CRA and CIC's Delay did it cost me on income tax??

[HarkiranKaur]

So I know that a spouse who is not working, and residing with me in Canada, I can claim their personal deduction come income tax time. For 2016 that's a nice big 11,500 (approx) credit!!! You don't actually need to prove you are supporting them either, as its assumed since you are living together.

I also know you CAN claim supporting a spouse who lives outside Canada (again for the full deduction amount if they are not working). However I read that in the case of them being outside Canada you have to send receipts etc to prove it. Shouldn't the fact that they are not working be enough? (in our case hubby is living with his Mother, but what if I sent / brought money to him for general expenses, his medical etc for immigration, spending money, clothing etc all the basics?) Anyway I never realized that I could claim him being outside Canada and so we never kept any receipts. So am I out of luck for 2016 tax year??

Also, I read that you only have to be living with the spouse in Canada for part of the year to qualify to claim them on income tax for the year, so does that mean since CIC decided to wait to issue our PPR and sen dit back AFTER the New Year, did they do this knowing since he wouldn't arrive till the new year, that it would save the government when it comes to my income tax?? Meaning if he had landed in December I could have claimed him because it says all or PART of the year??

 

[scylla]

Also, I read that you only have to be living with the spouse in Canada for part of the year to qualify to claim them on income tax for the year, so does that mean since CIC decided to wait to issue our PPR and sen dit back AFTER the New Year, did they do this knowing since he wouldn't arrive till the new year, that it would save the government when it comes to my income tax?? Meaning if he had landed in December I could have claimed him because it says all or PART of the year??

It sounds like you're asking if CIC officers purposely delay approving applications to punish applicants from a tax perspective and increase tax revenues for federal/provincial governments. The answer is no of course.

 

[profiler]

So I know that a spouse who is not working, and residing with me in Canada, I can claim their personal deduction come income tax time. For 2016 that's a nice big 11,500 (approx) credit!!! You don't actually need to prove you are supporting them either, as its assumed since you are living together.

I also know you CAN claim supporting a spouse who lives outside Canada (again for the full deduction amount if they are not working). However I read that in the case of them being outside Canada you have to send receipts etc to prove it. Shouldn't the fact that they are not working be enough? (in our case hubby is living with his Mother, but what if I sent / brought money to him for general expenses, his medical etc for immigration, spending money, clothing etc all the basics?) Anyway I never realized that I could claim him being outside Canada and so we never kept any receipts. So am I out of luck for 2016 tax year??

Also, I read that you only have to be living with the spouse in Canada for part of the year to qualify to claim them on income tax for the year, so does that mean since CIC decided to wait to issue our PPR and sen dit back AFTER the New Year, did they do this knowing since he wouldn't arrive till the new year, that it would save the government when it comes to my income tax?? Meaning if he had landed in December I could have claimed him because it says all or PART of the year??

You will need proof of what you've paid.

In my case, my wife is inland, and was not working in 2015 (we applied in 2016). I was still able to claim her as a dependant. They did a pre-processing review, and sent a demand letter for more proofs (this is how I know you need to prove what you paid). Because she was inland, and no application filed, I simply supplied a Marriage Certificate and a copy of her Passport (and the Canadian Visa she entered on, and the entry stamp). Send that in the mail, and a few weeks later they released the return. She entered Canada last in September 2015.

 

[keesio]

It sounds like you're asking if CIC officers purposely delay approving applications to punish applicants from a tax perspective and increase tax revenues for federal/provincial governments. The answer is no of course.

Agreed. Different government agencies barely communicate with each other, much less be able to coordinate with each other (CIC & CRA) for something underhanded like this.

 

[HarkiranKaur]

You will need proof of what you've paid.

In my case, my wife is inland, and was not working in 2015 (we applied in 2016). I was still able to claim her as a dependant. They did a pre-processing review, and sent a demand letter for more proofs (this is how I know you need to prove what you paid). Because she was inland, and no application filed, I simply supplied a Marriage Certificate and a copy of her Passport (and the Canadian Visa she entered on, and the entry stamp). Send that in the mail, and a few weeks later they released the return. She entered Canada last in September 2015.

So the marriage certificate wont be good enough if he was still in India for 2016? We were married Sept 2015.

Can I claim anything at all? Like airfares to go see him since we had been kept apart? (Mind you I am claiming the airfare anyway under a different pretense as we did an IVF cycle in India while I was there and the airfare can be claimed for that). But just wondering if there are ANY tax credits / deductions you can apply for while you were in the application process and your spouse was still outside Canada?? I know (going by the wording PART of the year, means if my husband had been approved only a few weeks earlier than he was, I could claim him) Sounds a bit unfair...

 

[profiler]

So the marriage certificate wont be good enough if he was still in India for 2016? We were married Sept 2015.

Can I claim anything at all? Like airfares to go see him since we had been kept apart? (Mind you I am claiming the airfare anyway under a different pretense as we did an IVF cycle in India while I was there and the airfare can be claimed for that). But just wondering if there are ANY tax credits / deductions you can apply for while you were in the application process and your spouse was still outside Canada?? I know (going by the wording PART of the year, means if my husband had been approved only a few weeks earlier than he was, I could claim him) Sounds a bit unfair...

I have no idea. Better to consult a tax consultant or an accountant. I let my accountant tell me what I am eligible for .

 

[Rob_TO]

so does that mean since CIC decided to wait to issue our PPR and sen dit back AFTER the New Year, did they do this knowing since he wouldn't arrive till the new year, that it would save the government when it comes to my income tax??

Definitely no correlation between the 2, timing is pure coincidence. This sounds like a crazy conspiracy theory!

Can I claim anything at all? Like airfares to go see him since we had been kept apart? (Mind you I am claiming the airfare anyway under a different pretense as we did an IVF cycle in India while I was there and the airfare can be claimed for that). But just wondering if there are ANY tax credits / deductions you can apply for while you were in the application process and your spouse was still outside Canada?? I know (going by the wording PART of the year, means if my husband had been approved only a few weeks earlier than he was, I could claim him) Sounds a bit unfair...

You can't claim airfare in the general spousal amount since that is not "support".

To claim a spouse not living with you in Canada, you need to provide lots of proofs and the amount claimed will face scrutiny at CRA. See here for more info:
http://www.howlandtax.com/articles/nonresident-spouse.htm
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it513r/it513r-e.html#P178_25861

 

[profiler]

Definitely no correlation between the 2, timing is pure coincidence. This sounds like a crazy conspiracy theory!

Agreed.

To claim a spouse not living with you in Canada, you need to provide lots of proofs and the amount claimed will face scrutiny at CRA.

Yes that's for sure. My case was pretty simple. I called the next business day, and spoke directly to the auditor. I explained the situation, asked which paperwork they wanted to satisfy them. They told me what they wanted.

I cannot imagine trying to prove the outland expenses. I recall seeing the list in the demand letter.

Also, FWIW: they didn't start the pre-processing review until July. So, you can expect that any return will be late...