Cannot figure out how to file Canadian tax return...married to US citizen

[mrsu 2]

This might sound crazy but I have been puzzling over this for months and have asked numerous accountants and each one has a different answer and no one knows and admits that which is fine but I still have not done my 2013 taxes and need to. I am in process of immigrating to US to join my husband who is US citizen. We got married in 2013 so I assume my marital status is married. However, when I looked up the definitions I do not meet the requirements to file as married because we have never lived together and do not reside at same residence and he does not have a Canadian social insurance number or canadian income. I am so very confused by this. Most accountants said I should file as seperated as that was the marital status that was most fitting but then it asks for date of seperation and still wants the name and social insurance number which is of course my husband does not have. There is no way to enter a spouse without a social insurance number and of course as soon as I enter married my tax return changes drastically and I am no longer considered a single parent even though I still live as one and recieve no monies from my spouse in the US. How have other people filed their taxes? I am really stressed out by this scenario and would love to hear what others have done to be able to file correctly.

[Ryan H 3,821]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Canada regional forum.

[Rob L 3,811]

in that case in the US you need to get a (w-7) form filed to get a Taxpayer ID number...it appears to be similar for Canada:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/t4058/t4058-13e.pdf

Do you need a social insurance

number (SIN)?

A SIN is a nine-digit number issued by Service Canada.

You usually are required to have a SIN to work in Canada,

and your SIN is used for income tax purposes under

section 237 of the

Income Tax Act. You have to give your

SIN to anyone who prepares information slips (such as a T4

or T5013 slip) for you.

Your SIN card is

not a piece of identification, and it should

be kept in a safe place.

For more information, or to get an application for a SIN,

visit

www.servicecanada.gc.ca or call 1-800-206-7218 (from

Canada and the United States (U.S.)). If you are outside

Canada and the U.S., you can write to: Service Canada,

Social Insurance Registration Office, P.O. Box 7000,

Bathurst NB E2A 4T1, CANADA, or call

506-548-7961.

If you are not eligible to get a SIN, complete Form T1261,

Application for a Canada Revenue Agency Individual Tax

Number (ITN) for Non-Residents

, and send it to us as soon as

possible. Do

not complete this form if you already have a

SIN, an individual tax number, or a temporary tax number.

If you have requested but not yet received a SIN or an ITN,

and the deadline for filing your return is near, file your

return without your SIN or ITN to avoid any possible

late-filing penalty and interest charges. Attach a note to

your return to let us know.

Edited June 4, 2014 by Rob L

[canadianplum 20]

This seems way more difficult than mine were, maybe I did mine wrong - but the government reviewed them and paid me, lol so I think I'm good. I did mine online, I lived in Canada and my husband in the US when I did mine. We don't have kids, so that might have made it easier. I just marked myself as married, put in my husbands income and there was an option for him being a non-resident, so I put that and it didn't ask me for a SIN, and that was it.

[lets47 1]

Fill your tax return as Married, provide spouse first name and put "non-resident" in Social Insurance Number field on your return, and 2013 income in Canadian dollars. I got this information by calling CRA . I followed it and got my refund on time without any problem.

CRA will adjust your entitlement for Child Tax Benefit (CTB) and other entitlements depending on the province you're living. You may owe CRA some amount due to your marital status changed in 2013. Most likely, your CTB will be stopped immediately, and you will receive a letter stating how much you owe and give you calculation breakdown by period, then ask you to provide your spouse worldwide income in Canadian dollar for 2012 (yes, not 2013) if you want your CTB entitlement to be re-assessed,

Income in 2012 is required because current CTB payments (before July 2014) are based on your income in 2012. I understand it is very confusing because you were single in 2012, but now you need to provide your spouse's income in 2012 to determine your benefit entitlements. In my case, I just follow the instruction on the letter and hope I still entitle to get CTB after re-assessment.

I recommend you contact CRA directly by calling toll free number when you have questions, you are able to get your answer without wasting your valuable time. It appears most accountants' recommend "separate" status is misleading.

[NikLR 13,232]

I didn't include my husband's income in for 2013 taxes but I did in for 2012 because I was getting CCTB.

FYI the CRA do not care that he doesn't give you money. They consider him part of the household and it is household income.

[mrs thb 331]

I completed mine as married, as this is true.

You're correct in stating he does not have a SIN as he doesn't. A SIN is not SSN, and vice versa. He will need an individual tax number which you can get for him. Go to cra.gc.ca to find out more about how to get a number for him (this might take several weeks). Even though you do not live together, he is a USC, and he does not make a Canadian salary you must still identify him. As for his income, it is zero.

Yes, this will affect your return and you might lose your child tax benefit. I did and it sucks, but such is life.

This is my case. My husband has a ITN for Canada as he worked for a Canadian company years ago. My tax program wouldn't let me auto correct him as my dependent, and use my child instead. But I still was getting $ back. Fast forward, I got my return back and it was less than I expected. There was a brief explanation about the child tax credit, so I called CRA. They explained that "once married, it is assumed the married spouse is contributing to the household income" and therefore I no longer was able to use my 3rd child as my dependent, therefore, I had to return the CTC money previously given to me for the year. It was only $280, so it didn't affect me much. I questioned the fact that he's American and doesn't not have Canadian income and we do not live together, hence, we support ourselves. CRA's answer: doesn't matter. The following week I received documentation from the CRA re: the child tax credit. I called again, got the same answer however I must now submit documentation of his world wide income converted to Canadian funds. CRA will reassess and they might return the CTC, however, its unlikely due to his income. Sure, it urks me but it's not worth the sweat.

Good luck. Be honest. Don't mess with the CRA or the IRS, they'll find yah!!!

[Rob & Monika 87]

I think with software such as Turbotax, people just put 000000000 in the SIN field. You can print it and modify it afterwards before sending it in.