How to file income taxes?

[Stumpedmom]

I appreciate all the different answers and points of view but am I getting the advice from couples that are doing their taxes together because they are together in Canada ..forgive me if im wrong in my assumption but my husband and i ARE NOT living together so this in turn makes it a completely different situation ...From what i understand an ITN can only be applied for IF you are in Canada but havent been given a SIN yet

I was advised to put NRA in where his SIN should go.  Also was told to claim married, and take his income and convert it to Canadian dollars (there is a calculator on the CRA website).  Because there is a tax treaty with the US which is where my husband is from and lives we are not required to pay the taxes on his income, but it will come into account when he actually moves here for the GST and CTC in my case.  We are in the same boat Shykitten, I am in Ontario and husband is living in US.  I have contacted a few people about this and got the same answer from all...Hopefully this helps you!!

[Jeff]

So is that the final solution? I am in the same boat as well. Married in July and she's not here yet.

[shykitten]

But this isn't the final solution ...Because my husband is from the UK, but not only that when you claim married the government automatically adjusts the GST/HST credit for the both of you, and when your spouse doesn't live with you, you are going to have to end up paying that back because you are receiving that money and your spouse isn't here yet ...

and its late and im not sure if i just rambled on and repeated myself but it sounds good for the time being lol ....   

[waitingintz]

Hello all

I'm coming into this a little late so sorry if I'm missing something...

my partner is recieving his PR now and we will be moving to Canada in May. I wanted to declare him as my common-law partner on my tax return this year but as he does not yet have a SIN it seemed complicated and I didn't think the benefits would be worth the headache so I was going to just leave it...

other than the GST refunds, what actual benefits will there be to persisting in getting him claimed on my taxes before I file? AND, if I declare him and start receiving tax returns in his name, will we have to repay them if he is actually legally living in Canada from May onwards? Also, will whether he is declared or not have any bearing on our ability to qualify for subsidized medical (in BC) as neither of us will be employed when we first arrive.  I don't see any issue with converting his income into Canadian dollars to declare it as I know Tanzania has a tax agreement with canada because i myself have been filing in canada while earning in Tanzania with no problem.

Appreciate any clarity someone can bring to the situation...

[Stumpedmom]

But this isn't the final solution ...Because my husband is from the UK, but not only that when you claim married the government automatically adjusts the GST/HST credit for the both of you, and when your spouse doesn't live with you, you are going to have to end up paying that back because you are receiving that money and your spouse isn't here yet ...

and its late and im not sure if i just rambled on and repeated myself but it sounds good for the time being lol ....   

I was advised by CRA when I changed my marital status that there is no changes to the credits that I am entitled to until he moves here and becomes a PR.  The only one that got me was the HST credit that we got in December.  Now mine might be a bit different because I have 3 kids as well, but that is my experience so far so good, no over payment issues!!  All of this was told to me when I received a letter from CRA stating that my marital status had changed, and they needed more information, and the rest of the letter was blank.  When I called in the guy I was talking to told me that they don't need anything until PR status.  Also in December I again was told that the only credit that is affected is the HST....hope that helps a bit....

[Kess]

I just got off the phone with a CRA agent (surprisingly waited on hold less than a minute).  I explained that I got married but my husband doesn't live in Canada and is not a citizen or resident.  I was told that I could file online or by paper but would need to send a letter explaining that he was not a resident and that he didn't have a SIN number, and to also include how much he made (converted to Canadian $).  His income won't matter for next year since I make too much for GST credit but I'm worried they are going to claw back my payments from last year   (thankfully I had a lot of tuition to claim last year).