Can you claim the amount for an eligible dependant?

Answer the following questions to find out if you can claim an amount for an eligible dependant.

You may be able to claim this amount if, at any time in the year, you met all of 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 a dependant in 2009; and
• you lived with the dependant (in most cases in Canada) in a home that 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 also must have been either:

• your parent or grandparent by blood, marriage,
  common-law partnership, or adoption; or
• your child, grandchild, brother, or sister by blood, marriage,
  common-law partnership, or adoption and either under 18 years of age, or mentally or physically impaired.

Notes
Your dependant may live away from home while attending school. If the dependant ordinarily lived with you when not in school, we consider 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 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 conditions listed in the section called What are the situations in which you cannot claim the amount for an eligible dependant? applies.

Forms and publications

• General Income Tax and Benefit Package for 2009 - Guide, Returns, Schedules