The date-of-death value still applies to the filings. A sale soon after the date is strong evidence of that value, and the report explains how it was weighed.

What if the building has changed since the date of death?

The report describes the property as it was at the date, using photographs, permits, leases and what the executor or tenants confirm, and states that assumption.

Who should order the appraisal?

Usually the executor or the estate's lawyer, often at the accountant's request. The report names who may rely on it.

How long does an estate appraisal take?

Usually 5–10 business days after the site visit. A retrospective date with thin records can take longer.

How much does an estate appraisal cost?

Fees are quoted per property, with a written quote before any work starts. See what affects the fee.

Do you appraise houses and condos for estates?

No. Houses, condominium units and buildings of up to four units are residential appraisals; the Appraisal Institute of Canada's Find an Appraiser directory lists residential appraisers.

Do you appraise farms and land for estates?

Yes. Farm, rural and development land valuations follow the same date-of-death method; see agricultural property appraisal.

What if the beneficiaries disagree about the value?

An independent appraisal at an agreed date is the usual starting point. If the disagreement becomes a dispute, the report is prepared for that setting under our litigation support and arbitration service.

Last reviewed: October 22, 2026

How the appraisal process works, from quote to signed report.

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