Help: Income Tax - First Time

[kevs]

Hi,

My common-law partner (new permanent resident), and I (Canadian), just moved to Canada in November/2013. While I still started working in 2013, my partner did not.

Even though I am Canadian, I will be filling taxes here for the first time, and expecting to get refunded the totality of what I deducted, as I received only one month worth of income.

As for my spouse (new to Canada), I have read that even if you have not had any income, you can optionally fill out your taxes, as you can be eligible for benefits.

I would like some advice on how to proceed: fill out my taxes on my own; fill out my taxes as common-law partners, or filling out our taxes separatelly.

I am not sure on how to proceed to maximize our fiscal benefits and the impact on next years tax submission, as we will both have higher income to declare. FYI - my spouse started employment March/2014.


Thanks,
kevs

 

[Rosie1957]

First off, every Canadian resident files their own tax return. There is no such thing as a joint return in Canada.

Second, if your marital status is common-law, you should be honest and report it as such on your return. Reporting it as single is not an option if this is not the case.

Third, reporting your marital status as common-law will be to your benefit since they had zero income. You'll be able to claim a tax credit called a spousal amount on them and may be able to claim other credits as well, depending on your situation.

Fourth, don't expect that you're automatically going to get all of your withholding back. You may only have worked in Canada for a month, but your personal amounts will also be pro-rated for the fact that you were only a Canadian resident for one month. The exception to this would be if you had little or no income for the first eleven months of the year, so that your Canadian income was at least 90% of your total world income for the year.

 

[kevs]

First off, every Canadian resident files their own tax return. There is no such thing as a joint return in Canada.

Second, if your marital status is common-law, you should be honest and report it as such on your return. Reporting it as single is not an option if this is not the case.

Third, reporting your marital status as common-law will be to your benefit since they had zero income. You'll be able to claim a tax credit called a spousal amount on them and may be able to claim other credits as well, depending on your situation.

Fourth, don't expect that you're automatically going to get all of your withholding back. You may only have worked in Canada for a month, but your personal amounts will also be pro-rated for the fact that you were only a Canadian resident for one month. The exception to this would be if you had little or no income for the first eleven months of the year, so that your Canadian income was at least 90% of your total world income for the year.

Rosie1957, thank you for your reply, this information is very helpful and clarifying.

I have lived abroad for the last 22 years, with no residential ties to Canada. In fact haven't been to Canada since 2005. Must I declare my world income in my tax return?

 

[Awesomeg]

Rosie1957, thank you for your reply, this information is very helpful and clarifying.

I have lived abroad for the last 22 years, with no residential ties to Canada. In fact haven't been to Canada since 2005. Must I declare my world income in my tax return?

It will depend on the country that you have been living for the past 22 years.... but the best thing to do is to consult with a tax expert....
or in any case, give Revenue Canada a call to make sure that every thing is in order, is better to be honest and avoid problems in the future,
but I don't think that you will have problems if you contributed in another country.

 

[kevs]

It will depend on the country that you have been living for the past 22 years.... but the best thing to do is to consult with a tax expert....
or in any case, give Revenue Canada a call to make sure that every thing is in order, is better to be honest and avoid problems in the future,
but I don't think that you will have problems if you contributed in another country.

Thanks for your reply Awesomeg. The country I have lived in is Portugal (I am a dual citizen).

I will give Revenue Canada a call on this.

 

[Rosie1957]

Rosie1957, thank you for your reply, this information is very helpful and clarifying.

I have lived abroad for the last 22 years, with no residential ties to Canada. In fact haven't been to Canada since 2005. Must I declare my world income in my tax return?

Your world income prior to your return to Canada is *not* taxable here and does not go on the usual lines on your T1 General. However, it *does* affect your personal amounts and some other kinds of credits.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/t4055/t4055-e.html#P195_15107 may be helpful.

 

[Canooknic]

For our first year we went to H&R Block and got them to process our return for us, I know it costs money but if you've never done it before it can be quite daunting! I didn't want to risk making a mistake.

Our second year we did them ourselves and got H&R to check them for us and this year we did them ourselves using TurboTax