What province or territory did your spouse live in on December 31?

Your spouse’s or common-law partner’s province or territory of residence is the one in which he or she lived in and has residential ties to (such as a house or dependants) as of December 31. If this is different than the province or territory you lived in on December 31 (and this living situation isn’t a temporary one), you and your spouse won’t be able to prepare your tax returns together. This is also true if your spouse didn’t live in Canada. In both cases, you and your spouse will need to prepare and file your returns separately.

If you and your spouse lived in different provinces as of December 31, you won’t be able to prepare your returns together. However, when preparing your returns separately, you’ll still need to enter certain amounts from your spouse’s tax return into Schedule 2 of your return and vice versa. This allows the Canada Revenue Agency and/or Revenu Québec to determine the child and family benefits that you’re entitled to.