How you claim your spouse who does not live in Canada depends on many things.
- Is your spouse a Canadian with a Social Insurance Number (SIN)?
- Is your spouse dependent on you for support?
- Does your spouse have an income of his/her own that will affect the Spousal Amount claim?
Claiming a non-resident spouse is more or less the same as claiming a resident spouse if you have supported them during the year.
Some things to keep in mind are:
- If your spouse does not have a SIN, enter 000 000 000 in TurboTax. You are not able to file a tax return for a Non-Resident without a SIN, so do not choose to prepare your tax returns together.
- Make sure you have the documentation to support your claim if you are making a claim for the Spousal Amount Credit. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) needs proof that you’re in fact providing financial support to your spouse, so when payments are made, keep your documents together. The proof of payment you give to the CRA must include your name, the amount, the date of payment, and your spouse’s name and address.
- The amount you pay to a Non-Resident spouse must also be enough to be considered ongoing support. You cannot just make periodic small payments.
- If your non-resident spouse or common-law partner has any income in your home country, it will also reduce the amount you can claim, even though the income is not reported on a Canadian tax return. If your spouse has an income above $12,069 CAD, the Spousal Amount claim would be completely eliminated.
Please Check out the Canadian Revenue agency Article: Marital status
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