The Eligible Dependant Credit in Ontario: A Guide for Single Parents

Single parents supporting a child alone don't get the spousal amount credit — because there's no spouse to claim it for. What the tax system offers instead is the eligible dependant credit, sometimes still called the "equivalent to spouse" amount from its earlier name. It's designed to put a single parent supporting a dependant on similar footing to a couple where one partner claims the spousal amount.

The rules are more particular than most people expect, especially around who can claim it, which dependant qualifies, and what happens when more than one person in a household could plausibly claim it.

This guide walks through the eligibility test, the situations that complicate a claim, and how shared custody arrangements are typically handled.

What the Eligible Dependant Credit Does

The eligible dependant credit is a non-refundable credit, calculated much like the spousal amount, available to a taxpayer who — at some point in the year — was not living with and supporting a spouse or common-law partner, but was instead supporting an eligible dependant in a home they maintained. It exists so that single parents and other unattached individuals supporting a dependant relative aren't excluded from a benefit that couples effectively receive through the spousal amount.

Who Can Claim It

To claim the credit, you generally must:

1. Not have a spouse or common-law partner during the relevant period, or not be living with and supporting one;
2. Maintain a home — pay for its upkeep, not merely reside in it — where you and the dependant lived during the year; and
3. Support a dependant related to you by blood, marriage, common-law partnership, or adoption — most often a child, but potentially a parent, grandparent, sibling, or other relative meeting the relationship and dependency requirements.

Which Dependants Qualify

The dependant typically needs to be under a certain age, or — regardless of age — dependent on you because of a mental or physical impairment. A child you have full or shared custody of will usually qualify if the other conditions are met; the specific age and impairment rules should be checked against current CRA guidance, since they interact with several other credits.

The One-Claim Rule

Only one person can claim the eligible dependant credit for a given dependant in a given year, and generally only one eligible dependant claim can be made per household — even if, technically, more than one person living there could otherwise qualify to claim a different dependant. If you're claiming the spousal amount for a partner in the same year, you generally cannot also claim the eligible dependant credit for someone else.

Shared Custody: Where This Gets Complicated

When parents share custody of a child and both maintain a home where the child lives part of the year, the CRA has specific rules for deciding — or allowing the parents to agree — who claims the eligible dependant credit, particularly when there's more than one child to potentially split between two returns. Getting this wrong, or having both parents claim the same child, is a common trigger for a CRA review. Where custody terms are still being negotiated or are set out in a separation agreement, coordinating the tax claim with the family law side of the arrangement avoids surprises at filing time.

Common Mistakes That Trigger a CRA Review

• [ ] Claiming the credit for a dependant someone else — an ex-partner, another family member — is also claiming
• [ ] Claiming both the spousal amount and the eligible dependant credit in the same year without checking whether the exclusion applies to your situation
• [ ] Assuming the credit renews automatically for the same dependant every year without confirming the dependency and relationship tests still hold
• [ ] Overlooking that maintaining a home means more than living in it — you need to be the one covering its costs
• [ ] Not keeping records showing the dependant actually lived with you and that you supported them, which the CRA can ask you to produce

Frequently asked questions