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Canada taxes each person separately, but the CRA treats you as a couple after marriage or 12 months of living together. Tell the CRA about the change by the end of the following month, because benefits use your combined income.
Canada doesn’t tax you as a couple, but it does notice you are one. Your status changes which credits you can claim and how much some benefits pay.
When do you count as a couple?
You’re treated as common-law after 12 continuous months of living together in a conjugal relationship, or sooner if you have a child together. A wedding makes you married straight away. Either way, you’re a couple for tax and benefit purposes.
What do you tell the CRA?
Report a change of marital status by the end of the month after it happens. This matters most for benefits, which the CRA calculates from your combined income. See the GST/HST credit calculator and the child benefit calculator.
What changes on your return?
You still file separately. Some credits depend on your spouse’s income, and others can be moved between you, so run the numbers with the tax credits calculator and the income tax calculator.
Moving in together counts.
Many couples forget that it does, since no paperwork marks the day. The benefits and credits guide explains more.
Before you act on this page
You’re reading a general overview, and it can’t see your slips, your province or your family, so you shouldn’t treat it as advice for your own return. If anything here doesn’t match a letter from the CRA, the letter wins.
Stuck?
Ask a qualified preparer or the CRA itself, and keep the document checklist, the tax calendar and the filing guide close by. Not sure which province’s rules apply to you? The province index lists them all.
Frequently asked questions
When does the CRA treat us as common-law?
After 12 continuous months living together in a conjugal relationship, or sooner if you have a child together.
Do we file one joint return?
No. In Canada each person files their own return, even though many credits and benefits are based on your combined income.
Do I have to tell the CRA?
Yes. Report a change in marital status by the end of the month after it happens, because it affects benefits like the Canada Child Benefit.
Do we pay less tax together?
Sometimes. Credits that depend on a spouse's income can change, and it's worth checking both returns.
Information only. This page is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Tax-Services.ca is an independent publisher: we don't prepare or file tax returns or offer tax services, and we have no connection with the CRA, Revenu Québec, any government or any company named on this page. Check the figures that matter with an official source or a qualified professional.