BC Probate Fee: Rates, Calculations, and Exemptions

British Columbia charges no probate fee on estates worth $25,000 or less, $6 for every $1,000 of estate value between $25,001 and $50,000, and $14 for every $1,000 above $50,000. These BC probate fees are set by the Probate Fee Act and must be paid to the BC Supreme Court before the registry will issue the grant of probate an executor needs to manage and distribute the estate.¹

How the Fee Is Calculated

The Probate Fee Act uses a two-tier formula, and the tiers apply cumulatively. A large estate pays at both rates on different portions of its value.

$25,000 or less: no fee.
$25,001 to $50,000: $6 for every $1,000, or part of $1,000, above $25,000. The maximum fee at this tier is $150.
Over $50,000: $150 from the first tier plus $14 for every $1,000, or part of $1,000, above $50,000.

The “part of $1,000” language matters. An estate worth $50,500 pays $150 for the first tier plus $14 on that partial $1,000 above the $50,000 mark, for a total of $164.

Worked Examples

An estate of $40,000 exceeds the $25,000 threshold by $15,000. At $6 per $1,000, the fee is $90.¹

An estate of $150,000 pays $150 for the first tier plus $1,400 for the $100,000 above $50,000 (100 × $14), for a total of $1,550.¹

A $1,000,000 estate pays $150 plus $13,300 (950 × $14), for a total of $13,450. Once an estate crosses $50,000, the fee climbs steeply because the $14 rate applies to every dollar above that mark.

What Counts Toward the Estate Value

The fee is charged on the gross value of everything that passes to the executor, valued at fair market value on the date of death. What “everything” means depends on where the deceased lived.¹

If the Deceased Lived in BC

For a person ordinarily resident in British Columbia immediately before death, the estate value includes:

Real property located in BC.
Tangible personal property located in BC, including vehicles, jewelry, artwork, and furniture.
Intangible personal property wherever situated, including bank accounts, investment portfolios, stocks, and bonds held at institutions outside BC or outside Canada.

That last category catches people off guard. A BC resident’s brokerage account in Ontario or bank account abroad still counts for fee purposes.¹

If the Deceased Lived Outside BC

For a non-resident, only real property and tangible personal property physically located in British Columbia are included. Intangible assets such as bank accounts and investments held anywhere are excluded from the BC fee calculation.¹

Debts and Mortgages

Because the Act charges the fee on gross value, most debts owed by the deceased do not reduce the estate for fee purposes. Someone who dies owing $50,000 on a line of credit does not get that amount subtracted before the fee is calculated. Mortgages secured against BC real property are commonly deducted from the property’s value before the estate total is worked out; this is a well-established practice in BC probate administration, though it is not spelled out in the text of the Probate Fee Act itself.

What the Fee Doesn’t Reach

Not everything a person owns goes through probate. Several categories of property transfer outside the will and never enter the value the fee is charged on.

Joint Property With Right of Survivorship

Property held in joint tenancy passes directly to the surviving owner by operation of law. A home co-owned by spouses and joint bank accounts are the usual examples. The deceased’s interest is not included in the estate value for fee purposes.

Accounts With a Named Beneficiary

Life insurance policies, RRSPs, RRIFs, and TFSAs pay the named beneficiary directly through the financial institution. These amounts never enter the probate estate.

Real Estate Outside BC

Real property located outside British Columbia is excluded from the BC calculation entirely. A vacation property in Alberta or Ontario falls under the probate rules of the province where it sits, not BC.

Ways to Reduce the Fee

Because the fee is charged on the gross probate estate, anything that keeps assets out of that estate lowers the bill. Each option has trade-offs, and fee savings should be weighed against them rather than pursued on their own.

Joint tenancy. Adding a spouse or trusted person as a joint tenant on real property or bank accounts moves the asset outside the will. It can also expose the asset to the other owner’s creditors and create unintended tax consequences, so it should not be done casually.
Beneficiary designations. Naming beneficiaries on RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, and life insurance is one of the simplest ways to keep money out of probate. Review these designations periodically to avoid stale entries such as a former spouse.
Multiple wills. BC’s Wills, Estates and Succession Act permits more than one will, each covering different categories of assets. Assets under a will that does not require probate, such as shares in a private company, can avoid the fee entirely.
Inter vivos trusts. Transferring assets into a living trust during your lifetime removes them from your estate; the trust distributes according to its terms without probate. Setup and accounting costs mean this makes more sense for larger estates.
Lifetime gifts. Giving property away while alive reduces the estate, but a gift of appreciated property can trigger immediate capital gains tax, and that tax can outweigh the probate fee saved.

Paying the Fee

The executor files the probate application with the BC Supreme Court Registry. Among the required forms is the Affidavit of Assets and Liabilities, Form P10 for BC residents or Form P11 for non-residents, available on the BC government website.²

Form P10 requires every asset to be listed individually with its fair market value as of the date of death. Real estate needs a professional appraisal or current assessment, and banks and investment firms will provide date-of-death balance statements on request. Gathering these documents is often the slowest part of the process, especially when assets are spread across multiple institutions.

The registry reviews the application, calculates the fee from the declared estate value, and collects payment before releasing the grant. The court typically takes one to four months to issue the grant after the application and fee are submitted, depending on the registry’s workload and the complexity of the file.

If You Find More Assets Later

If the executor discovers an asset that was not included in the original application, or realizes a listed asset was undervalued, they must disclose it to the court and pay the difference between what was originally paid and the higher fee that would have applied.¹

1
BC Laws. Probate Fee Act
2
Province of British Columbia. Supreme Court Civil Rules – Probate Forms