In online versions of TurboTax, you can prepare your spouse or common law partner's tax return at the same time as yours. This is called a spousal/coupled return. If you’ve already started your return but haven’t indicated that you want to prepare together, you'll need to start a new return and indicate that you want to prepare your spouse or common-law partner’s return together with yours.
A ‘coupled’ return, which means you enter the information for you and your spouse together but you file separately once you have completed your tax return. By using this method, the software maximizes the benefits for the couple as a whole while still generating two separate returns. If your spouse claims credits, such as the CCB, or GST/HST, or if they owe any payments, you must report that as well.
When you don’t know your spouse’s income and can’t find out through reasonable means, the CRA recommends that you enter your best estimate.
A basic calculation for Net Income from a T4 is to subtract from Box 14 any amounts included in Boxes 20 and Box 44. This is not exact for tax purposes of Line 236 as it will not include other income (T5, T3) or deductions (RRSP etc) but it will give you a basis to start from.
TurboTax FAQ on how to file a coupled return: How do I prepare a spousal or coupled return in TurboTax Online?
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