Hi Pritha,pritha said:
Technically yes, the applicant should also file if they have been in Canada for more than half the year. You can just write 0 for line 150 (which is total income). If you have a SIN or ITN, you should use that. Otherwise, you can write in 000 000 000 as your SIN and attach an application for an ITN (http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/t1261/t1261-fill-13e.pdf) in the same envelope. If it is your first time filing taxes in Canada, you cannot NETFILE or do it online, you must send in a paper application. (For tax purposes, you are considered a resident if you've been in Canada for six consecutive months. It has nothing to do with your legal immigration status.)
Fortunately, the government of Canada does not penalise people for not filing taxes on time (sometimes even sending years late) unless they are owing money. As a zero-income person, you will not owe the government money, so there shouldn't be a problem even if you don't file. However, getting your notice of assessment and such can be beneficial later on in life if you need to prove anything regarding your relationship or your time in Canada. Also, your partner must file as married or common-law or whatever. It can be considered tax fraud if they file as single. Plus, it is beneficial to file as married or common-law because you can get tax deductions if you are supporting your partner (as they can claim their personal amount of ~$11,000 dollars which means your partner will not pay taxes for the first ~$22,000 of their income). I am not sure, but I believe it could be confusing for CRA to have someone file as a spouse and then not to get the other spouse's return.
P.S. I hope you're right about CPC-M.
