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Step 1 - Identification and other information

Use the instructions on your return to complete Step 1.

Email address

Enter your email address on your return if you would like to receive email notifications from the CRA and you agree to the terms of use for email notifications below. You can also register for email notifications by signing in to My Account at canada.ca/my-cra-account and selecting the "Notification preferences" service.

Terms of use for email notifications

• The CRA will use the email address provided to notify you about any CRA mail available in My Account, when certain changes are made to your account information, and other important account information

• Any mail that is eligible for electronic delivery will no longer be printed and mailed

• The notifications that are eligible for this service may change. You may not always be notified when new types of notifications are added or removed from this service

• To view CRA mail online, you must be registered for My Account or your representative must be registered for Represent a Client and be authorized on your account

• All CRA mail available in My Account is presumed to have been received on the date that the email notification is sent

• It is your responsibility to make sure that the email address provided to the CRA is up to date

• CRA email notifications are subject to the terms of any agreement with your mobile carrier or Internet service provider. You are responsible for any fees imposed by them

• Email notifications are sent unencrypted and unsecured. They could be lost, intercepted, viewed or altered by others who have access to your email account. You accept this risk and acknowledge that the CRA will not be liable if you are unable to access or receive the email notifications, nor for any delay or inability to deliver notifications

• These terms of use may change from time to time. The CRA will provide advance notice of the effective date of any new terms. You agree that the CRA may notify you of these changes by emailing the new terms, or notice of where to find them, to the email address that you provided. You agree that your use of the service after the effective date of any change to these terms constitutes your agreement to the new terms. If you do not agree to the new terms, you must remove your email address from My Account and no longer use the service

Social insurance number (SIN)

For more information about the SIN, including how to apply for one, go to canada.ca/social-insurance-number.

Marital status

Tick the box on your return that applies to your marital status on December 31, 2023.

Married means that you have a spouse. This term only applies to a person you are legally married to.

Living common-law means that you are living in a conjugal relationship with a person who is not your married spouse, and at least one of the following conditions applies:

• This person has been living with you in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 continuous months

Note In this definition, 12 continuous months includes any period you were separated for less than 90 days because of a breakdown in the relationship.

• This person is the parent of your child by birth or adoption

• This person has custody and control of your child (or had custody and control immediately before the child turned 19 years of age) and your child is wholly dependent on them for support

Separated means that you have been living apart from your spouse or common-law partner because of a breakdown in the relationship for a period of at least 90 days.

Note You are still considered to have a spouse or common-law partner if you were separated involuntarily and not because of a breakdown in your relationship. An involuntary separation could happen when one spouse or common-law partner is living away for work, school or health reasons, or is incarcerated.

Once you have been separated for 90 days because of a breakdown in the relationship, the effective date of your separated status is the day you started living apart.

If you file your return before your 90-day separation period is over and that period includes December 31, enter your marital status as married or living common-law, as applicable.

If, after filing your return, you continue to live separate and apart from your spouse or common-law partner and you have been living this way for at least 90 days, you have to change your marital status to "separated" using the first day of the 90-day period as your date of separation. See "Digital services for individuals" on page 30 for ways to change your marital status online, or complete and send Form RC65, Marital Status Change, to the CRA.

Note You will have to file an amended return to adjust your entitlement for any credits claimed or to apply for credits that you may not have been entitled to when you were married or living common-law.

Widowed means that you had a spouse or common-law partner who is now deceased.

Divorced means that you are legally divorced from your former spouse.

Single means that none of the other marital statuses applies to you.

Residence information

Enter the province or territory where you lived or were considered to be a factual resident on December 31, 2023.

Your spouse's or common-law partner's information

Enter the information and amounts that are reported on your spouse's or common-law partner's return. If they are not filing a return, enter the amounts that would be reported as if they were filing a return even if their income is zero.

Notes Your spouse or common-law partner may still have to file a 2023 return even if you enter their amounts on page 1 of your return. See "Who has to file a return" on page 3. If you became separated or widowed in the year, enter on page 1 of your return the following information about your former or deceased spouse or common-law partner to claim certain credits: their first name their social insurance number their net income before the separation or before they died

Residency information for tax administration agreements

In some provinces and territories, you are required to identify if you resided on the settlement lands of an Indigenous government on December 31, 2023.

These Indigenous governments are:

• Nisga'a Lisims Government (in British Columbia)

• Nunatsiavut Government (in Newfoundland and Labrador)

• Tåîchô Government and Déli?ne nê Got'i?ne nê Government (in the Northwest Territories)

• the 11 self-governing Yukon First Nations

If you resided on the settlement lands of an Indigenous government in Yukon, the Northwest Territories or British Columbia, you may also have to identify if you are a citizen or member of one of these Indigenous governments.

