When you are filing a Canadian tax return for yourself, and you have a spouse who does not have a SIN, you can enter on your own tax return 000 000 000 as her SIN number.
If you have started a tax return and chose to prepare both you and your spouse together, you will need to start a new return and only choose to prepare your own.
Extra attention needs to be given to the section of TurboTax that asks about your Spouse's information, in particular, her Net Income. If her income is Zero or less than $12,069, you could be eligible to receive a Spousal Amount Claim for her. Please see the following information about claiming this credit for a Non-Resident Spouse.
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 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 $12,069 CAD, the Spousal Amount claim would be completely eliminated.
- To totally eliminate any claims for the Spousal Amount, enter a minimum of $15,000 as his/her net income in TurboTax.
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