Line 305 - Amount for an eligible dependant

Line 305 - Amount for an eligible dependant

Claim this amount if, at any time in the year, you supported an eligible dependant and their net income (that is indicated on line 236 of their return, or the amount it would be if they filed a return) was less than $11,809 ($13,991 if they were dependent on you because of an impairment in physical or mental functions).

If you have not claimed an amount for the year on line 303 of your Schedule 1, you may be able to claim this amount for one dependant if, at any time in the year, you met all the following conditions at once:

• You did not have a spouse or common-law partner or, if you did, you were not living with, supporting, or being supported by that person

• You supported the dependant in 2018

• You lived with the dependant (in most cases in Canada) in a home you maintained. You cannot claim this amount for a person who was only visiting you

In addition, at the time you met the above conditions, the dependant must also have been either:

• your parent or grandparent by blood, marriage, common-law partnership, or adoption

• your child, grandchild, brother, or sister by blood, marriage, common-law partnership, or adoption and under 18 years of age or had an impairment in physical or mental functions

  Notes
  Your dependant may live away from home while attending school. If the dependant ordinarily lived with you when not in school, the CRA considers that dependant to live with you for the purposes of this amount.

  For the purposes of this claim, your child is not required to have lived in Canada but still must have lived with you. This would be possible, for example, if you were a deemed resident (as defined under "Which income tax package should you use?" in this guide) living in another country with your child.

Even if all the preceding conditions have been met, you cannot claim this amount if any of the following applies:

• You or someone else is claiming a spouse or common-law partner amount (line 303 of Schedule 1) for this dependant

• The person for whom you want to claim this amount is your common-law partner. However, you may be able to claim the amount on line 303 of your Schedule 1

• Someone else is claiming an amount on line 305 of their Schedule 1 for this dependant. If you and another person can both claim this amount for the same dependant (such as shared custody of a child) but cannot agree who will claim the amount, neither of you can make the claim

• Someone else in your household is making this claim. Each household is allowed only one claim for this amount, even if there is more than one dependant in the household

• The claim is for a child for whom you had to make support payments for 2018. However, if you were separated from your spouse or common-law partner for only part of 2018 because of a breakdown in your relationship, you may be able to claim an amount for that child on line 305 (plus any allowable amounts on lines 304 and 318 of your Schedule 1) if you do not claim any support amounts paid to your spouse or common-law partner on line 220 of your return. Claim whichever is better for you

  Note
  If you and another person had to make support payments for the child for 2018, claim this amount only if you and the other person(s) paying support agree you will be the one making the claim. For more information, see Guide P102, Support Payments.

Eligible dependant with an impairment in physical or mental functions

If the eligible dependant is 18 years of age or older and dependent on you because of an impairment in physical or mental functions, you may also be able to claim an amount up to a maximum of $6,986 on line 304 of your Schedule 1.

If the eligible dependant is under 18 years of age at the end of the year, you may claim one of the following amounts:

• $2,182 on line 367 of your Schedule 1 for each eligible dependant who is your or your spouse's or common-law partner's child (see the definition of child under the section called "Lines 352 and 367" of this guide)

• $2,182 in the calculation of line 305 of your Schedule 5 if the eligible dependant does not meet the definition of child

  Note
  The eligible dependant must be dependent on others because of the impairment, and will likely continue to be dependent on others for an indefinite duration. Because of this impairment, the eligible dependant needs much more help for their personal needs and care when compared to other persons of the same age. The CRA may ask for a signed statement from a medical practitioner, see the information in Step 5 after the "Canada caregiver amount - Summary table".

You cannot split this amount with another person. Once you claim this amount for a dependant 18 years of age or older, no one else can claim this amount or an amount on line 304 of Schedule 1 for that dependant.

If you were a single parent on December 31, 2018, and you choose to include all the universal child care benefit lump-sum payment you received in 2018 in the income of your dependant, include this amount in the calculation of their net income.