Claiming an eligible dependant

You can claim the amount for an eligible dependant if at any time during the year, you met all of the following conditions at the same time:

  • You didn’t have a spouse or common-law partner or, if you did, you weren’t living with them, supporting them, or being supported by them
  • You supported a dependant in 2023 and
  • You lived with the dependant (in most cases, in Canada) in a home you maintained. You can’t claim this amount for a person that only visited you temporarily

In addition to meeting all of these conditions, the dependant in question must have been either:

  • Your parent or grandparent, either by blood, marriage, common-law partnership, or adoption or
  • Your child, grandchild, brother, or sister either by blood, marriage, common-law partnership, or adoption and under the age of 18 or suffered from a physical or mental impairment

Even if you meet all of the conditions listed above, you still might not be eligible to claim this amount on your return. For complete details, refer to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) site.

Important: Unfortunately, the CRA doesn’t allow you to claim both the eligible dependant amount and the spousal amount for the same tax year. If you're eligible to claim both, you'll need to choose one or the other.

Note: If you have more than one dependant, choose the dependant with the lowest net income in order to maximize your benefit from this tax credit. If all your dependants have the same net income, or zero net income, it doesn’t matter which one you choose.