# Tax implications associated with marriage!



## Nasha (Nov 14, 2013)

Hello,

I am getting married before the end of the year, and wanted to seek advice/guidance on how I can utilize any available tax credits/benefits associated with getting married. My spouse has no income this year, and will probably have no income over the next two/three years as she plans on going back to school for her masters. After completing her masters, she might even decide to stay at home if/when we have kids. As I understand, I can add her as a dependent if her income is less than $11k. Not sure how much it translates into in $ terms. Apart from this, she has also accumulated tuition credits because of her undergrad. Can she transfer those to me? 

Some other relevant information: 

My MTRate is around 31%, and we would not fall under common-law.

I am hoping if you guys can guide me regarding the tax implications of marriage as I try to plan/budget our financial situation in the short to medium term. 

Thank you in advance. 

Regards.


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## Guban (Jul 5, 2011)

Congratulations on your upcoming union!

I hope that you are not doing this for tax reasons, however! 
That being said, you will be able to claim a spousal amount that gives you 15% federal credit plus a provincial amount. I believe that the tuition/education amounts can only be transferred in the year they are earned. Otherwise she has to carry them forward until she is taxable. 

Other stuff? You'll be able to share donation credits, share medical expenses, utilize spousal RRSPs, ...


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## stardancer (Apr 26, 2009)

She cannot transfer any tuition/education credits she has already earned. She can only transfer up to $5000 of the credits she has earned in the specific tax year- so if she earned any in 2014, she can transfer up to $5000 to you when the time comes to do the tax returns. For 2015, she can only transfer what she earned in 2015 and so on. Each year, she must apply the full amount needed to bring her own taxable income down to zero before the amount she can transfer is calculated. Any remaining balance can be carried forward by her to reduce her taxable income later on.


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## Nasha (Nov 14, 2013)

Thank you Guban & stardancer!

And lol, no its not for tax reasons haha.


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## kyubikai (Oct 18, 2014)

Before marriage, I very upset too. You can read "In Love? Find Out If Marriage Would Mean A Tax Penalty With This Calculator" by Roberton Williams. It't good.


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