Do I have to file a Canadian Tax Return? When does spouse become dependent?

[CanadaNow]

hello everyone,

It's beginning of tax season again in Canada and I had some questions so I contacted CRA and thought I would share the answers (and sources) I received. If you see anything you think is incorrect, please share your knowledge. When reading the links I strongly recommend that you pay close attention to wording such as "ANY of the following" vs "you MAY want to...." vs "you met ALL of....".

Q: Do I have to file a Canadian Tax Return? I am Canadian and asked this question on behalf of my wife who I am sponsoring.
A: Depending on her earnings and/or if my wife is in Canada less than 183 days, she will not have to pay taxes.
There are MANY more considerations for you at the following link:
SOURCE: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/5013-g/5013-g-01-12e.html#P268_16439

Q: In relation to my child from previous relationship and in relation to where my wife is living, when does/can she become a dependant?
A: In our case, because we were not married for the ENTIRETY of the 2012 tax year, I will continue to claim my child under line 305, "Amount for eligible dependant" (AKA "Equivalent to spouse") and I will not claim my wife.
For 2013 and assuming she is living in Canada, I will be able to claim my wife on line 303, "Spouse or common-law partner" IF she is under the magic NET income amount ($10,527 in 2011 tax year, $10,822 in 2012 tax year). Of course as she earns money up to those magic amounts and over her eligibility changes (maybe I can become the dependant)
If my wife is/was living in her home country for part or all of 2013, I will have to provide proof of my supporting her and even then her eligibility as a dependant is decided on a case by case basis. For part or all living in Canada just have her file a tax return and she will be eligible for the portion of the tax year living in Canada.
SOURCE: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/ddctns/lns300-350/305/lgbl-eng.html
SOURCE: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/ddctns/lns300-350/303/menu-eng.html

Good luck and speedy immigrating to all who are following the rules

 

[parker24]

You will need to send a letter to CRA stating your spouse (applicant) has not yet landed or has JUST landed and they do not have any income for 2012.

I had to do that last year. It was a horror story and a half.

 

[Rusty53]

My wife came to Canada at the end of April in 2012. We were married at the end of July. We have applied for her PR. Expecting AIP in the next couple of weeks. My question is; can I calim her as a dependent? She has not worked at all since she has been here and I have supported her completely.

 

[parker24]

My wife came to Canada at the end of April in 2012. We were married at the end of July. We have applied for her PR. Expecting AIP in the next couple of weeks. My question is; can I calim her as a dependent? She has not worked at all since she has been here and I have supported her completely.

From what I was told, no. Because you would need a SIN for her.

 

[Rob_TO]

A: In our case, because we were not married for the ENTIRETY of the 2012 tax year, I will continue to claim my child under line 305, "Amount for eligible dependant" (AKA "Equivalent to spouse") and I will not claim my wife.
For 2013 and assuming she is living in Canada, I will be able to claim my wife on line 303, "Spouse or common-law partner"

I don't quite understand this, as the info directly linked to says the opposite:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/ddctns/lns300-350/303/menu-eng.html
Line 303 - Spouse or common-law partner amount
You can claim this amount if, at any time in the year, you supported your spouse or common-law partner and his or her net income was less than $10,822.

So as long as you were married/common-law at ANY TIME during 2012... even if you guys got married Dec 30, 2012... you should be able to claim your wife under 2012 taxes. Nowhere do i see that you have to have been married during the entire 365 days of a given tax year.

My fiancee and I became common-law in Feb 2012, and I am already starting our 2012 taxes with her listed as my common-law partner on line 303... even though we weren't common-law for the ENTIRE 2012 year (1 month in January we weren't common-law).

 

[Rob_TO]

From what I was told, no. Because you would need a SIN for her.

From what i've heard, this isn't quite true. As long as the spouse is a resident of Canada, you can claim them as a dependent even if they don't have a SIN. I've helped a friend with their taxes before, in which they (Canadian) were married to a non-Canadian with no SIN. In this case the government asked for the non-Canadian spouse's "world income" from their home country to see what credits the family would qualify for.

If a spouse came to Canada and became a resident in April 2012, they would have been a resident in Canada for approx 75% of the year. The CRA would pro-rate the dependent/spouse tax credit to account for this (basically you would get 25% less).

I'm not 100% sure of this so best to check with an accountant or something!

 

[parker24]

From what i've heard, this isn't quite true. As long as the spouse is a resident of Canada, you can claim them as a dependent even if they don't have a SIN. I've helped a friend with their taxes before, in which they (Canadian) were married to a non-Canadian with no SIN. In this case the government asked for the non-Canadian spouse's "world income" from their home country to see what credits the family would qualify for.

If a spouse came to Canada and became a resident in April 2012, they would have been a resident in Canada for approx 75% of the year. The CRA would pro-rate the dependent/spouse tax credit to account for this (basically you would get 25% less).

I'm not 100% sure of this so best to check with an accountant or something!

