To be clear:
There is NO tax payment due based on "family" income or based on a spouse's income. The Canadian tax system is largely based on the INDIVIDUAL obligation to file a return and pay tax on INDIVIDUAL income.
This can be complicated if there is corporate, partnership, or investment income. And of course it can get very complicated when there are joint assets, joint ventures, income sharing, certain types of investments involving spouses, among a range of circumstances in which financial interests are mingled or entangled. And subject to various mechanisms for reporting certain types of income in widely ranging ventures or circumstances.
But generally one spouse's income is NOT the other's income. Each individual is separately obligated relative to their individual income.
Residents of Canada are obligated to file a return and report worldwide income, and generally will owe taxes on their worldwide income unless there is an applicable deduction or exception (such as international treaty pursuant to which double taxation is minimized).
Non-residents of Canada with Canadian source income are obligated to file a tax return and at least pay tax on the Canadian source income (impact on income from non-Canadian sources is a more complicated issue).
Non-residents of Canada with NO Canadian source income are generally, usually, NOT obligated to file a tax return and owe no Canadian tax.
Resident of Canada with a non-resident spouse does NOT report the spouse's income as the resident's income, which is the same as any other married person in Canada. Declaration of spouse's income is ONLY for purposes of assessing eligibility for deductions, credits, or benefits. I believe (but I am NOT an authority regarding this) a married person can simply declare he or she does NOT know their spouse's income, which I believe will simply have an effect on the individual's eligibility for certain deductions, credits, and benefits.
RE DEEMED-RESIDENT of Canada:
Who is a DEEMED-RESIDENT of Canada is a separate matter. A deemed resident is obligated to file a Canadian tax return and generally (but for certain deductions and exceptions, such as per treaty) obligated to pay tax on worldwide income. While extent of Canadian ties (which may include having a spouse and children established in a Canadian household, or simply having an ownership interest in a home in Canada) is a big factor in determining whether a particular individual is a deemed resident, ACTUAL bona fide residence outside Canada is a huge factor in the other direction. In particular, who is a DEEMED-RESIDENT of Canada can be complicated, and well outside the scope of what I can offer EXCEPT that there are, of course, some OBVIOUS CASES, one way or the other.
The individual who has no status to live or work in Canada, no personal Canadian source income, and no previous period of residence or employment in Canada, who is working abroad and who has actual residence abroad, is almost certainly NOT a deemed resident of Canada. EASY EASY CALL.
Even a person who has status in Canada, even a Canadian citizen, who is an actual bona fide resident of another country and employed abroad, who has no personal Canadian source of income, and who has been abroad since some time during the previous year, will PROBABLY NOT be a deemed resident of Canada . . .
. . . UNLESS he or she continues to have a residence in Canada established prior to going abroad, regarding which continued residing in that home by the individual's spouse and children can be the factor which tips the scales. BUT each case depends on its individual facts, and factors tending to indicate deemed residence are to be balanced against those tending to show actual residence abroad.
To be clear, whether an individual is a deemed resident, or not, has NO impact on the income to be reported by a resident-spouse. Whether an individual is a deemed resident or not only affects that individual's obligations, as to the obligation to file a return and any obligation to pay tax on non-Canadian source income.
There is NO tax payment due based on "family" income or based on a spouse's income. The Canadian tax system is largely based on the INDIVIDUAL obligation to file a return and pay tax on INDIVIDUAL income.
This can be complicated if there is corporate, partnership, or investment income. And of course it can get very complicated when there are joint assets, joint ventures, income sharing, certain types of investments involving spouses, among a range of circumstances in which financial interests are mingled or entangled. And subject to various mechanisms for reporting certain types of income in widely ranging ventures or circumstances.
But generally one spouse's income is NOT the other's income. Each individual is separately obligated relative to their individual income.
Residents of Canada are obligated to file a return and report worldwide income, and generally will owe taxes on their worldwide income unless there is an applicable deduction or exception (such as international treaty pursuant to which double taxation is minimized).
Non-residents of Canada with Canadian source income are obligated to file a tax return and at least pay tax on the Canadian source income (impact on income from non-Canadian sources is a more complicated issue).
Non-residents of Canada with NO Canadian source income are generally, usually, NOT obligated to file a tax return and owe no Canadian tax.
Resident of Canada with a non-resident spouse does NOT report the spouse's income as the resident's income, which is the same as any other married person in Canada. Declaration of spouse's income is ONLY for purposes of assessing eligibility for deductions, credits, or benefits. I believe (but I am NOT an authority regarding this) a married person can simply declare he or she does NOT know their spouse's income, which I believe will simply have an effect on the individual's eligibility for certain deductions, credits, and benefits.
RE DEEMED-RESIDENT of Canada:
Who is a DEEMED-RESIDENT of Canada is a separate matter. A deemed resident is obligated to file a Canadian tax return and generally (but for certain deductions and exceptions, such as per treaty) obligated to pay tax on worldwide income. While extent of Canadian ties (which may include having a spouse and children established in a Canadian household, or simply having an ownership interest in a home in Canada) is a big factor in determining whether a particular individual is a deemed resident, ACTUAL bona fide residence outside Canada is a huge factor in the other direction. In particular, who is a DEEMED-RESIDENT of Canada can be complicated, and well outside the scope of what I can offer EXCEPT that there are, of course, some OBVIOUS CASES, one way or the other.
The individual who has no status to live or work in Canada, no personal Canadian source income, and no previous period of residence or employment in Canada, who is working abroad and who has actual residence abroad, is almost certainly NOT a deemed resident of Canada. EASY EASY CALL.
Even a person who has status in Canada, even a Canadian citizen, who is an actual bona fide resident of another country and employed abroad, who has no personal Canadian source of income, and who has been abroad since some time during the previous year, will PROBABLY NOT be a deemed resident of Canada . . .
. . . UNLESS he or she continues to have a residence in Canada established prior to going abroad, regarding which continued residing in that home by the individual's spouse and children can be the factor which tips the scales. BUT each case depends on its individual facts, and factors tending to indicate deemed residence are to be balanced against those tending to show actual residence abroad.
To be clear, whether an individual is a deemed resident, or not, has NO impact on the income to be reported by a resident-spouse. Whether an individual is a deemed resident or not only affects that individual's obligations, as to the obligation to file a return and any obligation to pay tax on non-Canadian source income.
