Do I have to inform CIC of my marriage and other government bodies In canada?

[londongurl]

Any one can tell me if I need to inform any government bodies in Canada after I got married In canada as Ive a PR since 2 yrs and when I filed my tax this year I opted to put Im married cause I was married in December 2011 ,now I have received a query from CRa asking me my spouse sin number ,net income letter confirming our marriage.I was wondering if that would have an effect on my sponsorhip as I just sent the application .Anyone any advise and help.

 

[Leon]

If you married after you landed as a PR, you had no obligation to inform CIC of that so you will not have any problems because of that.

 

[tahsinmohammad]

Any one can tell me if I need to inform any government bodies in Canada after I got married In canada as Ive a PR since 2 yrs and when I filed my tax this year I opted to put Im married cause I was married in December 2011 ,now I have received a query from CRa asking me my spouse sin number ,net income letter confirming our marriage.I was wondering if that would have an effect on my sponsorhip as I just sent the application .Anyone any advise and help.

Well you cannot claim your tax as married UNLESS and UNTIL your spoouse has landed in Canada on PR/Student/Employment Visa in that particular year of claiming....Even though you are married but your spouse is still out of canada and you claimed in tax which is wrong and fraud....

Call and talk to the CRA people and tell them what you did and see what they will suggest you. But I suggest you to RE FILE your tax as single for the year 2011 and pay back the amount you received by claiming you are married.It will not harm you in refiling as its a mistake but will be good for your case and for your future...

 

[londongurl]

Thanks after I landed I got married,was wondering if I had to inform any Government bodies as I received this letter.

 

[tahsinmohammad]

Thanks after I landed I got married,was wondering if I had to inform any Government bodies as I received this letter.

It does not matter whether you got married before landing or after landing.You dont need to inform any Govt bodies.You received the letter because you filed your Income Tax as MARRIED and claimed your benefits as married status which is NOT right because your spouse is not landed in Canada in that year of filing i.e 2011

As u mentioned married in your filing the CRA is asking for your spouse SIN number and other details to cross check with your details...

 

[londongurl]

Well you cannot claim your tax as married UNLESS and UNTIL your wife has landed in Canada on PR/Student/Employment Visa in that particular year of claiming....Even though you are married but your wife is still out of canada and you claimed in tax which is wrong and fraud....

Call and talk to the CRA people and tell them what you did and see what they will suggest you. But I suggest you to RE FILE your tax as single for the year 2011 and pay back the amount you received by claiming you are married.It will not harm you in refiling as its a mistake but will be good for your case and for your future...

Yea I called them when I received a letter claiming me to pay for taxes.I only mentioned I was married and thought it was the good thing to do as I was no more single that why I wrote married but I was really not aware that this is a fraud ,because I was telling the truth .They sent me another letter asking me to give the sin and amount of income for my husband.He is a non resident of canada.We only got married and have not been staying together in canada ,I ve just applied for his sponsorship.Just hoping this does not affecr my application

 

[computergeek]

I must disagree with the suggestion that you indicate you are single on your tax return.

Source: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/prsnl-nf/mrtl-eng.html

There is no exception here for "my spouse is not a resident of Canada". Only for living apart because of a breakdown in your relationship.

In my experience, you gain an advantage by filing single, not by filing married. Some benefits (GST/HST rebate, etc) are limited based upon marital status.

When you do change marital status, you should advise CRA: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/rc65/README.html

 

[computergeek]

Yea I called them when I received a letter claiming me to pay for taxes.I only mentioned I was married and thought it was the good thing to do as I was no more single that why I wrote married but I was really not aware that this is a fraud ,because I was telling the truth .They sent me another letter asking me to give the sin and amount of income for my husband.He is a non resident of canada.We only got married and have not been staying together in canada ,I ve just applied for his sponsorship.Just hoping this does not affecr my application

It will not affect your application. Generally, if your spouse has no Canadian income, you can simply write in zeros on your return. Otherwise, your spouse may file for an ITN: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/t1261/README.html

 

[tahsinmohammad]

Yea I called them when I received a letter claiming me to pay for taxes.I only mentioned I was married and thought it was the good thing to do as I was no more single that why I wrote married but I was really not aware that this is a fraud ,because I was telling the truth .They sent me another letter asking me to give the sin and amount of income for my husband.He is a non resident of canada.We only got married and have not been staying together in canada ,I ve just applied for his sponsorship.Just hoping this does not affecr my application

I agree with you that you were doing the right thing but the CRA wont think like that.They think you lied and got more benefits under married status.But its a mistake and nothing to worry..

