Estate & Trust Tax Services
Trust tax services provide holistic estate tax planning, ensuring compliance and preserving assets. Secure your legacy safely with Bestax now.
Trust Accounting Services in Canada for Trustees, Executors, and Families
Bestax records your trust's transactions, prepares its statements, and files its T3 returns with the CRA. You hand over the paperwork once. We handle the rest of the year.
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Trusted by businesses across Canada to stay compliant, organized and financially confident.
Our Strength in Numbers
- 10+Years of Experience
- 35+Accountants and tax professionals
- 1,000+Clients served
- 9–6Office hours, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
What Our Trust Fund Accounting Services Cover
Our trust fund accounting services cover the full cycle for family trusts, estates, and other personal trusts. We record contributions, investment income, expenses, and payments to beneficiaries. We prepare the annual statements. We file the T3 return and issue slips to beneficiaries.
Why one team for all of it? Because the bookkeeping feeds the tax return, and the tax return feeds the beneficiary slips. When one firm holds all three, the numbers always match and nothing is filed from incomplete records.
How We Handle Accounting for Trusts in Canada
Accounting for trusts in Canada is not the same as business bookkeeping, so our process is built around trust rules specifically. Here is how an engagement works.
- Step 1
We review the trust deed.
The deed decides who is entitled to income and who is entitled to capital. We read it first because every entry we record afterwards has to follow it.
- Step 2
We set up separate capital and income ledgers.
Different beneficiaries can have rights to each, so mixing them creates disputes and misstated slips. Keeping them apart from day one prevents both.
- Step 3
We record and reconcile monthly.
Every bank and investment account is reconciled each month. We do this monthly rather than at year end so errors are caught while the records that explain them still exist.
- Step 4
We plan income allocations before December 31.
Income kept inside a trust is taxed at the top personal rate, while income allocated to beneficiaries is taxed at their own rates. Allocation decisions cannot be made after year end, so we model them with you in advance and check income splitting restrictions on each one.
- Step 5
We file within the 90-day deadline.
The T3 return, Schedule 15, and all beneficiary slips are due 90 days after the trust's year end. We prepare from reconciled books, which is why our filings do not need corrections later.
Our Trust Services in Detail
Trust Bookkeeping Services
Our trust bookkeeping services track every contribution, expense, trade, and distribution through the year. Each entry is coded to capital or income and matched to the trust deed. We keep the records at CRA review standard because a trustee is personally answerable for trust property, and the records are what protect you.
Trust Financial Statements
We prepare annual trust financial statements showing assets, liabilities, income, and distributions. We prepare them yearly, not on request, because beneficiaries and courts can demand an accounting at any time. When that demand comes, your statements already exist.
T3 Return and Schedule 15 Filing
We prepare and file the T3 Trust Income Tax and Information Return each year, including for trusts with no income, since most trusts must now file regardless. Schedule 15 reports the name, date of birth, residence, and tax number of every trustee, settlor, and beneficiary. We collect this information at onboarding, one time, so no filing ever waits on a missing detail. Filing on time matters because late returns cost $25 per day, up to $2,500, and serious reporting failures can cost 5% of the trust's highest asset value.
Estate Accounting Services for Executors
Our estate accounting services track the estate's assets, the income it earns after death, and every payment to heirs. We also file the estate's election for graduated tax rates on its first T3 return where it qualifies, because that election is only available on the first filing and covers the estate's first 36 months. For final personal returns and estate tax planning, this connects with our Estate & Trust Tax Services.
Beneficiary Allocations and T3 Slips
We issue a T3 slip to every beneficiary who received income, by the same 90-day deadline as the return. Allocated amounts keep their character on the slip. A capital gain stays a capital gain, taxed on 50% of the amount, and eligible gains can still use the $1.25 million lifetime capital gains exemption on qualified small business shares. We preserve that character in the records so no beneficiary pays more than the rules require.
21-Year Rule Monitoring
Every 21 years, a trust is treated as selling all its assets at market value, which creates tax on gains even though nothing was sold. We log your trust's anniversary date at onboarding and raise it three years early, because the main planning options need that lead time to work.
Catch-Up Filings and CRA Correspondence
If the trust has missed filings, we rebuild the books from bank and investment records, then file the outstanding returns together. We apply through the Voluntary Disclosures Program where the trust qualifies, because applying before the CRA contacts you is what makes penalty relief possible. We also draft responses to CRA letters using the reconciled records behind each filing.
Deadlines We Manage for You
| Deadline | What we file or do | Why it cannot slip |
|---|---|---|
| 90 days after the trust's year end | T3 return and Schedule 15 | Late filing costs $25 per day, from $100 up to $2,500 |
| Same 90-day date | T3 slips to every beneficiary paid income | Beneficiaries cannot file their own returns correctly without them |
| Before December 31 | Income allocation decisions with you | Allocations cannot be made after year end, and retained income is taxed at the top rate |
| Trust's 21st anniversary, flagged 3 years early | Deemed disposition planning | The main planning options need lead time to work |
How We Work
Families and executors use our trust accounting services in Canada for a single T3 filing or for full year-round administration. Both start the same way, with a free review of your trust.
You get a fixed quote before any work starts, so the cost is known upfront.
One accountant handles your trust year-round, because allocation planning happens months before the filing deadline, not at it.
We coordinate directly with your lawyer and investment advisor so everyone works from the same reconciled numbers.
Our Popular Services
Personal Income Tax
Personal income tax services ensure accurate filing, CRA compliance and optimized refunds for Canadians. Let Bestax handle your return today.
Monthly / Quarterly Financial Reporting
Financial reporting services deliver monthly and quarterly reports ensuring accuracy and insight. Make informed decisions with Bestax today.
Reviews from Bestax Clients
Their accounting and bookkeeping services in Mississauga are unmatched. The team is expert, friendly, and keeps everything on track. They’ve been a game-changer for my business books.
Google review 1 of 4: Brett I Newkirk
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Frequently Asked Questions About Bestax
Yes. Bestax serves trustees and executors across Canada. We work online and from our Mississauga office.
Fees depend on the trust's activity and the state of its records. You receive a fixed quote before work starts. There are no added charges later.
Yes. We rebuild the records and file all outstanding T3 returns together. We request penalty relief where the trust qualifies.
Yes. We share reconciled figures directly with your lawyer and advisor. Everyone works from the same numbers.
Most trusts are onboarded within one to two weeks. Catch-up work takes longer, and we confirm the timeline upfront.
Yes. The first consultation is free, with no obligation. We review your trust and list exactly what needs filing.