Override line 30300

[eyasynskyy]

Hello, I have a situation that is kind of frustrating and I am being 'reviewed' right now by CRA in regards of eligible dependent claim on my own taxes.

My parents (81 and 78 yo) live with me and their income (foreign pension) is 6500 CAD and 3500 CAD accordingly. When I fill out my parents taxes through the TurboTax it is automatically claims line 30300 on my dads tax return and I need to remove it to comply with the eligibility to claim my mother as eligible dependent (I am divorced, no kids), as I am supporting both of my parents.

I know that line 30300 is not mandatory, but I can not remove it through the Turbotax as it doesn't allow me. Help files states that it is claimed automatically, although there are no benefits for my dad to claim spousal amount.

So is there a way for me to still use TurboTax for my family tax submission? I only see it if I can override line 30300 or if I start claiming my dad as eligible dependent while he is claiming spousal amount for my mom.

Any insights appreciated.

[SandraWWoodbridge]

Yes, you can avoid claiming the spousal amount in TurboTax. Please check “What do I do if I don’t know my spouse’s income” for the detailed instructions. You need to select "No" where it says "Are you claiming the spousal amount?"

You may also be interested to check Can you claim an amount for an eligible dependant (line 30400)?

If you require further assistance please contact our phone support team for further assistance or contact us directly on Facebook or Twitter.

[eyasynskyy]

There is no question "Are you claiming Spousal amount?" anywhere I can  find.

In the Contact information section of the introduction there is a question: "Are you eligible to claim the spousal amount?" Even if I choose 'No', it is still claims it.

The help file indicates the following:

TurboTax automatically claims this amount for you if, at any time in the year, you supported your spouse or common-law partner and his or her net income (line 23600 of his or her return, or the amount it would be if he or she filed a return) was less than $12,298 ($24,361 if he or she is eligible for the caregiver amount).

... and I am not sure how it is establishing link of dependency, if it is never been selected anywhere else. 

Thanks!

[eyasynskyy]

I also went through all 'Easy Steps' in Turbotax for 2020 and at the end it claims 30300 with the following from the help files:

TurboTax automatically claims this amount for you if you are eligible.

It's calculated based on you and your spouse/partner's combined net income, so it's important to enter your spouse/partner's income into your return, whether you're preparing your returns together in TurboTax or not.

Note: Your spouse is not considered a dependent.

[eyasynskyy]

So I have an answer.

1. you need to file taxes separately (you still identifying the spouse on your returns, but instead of filing together you file it separately),
2. when entering information about your spouse, you do not enter spouses income, chose that you don’t know spouses income. It will give you an option to select “I know that I am not eligible to claim spousal equivalent”.

This way you let Revenue Canada to bring information together for proper Climate Tax rebate and GST rebate and TurboTax will not automatically claim spousal equivalent. This was suggested by TurboTax employee in chat and it worked for me for 2 years in a row now.