SPOUSE & DEPENDENT AMOUNT

Two credits support taxpayers who financially support a family member with low income: the spouse or common-law partner amount on line 30300 and the eligible dependant amount on line 30400. The eligible dependant amount is often called the "equivalent-to-spouse" credit, and it is especially important to single parents.

SPOUSE OR COMMON-LAW PARTNER AMOUNT (LINE 30300)

• Claimed by a taxpayer who supported a spouse or common-law partner at any time in the year.

• It is increased if the spouse is infirm. Federally the amount is the same as the BPA, so a spouse with no income effectively passes on a full second BPA.

• If the couple separated during the year, the spouse's net income is counted only for the period they lived together.

ELIGIBLE DEPENDANT AMOUNT (LINE 30400)

• For taxpayers who, at any time in the year, were single, divorced, married but living seperately not helping each other financially, separated or widowed, and who supported a related dependant living with them in a home they maintained.

• The dependant must be a parent or grandparent, a child or grandchild under 18 (or of any age if infirm), or a sibling under 18 (or infirm).

• Same amount and calculation as the spouse amount, reduced by the dependant's net income.

• Only one claim per home, and only one dependant per claimant.

• Cannot be claimed for a child for whom the taxpayer pays child support, unless both parents pay support to each other in shared custody and agree who claims (otherwise neither can).

COMMON-LAW PARTNER DEFINITION

For tax purposes, a common-law partner is a person who has lived in a conjugal relationship with the taxpayer for at least 12 continuous months, or who is the parent of the taxpayer's child by birth or adoption, or who has custody of the taxpayer's child who is wholly dependent on that person. Once a couple meets the test, they must file as common-law, which affects many benefits.