You do not claim a dependents rent- If you are charging less than market value.
If you are completing your dependents income tax return - rent is only entered in under the "Provincial" section of the return to see if they qualify for the Ontario "Trillium" benefit.
- Payments to a friend or family member who is not reporting the payments as rental income on his/her tax return are not considered to be rent payments for the purpose of the OTB. So if you pay your Aunt Mary $400/month and she doesn’t report that money as rental income on her return, you cannot include those payments when applying for the OTB.
- Students who live in residence while attending post-secondary school can apply for the OTB. The actual amount of your residence fees isn’t used for the calculation – a set value is assessed by the Province of Ontario.
- For married or common-law couples, only one spouse claims the OTB. It makes no difference in which spouse makes the claim as eligibility is determined using the combined incomes of both spouses.
- If you share accommodations with roommates, each of you can apply for the OTB. Calculate your portion of the rent only when filling out the application.
Manitoba’s Education Property Tax Credit
Residents of Manitoba who pay rent may be able to receive a credit of up to 20% of rent payments (or $700 whichever is less). For more information on Manitoba’s Education Property Tax Credit, see the following links:
This credit is calculated as part of the provincial section of the tax return and has special rules of its own:
- Similar to the OTB, only one spouse claims the credit.
- Unlike the OTB, if you share accommodations with roommates, only one of you can claim an education property tax credit for that residence for the time you were sharing.