Best thing I would do if I was in your position.Re file my Income Tax for 2011 with CRA again as SINGLE and pay back the difference amount on your file so that your CRA balance amount will be zero and you don't owe anything to the Govt.Immigration people will definitely check with the CRA that you owe anything or not to the Govt when processing your spouse immigration file...

 

[tahsinmohammad]

I must disagree with the suggestion that you indicate you are single on your tax return.

Source: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/prsnl-nf/mrtl-eng.html

There is no exception here for "my spouse is not a resident of Canada". Only for living apart because of a breakdown in your relationship.

In my experience, you gain an advantage by filing single, not by filing married. Some benefits (GST/HST rebate, etc) are limited based upon marital status.

When you do change marital status, you should advise CRA: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/rc65/README.html

Notifying about marital status to the Govt bodies is different thing and claiming benefits as married in Income Tax File is different thing.That is the reason londongurl received letter from CRA asking for SIN and more details about the Spouse.How can she submit her Spouse SIN when he is not even PR nor landed in Canada...

 

[canadianwoman]

The OP did the right thing by filing as married. She did not commit a fraud, and the CRA will not see it as a fraud. She is married now, so should indicate that on her income tax return. She does not otherwise have to inform the government, since she is already a PR.

Now, the problem is since she is married, the CRA wants to cross-check her and her husband's return. Since he is not in Canada and did not file a return, such a thing is not possible. That is why CRA sent her the letter. She will have to write them a letter explaining that her husband is living exclusively outside Canada, has never been to Canada, is a citizen of ..., and does not have a SIN. (Supposing all that is correct.)

The likely impact (of filing as single when actually married) is low. There is a slight chance CIC might question why you are listed as single on the Option C when you claim to be married to the applicant - if they notice. However, there is no reason not to just honestly admit you are married on your tax forms, in which case your Option C (which you need when you sponsor) will list you as married.

 

[computergeek]

Notifying about marital status to the Govt bodies is different thing and claiming benefits as married in Income Tax File is different thing.That is the reason londongurl received letter from CRA asking for SIN and more details about the Spouse.How can she submit her Spouse SIN when he is not even PR nor landed in Canada...

Under Canadian tax law there is no benefit to claiming to be married as a general rule, since there is no income splitting. Many credits and benefits are restricted, however.

You do not need a SIN in order to file a Canadian tax return. That is the purpose of the ITN.

Bottom line advice to the OP: contact CRA and have them confirm what you should do, or consult with your own tax professional (ergo a CGA). Don't rely upon the advice on here - not even my advice.

 

[londongurl]

Thanks every one,Will surely do so but your advice been helpful I will write to them explaining my situation and enclosing a copy of my marriage certificate.Will see what they say .Thanks everyone.

 

[Creampop]

your husband will be issued a (TTN) temporary taxation number and will have to declare any world income he had in the pervious 3 years before your marriage, as his income in those years may effect any tax credits you may have gotten or will be getting. I was not landed in Canada when my husband changed his status to married and it took us 3 months to straighten it all out... I was given a TTN and as soon I land I have to notify CRA switching my TTN over to my SIN.

I agree with you that you were doing the right thing but the CRA wont think like that.They think you lied and got more benefits under
married status.But its a mistake and nothing to worry..

Best thing I would do if I was in your position.Re file my Income Tax for 2011 with CRA again as SINGLE and pay back the difference amount
on your file so that your CRA balance amount will be zero and you don't owe anything to the Govt.Immigration people will definitely check with the CRA that you owe anything or not to the Govt when processing your spouse immigration file...

This is SOOOO wrong and I am speaking from experience my husband had to pay back money he received for the child tax benefit (they took it out of credits he was getting until it was paid) because we were married and he didn't change his status to married(he didn't think he needed to until I was in Canada) ... once I claimed my WORLD income to the CRA he was given the money back as my income ended up not having an effect on the tax credit. you are to notify CRA as soon as possible of marriage even if your spouse is not a Canadian resident. Here is some reading for you tahsinmohammad.

http://www.howlandtax.com/articles/nonresident-spouse.htm


Edited to add: owing money to the CRA WILL NOT EFFECT your application....

 

[londongurl]

Oh thanks .Good to hear you had a similar experience and you shared it with us..