Marriage and Taxes
What changes in your taxes and benefits when you marry, a worked example, credits you can share and the rules that catch newlyweds.
The short version
- You still file separate tax returns in Canada after marriage. What changes is that CRA now looks at your combined family income for benefits, and some credits move between you.
- Tell CRA by the end of the month after the month you married. Benefits and credits are recalculated from the following month.
- Combined income usually lowers the Canada child benefit and the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, and a single parent loses the eligible dependant amount.
- On the plus side: the spouse amount, transfers of unused credits, pooled medical expenses and donations, pension income splitting, and spousal RRSPs.
- Couples get only one principal residence exemption per year between them, and gifts or loans of investments to your spouse can send the investment income back to you.
Marriage and Taxes in Canada
Canada doesn't have joint tax returns, so marriage doesn't change your tax bracket. It changes almost everything around it: the benefits you get, the credits you can share, and which house counts as your home for tax purposes. For some couples the wedding costs less in tax than the cake. For a single parent marrying a higher earner, it can cost a few thousand dollars a year in benefits, and nobody mentions that at the shower. Here's the full picture.
What Changes, and When
| Item | After marriage |
|---|---|
| Tax returns | Still separate. Each spouse reports the other's net income on their return |
| Telling CRA | By the end of the month after the month you married, in My Account or on form RC65 |
| Canada child benefit | Based on combined family net income from the next month |
| Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit | One payment for the couple, based on family income |
| Eligible dependant amount | A single parent who marries generally loses it; the spouse amount may replace it |
| Principal residence | One designated home per year for the family unit |
Common-law partners are treated the same way once the relationship counts as common-law for tax purposes; see common-law tax rules.
A Worked Example: Single Parent Marries
One child under 6. She earns $40,000; her new spouse earns $70,000. Benefit year July 2026 to June 2027:
| As a single parent | Married (family income $110,000) | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada child benefit | about $8,030 | about $4,170 |
| Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit | about $1,120 to $1,360 | $0 |
| Eligible dependant amount (federal credit) | about $2,300 | $0 (her spouse earns too much for a spouse amount) |
| Rough yearly difference | about $7,300 to $7,500 less, before any planning | |
It's not a reason not to marry. It is a reason to tell CRA on time: benefits paid after the change are clawed back later, with no discount for not knowing. Benefit details are on the Canada child benefit and the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit.
What will marriage change for you?
Enter both incomes, your children and province. The assistant shows the change in benefits and credits, what you can share between you, and what to update with CRA.
Credits You Can Share or Move
- Spouse amount: if your spouse's net income is low, you claim up to about $2,303 federally; see spouse amount.
- Transfers: unused tuition (up to $5,000 of the current year's amount), age, pension, disability and Canada caregiver amounts can move to the other spouse on Schedule 2.
- Medical expenses: pool them on one return, usually the lower-income spouse, because the 3% threshold is lower; see medical expenses.
- Donations: combine them on one return to get past the first $200 at the higher rate sooner; see charitable donations.
- Pension income splitting: up to half of eligible pension income, on form T1032; see pension income splitting.
- Spousal RRSP: the higher earner contributes and deducts; the lower earner withdraws in retirement. Withdrawals within three calendar years of a contribution are taxed back to the contributor.
Rules That Catch Newlyweds
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| Attribution | Give or lend your spouse money to invest, and the investment income (and capital gains) is taxed in your hands, unless it's a loan at CRA's prescribed rate (3% for October to December 2026) with interest paid by January 30 |
| One principal residence | If you each owned a home or cottage, only one can be designated per year for both of you from the year you marry; see principal residence exemption |
| First-time home buyer | For the Home Buyers' Plan, FHSA and first-time buyer credit, your spouse's home ownership can count against you; see Home Buyers' Plan |
| Child care expenses | Usually claimed by the lower-income spouse; see child care expenses |
| Paying your spouse in your business | Wages must be for real work at a reasonable rate; see paying your spouse |
Your Marriage Tax Checklist
- Update your marital status with CRA by the end of the following month.
- Update your name and address with CRA and Service Canada if they changed.
- Decide which of your homes will be the principal residence going forward, and write down both values on the wedding date.
- Review benefits: expect a CCB and CGEB recalculation from the following month.
- At tax time, pool medical expenses and donations, and transfer unused credits.
- Revisit RRSP strategy: a spousal RRSP may now make sense.
- Update beneficiaries on RRSPs, TFSAs, pensions and life insurance, and update your will.
Other life changes are on life events and taxes, including having a baby and separation and divorce.
Marriage and Taxes Questions
Do married couples file taxes together in Canada?
No. Each spouse files their own return, but each reports the other’s net income, and benefits are based on combined family income.
When do I tell CRA I got married?
By the end of the month after the month you married. Update your status in My Account or send form RC65. Benefits are recalculated from the following month.
Does getting married lower the Canada child benefit?
Often, because the benefit is based on combined family net income. A single parent marrying someone with income usually sees a lower payment.
Can my spouse and I combine medical expenses?
Yes. Medical expenses for both spouses and your children can be claimed on one return, usually the lower-income spouse’s, because the threshold is lower.
Can we each keep a principal residence after marriage?
Only one property per year can be designated as the principal residence for the family unit. Gains on a second property from the marriage onward are generally taxable.
Sources: CRA, Has your marital status changed?; Spouse or common-law partner amount; Prescribed interest rates, Q4 2026. Checked October 2026. Benefit figures in the example use the July 2026 to June 2027 rates and formulas on our benefit pages and are rounded; the eligible dependant figure is the federal credit only. Attribution and spousal RRSP rules are summarized from the Income Tax Act as we understand them. We are not certain whether a single parent's first child also gets the child amount of the Groceries and Essentials Benefit on top of the single supplement, so that line is shown as a range.
Last reviewed October 5, 2026 against CRA and Government of Canada sources. How we check our facts.