Not quite sure how to deal with this. Individual came to Canada and physically arrived on 31/12/22. No income of course (student) and nothing else to report. In 2023 the person had minimal income ($<5,000) but did get married early in the year to an existing client of mine.
I’m unsure as to whether I should bother reporting the 2022 “entry” or should just move forward to 2023 with entry effect 01/01. Couple will qualify for GSTC regardless, and of course dependency claim.
Is there any benefit to reporting the single day in 2022? (I don’t think so.)
If the person is a student and doesn’t have much income worldwide in 2022 then filing the 2022 return with no income and a date of entry of Dec 31st might get them GST credits as of July 2023 and not July 2024 based on the 2023 tax return. Not sure about the rules for GST credits payable the year after actual immigration. The immigration schedule would have to be filled out of course but if the income is low enough it might work.
If a newcomer got married to a CDN resident in the same year of entry, then yes, file a tax return for that lone day. Include their world income to determine the spousal amount for claim on your existing client. If your existing client is claiming the spousal amount, you will need to file that first return for the immigrant.
It’s nice to see some additional considerations from folks with regards to filing for the one day. I’m just not seeing any other factors here however. Doubling down on washing it out and starting from 01.