My wife is not living in canada and dose not have sin

Enter her SIN as 000-000-000.
Report yourself as Married, spouse non-resident and with zero income.
Do not claim spousal amount of credit.

I tried giving 00000000 but the turbotax software ask me to enter a valid SIN.

@Samnilambur1 - I have attempted to replicate your entry error in both software (online & downloaded) and I had no issues applying the 000 000 000 as a SIN#. Please try again. Do not forget to identify her as a non-resident and ensure you do not apply for the spousal amount.

 

Footnote:  You may want to call the CRA at 1-866-223-4403 to inquire about getting an ITN (Individual Tax Number) or TTN (Temporary Tax Number) for your non-resident spouse. 

• T1261 - Application for and ITN 

 

What should I select for the question "Do you have children or financially support another person?" if my wife/children are not in canada and do not have SIN

@sumitguptaa56

 

If you are supporting your spouse in another country, you may be eligible to make a claim for the Spousal Amount. CRA takes into consideration many factors when you make this claim and you need to be sure you do not make the claim in error. Claiming a Spousal Amount which you are not eligible for will result in a reassessment and you will need to pay back any amounts you received. 

 

If your Non-Resident spouse has little or no income, and you are sending support payments to them, CRA may request proof of these payments prior to assessing the tax return and allowing the claim for the credit. 

 

If you are eligible to claim the Spousal Amount, here's some information for claiming the credit using TurboTax.

 

• You report yourself as Married or Common Law. Your partner does not need to file a CRA return.
• You should specify that your spouse is non-resident ( yes you can do this), you should prepare your own individual return separately, indicating your spouse has zero income, non-resident, and with a null SIN 000 000 000.
• You cannot claim the direct cost of any remittances made to your non-resident partner.

There are no claims for Dependants who are out of the country, so there is no need to include them on your tax return.

 

There is some great information in the following link on making the claim for a Non-Resident Spouse that can help you decide if you are eligible or not.

 

TaxTips.ca Spousal Amount Tax Credit

I have same question and it does allow me to go with 000-000-000 for SIN but I am not sure how to show her as non resident while myself as resident if Canada.

Kim, your answer is very complete and accurate. My answer is brief for reasons of simplicity.

it also reflects the CRA training advice, as in almost all cases partners with non-resident spouses would be unable to meet the stringent justification to obtain spousal credit in those circumstances.

Hi,

Why can't we claim spousal benefit for non-resident spouse? while their spousal permanent resident application is in process, thank you. 

You have to have written documented evidence that you were the only source of financial support your spouse. Read the text online carefully. CVTS doesn’t care about your partner’s PR application or citizenship it is simply not a factor.

it is up to you whether you claim spousal credit. If you do, and CRA decides you don’t qualify, you will be on the hook to pay back any refund generated by the credit amount.

Mist people don’t qualify if they have a nonresident spouse.

 

So if I claim the amount and CRA ask for documents and they are not satisfied with the amount sent, then what is the outcome? Is there anything apart from repaying the amount?