Good Afternoon David. Can you advise me on how to handle my current situation? Your paragraph on Marital Status states: In the year of re-marriage, you may still claim the "equivalent to married" exemption. Remember, you qualify because "at some time" during the year you were a sole head of the household. Your new spouse cannot make any claim in the year of re-marriage for the person you claim as equivalent to married. I was divorced in 2001 and have sole custody of my four children. Since the separation, I have been claiming my eldest daughter as "equivalent to married". I was re-married in May of 2004. My husband is not a resident of Canada and does not live in my house, he lives in his house in U.S.A. When you step through the tax forms it looks like I'm not eligible to still claim my daughter as "equivalent to married". I've been told by an accountant that I should claim as if we are separated as we can not legal live together. I don't feel comfortable with that. What you wrote in your paragraph on Marital Status when you re-marry makes sense. Where could I find more information on this so I'm sure making this claim is correct? Thank you for your time and consideration. Regards, PXXXXXXXX ================= david ingram replies: If you show yourself as married, you can still claim the equivalent to married the first year but will lose it the next year. If you are separated, then you will continue to get it. The definition of marriage and living together differs from couple to couple. Over the years, I have had 100 couples where the husband thought he was married and the wife thought she was separated or vice versa. Having just suffered through the slings and arrows of divorce court last month, I have my own opinion at the moment. However, there is no rocket science in my statement about claiming the single or married exemption in the year you get newly married. The instructions for line 305 of the return (found on page 32 of the 2004 T1 General Guide obtainable at the post office, tax office or on line at: www.cra.gc.ca) states quite clearly that you can claim the exemption if you met all of the following conditions at once: * you did not have a spouse or common-law partner or, if you did, you were not living with, supporting, or being supported by that person; * you supported a dependant in 2004; and * you lived with the dependant (in most cases in Canada) in a home that you maintained. You cannot claim this amount for a person who was only visiting you. There is more explanation but those are the rules and you met all three tests before you married your new husband. On another note, your husband is entitled to file a joint return with you in the USA AND claim your child on that joint return. Your income is eligible for a foreign tax credit. Depending upon his income and your income. There would likely be significant tax savings in the $3,000 to $5,000 US $$ range for him. You might as well get "something" out of this. We would be happy to look after them by email, snail mail, courier or fax. Answers to this and other similar questions can be obtained free on Air every Sunday morning. Every Sunday at 9:00 AM on 600AM in Vancouver, Fred Snyder of Dundee Wealth Management and I, David Ingram host a LIVE talk show called "ITS YOUR MONEY" Those outside of the Lower Mainland will be able to listen on the internet at www.600AM.com <http://www.600am.com/> Local calls are taken at (604) 280-0600 and Long Distance calls are taken at 1( 866) 778-0600 Callers to the show are invited to attend free seminars on financial planning with such specialities as deductible mortgage interest. They are held at Fred Snyder's Office at 1764 West 7th in Vancouver - (604) 731-8900 for more information. ========================================= David Ingram's US/Canada Services US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists US / Canada Real Estate Specialists 4466 Prospect Road North Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7 Res (604) 980-3578 Cell (604) 657-8451 (604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325 Email to taxman at centa.com <mailto:taxman at centa.com> www.centa.com <http://www.centa.com> www.david-ingram.com <http://www.david-ingram.com/> Disclaimer: This question has been answered without detailed information or consultation and is to be regarded only as general comment. Nothing in this message is or should be construed as advice in any particular circumstances. No contract exists between the reader and the author and any and all non-contractual duties are expressly denied. 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