Yes, but this is for actual spouse, not "dependents" from my understanding. I told CRA my husband's "world income" and it did nothing. They would send me letters for 4-5 months asking/demanding my husband's SIN until I finally called and told them he's NOT a PR yet and he is NOT working and I am supporting him. They asked for proof, I sent them my entire PR application (about 200 ish pages) That shut 'em up. My accountant said that CRA is pretty clueless when it comes to immigration, like majority of the population. They don't understand that a person can "visit" here and they cannot work or get a SIN right away.

 

[Rob_TO]

Yes, but this is for actual spouse, not "dependents" from my understanding.

I was referring to line 303 - Spouse or Common-law partner amount. If the spouse who has recently immigrated here doesn't make any money (basically they are a dependent), the Canadian spouse can claim the $10,822 in Federal tax section and whatever the Provincial amount is for the same. For this, i don't think it matters if they have a SIN or not... it only matters that they are a resident of Canada.

 

[CanadaNow]

hi Rob_TO. Sorry if I worded in a confusing way. Keep in mind my post referred specifically to our situation although it MAY also apply to others. I think the key words that may straighten things out a bit are MAY and CAN.

"You CAN claim this amount if at any time in the year, you supported your spouse......and his/her income was less than $10,XXX". So based on this info I am choosing not to claim my wife b/c it is more beneficial to me to claim the full amount for my child (rather than having to proove I supported my wife while she was overseas). In 2013, however, b/c we will have been married the entire year I do not have the choice any longer. your situation is also different b/c you have not described having a child in your situation and therefore you might have chosen to try to claim your partner for the partial year.

Your situation (aside from the fact that I am by no means a tax expert or even rookie) may be somewhat different in establishing a specific common-law date as compared to a marriage certificate with a specific date. so once you have identified the date you officially became common-law then you can apply line 303/305 as appropriate (while paying attention to those catch words of CAN, MAY, ANY, ALL etc).

regarding the SIN number, I am really unsure. based on my discussion with CRA i would GUESS that the card is not necessary and even the residency is not a requirement b/c my wife is not a resident and does not have a SIN card however the CRA agent said that on a CASE BY CASE basis I could apply for her as a dependant as long as I could prove my support for her, prove her WORLD INCOME levels, and she was blood relative/spouse etc and all the other conditions listed for line 303.

hope this helps!

 

[rebecassss]

When my husband filed last year he had me as a dependent and it was no problem.

My status in Canada was/is visitor.

 

[parker24]

When my husband filed last year he had me as a dependent and it was no problem.

My status in Canada was/is visitor.

Wow, lucky you!

I'm still having issues with CRA, it's partly to do with immigration (Hubby landed not too long ago) and my disablity. *shakes head*

 

[Rob_TO]

"You CAN claim this amount if at any time in the year, you supported your spouse......and his/her income was less than $10,XXX". So based on this info I am choosing not to claim my wife b/c it is more beneficial to me to claim the full amount for my child (rather than having to proove I supported my wife while she was overseas). In 2013, however, b/c we will have been married the entire year I do not have the choice any longer. your situation is also different b/c you have not described having a child in your situation and therefore you might have chosen to try to claim your partner for the partial year.

Ok yes, this makes perfect sense now. You must choose this year between EITHER applying for the spouse amount, OR the dependent child amount... but you can't do both. Next year CRA will force you to choose the spousal amount since you will have been married the entire year so have no choice anymore.

In my case since I have no child, I am for sure using the spouse amount only.

 

[pardesifr]

I recently did my 2011 tax return as I needed the tax document for my application (My first tax return, i had only worked for couple of week in 2011 and live in Canada for couple of months, so initially I didn't filled my tax return).

I filled the tax return my self with help of Canada revenue agency Tax officer on phone. My wife never come to Canada, she is living abroad. The officer told me to put my spouse income if any and put all the deduction of my wife too on my tax return (If I want to declare my status change and put her on first page).

So it doesn't matter if your spouse has SIN number or living outside Canada or Canadian resident. For Canada Revenue only thing that matter is that you have a spouse and you can declare her on your tax return with her revenues earned abroad.

Also I have to put the deduction of 10K bring to pro rata as I lived in Canada in 2011 for less then 6 months. And my wife deduction was also according to this same pro rata.

Hope this will help others

 

[Kiwi12]

With regard to a dependent spouse that is living inside of Canada, you need to request a temporary tax number for them to the CRA - International Tax Services Office. There is a form you can get off the CRA website, however the person who is applying for the PR must attend a Service Canada and get a rejection form completed that states they are not eligible to get a Social Insurance Number. This form letter will accompany the completed application along with notarized documents proving identity. Additionally it is my understanding that the dependent spouse must reside in Canada for 183 days out of the tax year and make under 10,800.00. Here is the phone number for the International Office of the CRA. Give them a call, they will give you all the information you need. 1-613-941-2505 (Ottawa).

 

[CanadaNow]

You will need to send a letter to CRA stating your spouse (applicant) has not yet landed or has JUST landed and they do not have any income for 2012.

I had to do that last year. It was a horror story and a half.

I am using StudioTax.com software (have for several years) and there is a checkbox for "my spouse is not living in Canada". hopefully this will be enough but we'll see.