Can either me or spouse us claim my spouse's parents as eligible dependants? See details below.

[hermanko]

I lived with my spouse during 2017 and her parents arrived in Canada as new permanent residents during 2017. They are both under 65 years, but depended on us for basic living. They made zero income and both are healthy. Can either of us claim them as eligible dependants? Does it matter if we may be claiming the spousal credit?

[TurboTax-AndreaW1]

You can only claim an eligible dependent if you do not have a spouse.  Below is the information from the CRA website.

You may be able to claim this amount for one other person if at any time in the year you met all of the following conditions at once:

• You did not have a spouse or common-law partner or, if you did, you were not living with, supporting, or being supported by that person.
• You supported a dependant in 2017.
• You lived with the dependant (in most cases in Canada) in a home you maintained. You cannot claim this amount for a person who was only visiting you.

In addition, at the time you met the above conditions, the dependant must also have been either:

• your parent or grandparent by blood, marriage, common-law partnership, or adoption; or
• your child, grandchild, brother, or sister, by blood, marriage, common-law partnership, or adoption and under 18 years of age or had an impairment in physical or mental functions.