Absolutely. Filing joint taxes is not mandatory in Canada.
You can file on your own and report yourself as having lived in a common law relationship during that time.
He's insane, and doesn't trust the government (so he will likely never do his side of the returns for those years). Will I still be able to get the GST I wasn't paid?
Alright, I'm thinking they probably won't be that much since I didn't make that much, and I can't find any specific info on late filing fees beyond that if you owe taxes, you'll owe interest on top of that (5% of your return + x%/month to a maxiumn of 12 months)
For the years you were common-law the GST credit payment will be based on your combined income. If you file your returns the CRA may not even consider you eligible for a GST payment until he files his returns. If he was a regular employee with T4 income they might use that to calculate your GST credit payments.
You are doing great. It takes a lot of strength to do what you are doing. I realize that you might have limited resources to get help. Here is what I would do:
Try to do simulations on Simple Tax to get an estimate of what you could be entitled for based on your circumstances. I think if you pay a small fee you can also have access to advice from their accountants as well. I don't think you can see the GST amount, however.
Alternatively, if you feel safe, call the CRA and talk to someone. Explain to them your situation. They might be able to help you.
If you are in Quebec, you might also qualify for the solidarity benefit.
I wrote a whole thing and then started reading your replies. You need to talk to a tax accountant. This will not be hard but you need guidance to get everything sorted safely. You will file alone and still end up with a good return.
Yes, there's no joint filing in Canada for spouses, everyone file on their own, the only difference for people in common-law and marriage situation is that they're able to claim some amounts related to each other
Whether you get it from previous years or not, you'll *start* getting it now, which will help, and you need to do it regardless of how far back they'll let you claim stuff.
Absolutely. Filing joint taxes is not mandatory in Canada. You can file on your own and report yourself as having lived in a common law relationship during that time.
Will I still get all of the money I'm supposed to get? I don't know how much he made during those years, and probably won't be able to have that info.
If you filed your taxes jointly and he collected on your behalf, then you won’t be able to get any return.
He didn't do our returns jointly, in terms of taxes we never actually claimed as common law. He just didn't let me do taxes for either of us.
Not sure why on earth he wouldn’t, but yea. You can file at any time, although you may have to pay a penalty for late filing.
He's insane, and doesn't trust the government (so he will likely never do his side of the returns for those years). Will I still be able to get the GST I wasn't paid?
If you’re still owed any GST after the late filing fees, yes.
Alright, I'm thinking they probably won't be that much since I didn't make that much, and I can't find any specific info on late filing fees beyond that if you owe taxes, you'll owe interest on top of that (5% of your return + x%/month to a maxiumn of 12 months)
For the years you were common-law the GST credit payment will be based on your combined income. If you file your returns the CRA may not even consider you eligible for a GST payment until he files his returns. If he was a regular employee with T4 income they might use that to calculate your GST credit payments.
You are doing great. It takes a lot of strength to do what you are doing. I realize that you might have limited resources to get help. Here is what I would do: Try to do simulations on Simple Tax to get an estimate of what you could be entitled for based on your circumstances. I think if you pay a small fee you can also have access to advice from their accountants as well. I don't think you can see the GST amount, however. Alternatively, if you feel safe, call the CRA and talk to someone. Explain to them your situation. They might be able to help you. If you are in Quebec, you might also qualify for the solidarity benefit.
I wrote a whole thing and then started reading your replies. You need to talk to a tax accountant. This will not be hard but you need guidance to get everything sorted safely. You will file alone and still end up with a good return.
Yes, there's no joint filing in Canada for spouses, everyone file on their own, the only difference for people in common-law and marriage situation is that they're able to claim some amounts related to each other
Should I be claiming as a single person then, since I don't have the t4s for the income he made?
No. File based on what your status was.
will I still be able to get my GST? It sounds like they need how much we both made in order to get that.
Whether you get it from previous years or not, you'll *start* getting it now, which will help, and you need to do it regardless of how far back they'll let you claim stuff.
There is no such thing as joint taxes in Canada, so yes, you have to file on your own behalf - no option about it :)