joint vs seperate

[earthmuffin16]

hi all

i have been seperated from my husband for about a year; we live in the same house though but after entering his income after entering mine, i ended up owing 3 times the taxes..has this happened to anyone else?  and if so, perhaps I need to think about filing seperately as opposed to jointly?  any one have experience with this?

[TheTaxSmith]

Not enough information to respond. Are you collecting pensions and pension splitting is in play? Why are you filing jointly if you are separated?

[JohnA]

There is no concept of “filing jointly” in Canada. That is an American term.  There are however some credits that are based  upon family income, and some benefits from optimizing certain deductions if you are a couple.  If you have been separated for 90 days or more, you each file your own return. If the split happened in the tax year you will need to enter his net income and he yours.  Yes, may end up paying more tax, or he might, depending upon how the above shake out.

[Buddy]

My husband is getting a refund but I have a balance owing - can we subtract his refund from my balance to lessen what I owe?

[Geo123]

Hello Buddy,

If you wish, you can apply any Quebec tax refund that you have received against the Quebec income tax payable by your spouse. (This option is only offered in Quebec. It is not available federally for the CRA.)