Your response to these questions will not affect the amount of tax you pay; however, it will ensure that the Indigenous government receives the correct tax revenue in accordance with its personal income tax administration agreement.

For more information, go to canada.ca/indigenous-government-lands.

Elections Canada

Ticking yes in the "Elections Canada" section of your return is an easy way to keep your voter registration up to date, if you are qualified to vote. As well, Canadian youth aged 14 to 17 have the opportunity to add their names to the Register of Future Electors.

Elections Canada will use the information you provide to update the National Register of Electors (the database of Canadian citizens qualified to vote in federal elections, by-elections and referendums) or, if you are 14 to 17 years of age, to update the Register of Future Electors. The Register of Future Electors allows young Canadian citizens aged 14 to 17 to register with Elections Canada before turning 18. Once they turn 18 and their eligibility to vote is confirmed, they are added to the National Register of Electors.

Elections Canada uses the information in the National Register of Electors to prepare lists of electors for federal elections, by-elections and referendums and to communicate with voters. Other uses of the information permitted under the Canada Elections Act include providing voter information to provincial and territorial electoral agencies for uses permitted under their respective legislation, and providing voter information (not including birth dates) to members of Parliament, registered and eligible political parties, and candidates at election time.

Information in the Register of Future Electors cannot be shared with members of Parliament, registered or eligible political parties, or candidates. However, it can be shared with the provincial and territorial electoral agencies that are allowed to collect future elector information under their respective legislation. It can also be used by Elections Canada to provide youth with educational information about the electoral process.

Only persons 18 years of age or older who have Canadian citizenship are qualified to vote. Generally, you are a Canadian citizen either by birth or if you have obtained Canadian citizenship through the formal process of becoming a Canadian citizen (naturalization). If you are unsure about your Canadian citizenship status, refer to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website at canada.ca/canadian-citizenship.

Questions A and B are optional. If you are a Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older, you will not lose your right to vote regardless of whether you answer the questions or leave them blank. The CRA does not use this information for the purpose of processing your return.

If you have Canadian citizenship and authorize the CRA to share your name, address, date of birth and Canadian citizenship confirmation with Elections Canada, tick yes to both questions. If you do not authorize the CRA to share your information with Elections Canada, tick no to question B.

If you do not have Canadian citizenship, tick no to question A and leave question B blank.

If during the year you change your mind about the CRA sharing your information with Elections Canada, call the CRA at 1-800-959-8281 to remove your authorization. To be removed from either Register, contact Elections Canada.

If you tick no to question B:

• The CRA will not give any of your information to Elections Canada

• Elections Canada will not remove your information from either Register if your name is already there, or from federal lists of electors if you are a Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older

• You will have to register before you vote if there is a federal election, by-election or referendum and you are a Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older who is not already registered with Elections Canada

• You will have to take steps to register with Elections Canada in order to vote when you turn 18 years of age

Deceased persons

If you are completing a return for a deceased person who consented to provide information to Elections Canada on their last return, the CRA will notify Elections Canada to have the deceased person's name removed from the relevant Register.

For more information, visit elections.ca or call 1-800-463-6868.

Teletypewriter (TTY) users can call 1-800-361-8935.

Foreign property

Specified foreign property includes all of the following:

• funds or intangible or incorporeal property (patents, copyrights, etc.) situated, deposited or held outside Canada

• tangible or corporeal property situated outside Canada

• a share of the capital stock of a non-resident corporation held by the taxpayer or by an agent on behalf of the taxpayer other than a share of the capital stock of a non-resident corporation that is a foreign affiliate for which you are required to file Form T1134, Information Return Relating to Controlled and Non-Controlled Foreign Affiliates

• an interest in a non-resident trust that was acquired for consideration, other than an interest in a non-resident trust that is a foreign affiliate

• shares of corporations that are residents of Canada held by you or for you outside Canada

• an interest in a partnership that holds a specified foreign property unless the partnership is required to file Form T1135, Foreign Income Verification Statement

• an interest in, or right with respect to, an entity that is a non-resident

• a property that is convertible into, exchangeable for, or confers a right to acquire a property that is specified foreign property

• a debt owed by a non-resident, including government and corporate bonds, debentures, mortgages and notes receivable

• precious metals, gold certificates and futures contracts held outside Canada

Specified foreign property does not include any of the following:

• an interest in your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), pooled registered pension plan (PRPP), registered retirement income fund (RRIF), registered pension plan (RPP), or tax-free savings account (TFSA)

• foreign investments held in Canadian mutual funds

• property used or held exclusively in the course of carrying on your active business

• your personal-use property

Note You have to file Form T1135 for 2023 no later than April 30, 2024, (June 15, 2024, if you or your cohabiting spouse or common-law partner carried on a business in 2023, other than a business whose expenditures are primarily made in the course of a tax shelter investment).

For more information, see Form T1135.

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