My clients’ husband has claimed all three children as dependents and one of these as equivalent to spouse. Can my client also claim these children or not?
Outside of equivalent to spouse, there is no claim on the tax return. And she cannot claim the same was as he did.
In Ontario the number of children factor in for Ontario Tax Reduction and the total number of children claimed by anyone eligible should not exceed the total number of children.
Thank you. I thought that was the case but wanted to make sure.
Go back to the original separation/custody agreement.
Husband maybe tried to cheat the wife out of her rightful E-T-S claim by filing first.
If they don’t have a formal agreement, they can sign a letter stating who claims what.
I agree with Arliss, the total amount claims cannot be more then the number of dependants.
Opposite of BertMulder, in Manitoba, we do get a credit for the number of children we have custody of, so it does make a difference on which spouse gets to claim the children.
In a case where there is no formal agreement and the spouses will not sign a letter for each other, CRA will give the claims to the spouse who files first.
The husband might have a “rightful” equivalent to spouse claim, too. They might each be able to claim a different child as an eligible dependent.
The T1 Guide states:
Someone else is claiming an amount on line 305 for this dependant. If you and another person can both claim this amount for the same dependant (such as shared custody of a child) but cannot agree who will claim the amount, neither of you can make the claim.