Temporary resident waiting for permanent resident card

[OCC]

I’m doing the taxes for my (Canadian) daughter and son-in-law. My son-in-law came to Canada in early 2021 on a temporary residence visa and applied for permanent residence a few months later. He was unable to work while waiting for the permanent residency, so he had no income in 2021. He received his permanent resident card and social insurance number in early 2022.
Questions:
1. As a temporary resident living in Canada with his wife, does he file a 2021 income tax return (ie, a return with no income)? Is it best to do this linked to my daughter’s return?
2. Does he use the SIN he received in 2022 for his 2021 taxes or 000 000 000? (He didn’t have a SIN in 2021.)
2. He has no income for 2021 – they lived on my daughter’s income. Does she claim the spousal amount for him (although he was living in Canada on a temporary resident visa throughout 2021)?
3. Any other considerations to keep in mind? Thanks!

[Tom_Cheng]

Non-residents and deemed residents may or may not have to file a Canadian tax return.

If you are unsure if your son in law need to file a tax return, you’ll need to contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and confirm. You can call the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) at 1-800-959-8281.

Use SIN he received in 2022 for his 2021 taxes if he needs to file a return.

If your daughter are supporting your spouse, you may be eligible to make a claim for the Spousal Amount.

If the non-resident spouse has enough income or assistance for a reasonable standard of living in the country in which they live, they are not considered to be supported by you or to be dependent on you for support. Gifts which merely enhance or supplement the already adequate lifestyle of the non-resident person do not constitute support.

To determine if the non-resident spouse is being supported by you, the CRA will consider:
- the income of the spouse
- any support provided to the spouse by government agencies of the country in which such person resides, such as pensions, medicare, housing, etc.
- the cost of living in the particular country and the ability of the spouse to provide self-support

- any support provided to the spouse by other persons

To support a spousal tax credit claim for a non-resident spouse, you must provide with your income tax return proof of the amounts contributed as support. This would usually include receipts for post office or bank money orders, cancelled cheques that were payable to and negotiated by the spouse, or receipts from private agencies established for the purpose of transferring money or goods to residents of other countries.

For more information, please see:
TaxTips.ca : Line 30300 Spouse or Common-Law Partner Amount (Spousal Amount)

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