by Jason Rosen

Accounting, CRA Articles, TaxJanuary 3, 20191 comment

What is a Schedule 5?

The Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) Schedule 5 is used when taxpayer’s want to claim an amount for an eligible dependent, the amount for an infirm dependent age 18 or older, a caregiver amount, or an amount for a spouse or common-law partner.

To complete the process properly, the taxpayer indicates the required information about the dependent on the CRA Schedule 5 tax form and claim the amount on the appropriate line on their tax return for that year.

CRA Schedule 5 – Amounts that May be Claimed

A taxpayer may claim a spouse or common-law partner amount if at any time in the year they supported their spouse or common-law partner and his or her net income (line 236) was less than $11,635.00.

If the taxpayer’s expenses are eligible, they can claim the amount of expenses they incurred on line 303 of their tax return.

CRA Schedule 5 – Canada Caregiver Amount 

The Canada caregiver amount has replaced the family caregiver amount, the amount for infirm dependents age 18 or older (line 306), and the caregiver amount (line 315). You may be entitled to claim this amount in the calculation of certain non-refundable tax credits if you are claiming for a person who has mental or physical impairments.

This is where you claim if you are claiming a caregiver amount for a spouse or common-law partner, or your eligible dependent age 18 or older.

If the taxpayer’s expenses are eligible, they can calculate the amount on the federal worksheet and claim the amount on line 304 of their tax return.

CRA Schedule 5 – Eligible Dependent

A taxpayer can claim for an eligible dependent if it falls within the following criteria:

You could claim an amount for one other person if at any time in the year you met all of the following conditions at one time:

• You supported a dependent in the current tax year;
• You did not have a spouse or common-law partner or, if you did, you were not living with said partner, supporting them, or being supported by that individual; and
• You lived with the dependent mention above in a home you maintained as the parent (note: the dependent could not have been simply visiting you).

Further, if all the conditions above were met, the dependent must also have been either:

• Your child, grandchild, sister or brother, by blood, marriage, common-law partnership, or adoption and under 18 years of age or had a physical or mental impairment; or
• Your parent or grandparent by blood, marriage, common-law partnership, or adoption.

If the taxpayer’s expenses are eligible, they claim the amount on line 305 of their tax return

CRA Schedule 5 -Canada Caregiver Amount for Other Infirm Dependents Age 18 or Older

A taxpayer may claim an amount up to a maximum of $6,883 for each of their or their spouse’s or common-law partner’s dependent children or grandchildren only if that person was a dependent on the taxpayer because of mental or physical impairment and was 18 years of age or older.

Taxpayer’s are able to claim amounts for more than one person if each person being claimed for meets all of the following conditions. The person who is being claimed for must have been:

1. 18 years of age or older;
2. The taxpayer’s or the taxpayer’s spouses’ or common-law partner’s parent, sister, brother, grandparent, uncle, aunt, nephew or nice;
3. A resident of Canada at any time in the year (note: they cannot have been simply visiting); and
4. Dependent on the taxpayer because of an impairment in mental or physical functions.

Please note that taxpayers cannot claim amounts on line 307 for a dependent if they have already claimed an amount on line 305 for said dependent. Further, a taxpayer can only claim an amount here if the dependent’s net income (line 236) is less than $23,046.

If you have questions about CRA Schedule 5, or if you are being audited regarding your previous claims, call us today! We can help!

**Disclaimer

This article provides information of a general nature only. It does not provide legal advice nor can it or should it be relied upon. All tax situations are specific to their facts and will differ from the situations in this article. If you have specific legal questions you should consult a lawyer.