IM SUPPORTING MY NON RESIDENT SPOUSE AND CHILDREN

[brysug]

MY SPOUSE AND KIDS BECAME A RESIDENT OF CANADA ON DEC 4,2018 BUT BEFORE THAT I WAS SUPPORTING THEM AND SENDING THEM MONEY EVERY MONTH. CAN I STILL CLAIM THOSE AMOUNT AND HOW?

[TurboTaxKim]

Claiming a non-resident spouse is more or less the same as claiming a resident spouse, as long as you have supported them during the year. Some things to keep in mind are:

• Make sure you have the documentation to support your claim. 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 a periodic small payments.
• If your non-resident spouse or common-law partner has some 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 $11,089 CAD, the Spousal Amount claim would be completely eliminated. 

As the "child amount" that used to be in place for children under 18, was eliminated in 2015. there’s no longer anything you can claim for your children, whether they are living here with you in Canada, or living outside the country.

[kigenyig]

Well, my common-law partner has never been to Canada at all.  She is in school, full time and lives with and takes care of our 4-year boy.  do I get to claim any amount when filing tax, if yes, what are these benefits

[MJMc86]

I had a client from who was supporting his wife and three kids in East Asia.  He had records supporting the dollars he was transferring home.  His belief was that the total amount transferred home should be deductible but the limit would be $12,069, the full spousal deduction for 2019.  Of course, he indicated that his wife was earning no income.  This makes it difficult to validate, given that the spouse does not file a Canadian tax return and the CRA has no record of the $0 income.