Why did my spouse get the GST credit, HST credit, CCR (Canada Carbon Rebate) and other benefits and I didn’t?
There are several possible reasons why your spouse received the GST/HST credit, CCR or other benefits, and you didn’t. The GST/HST credit, CCR and most other government benefits is based on household income, marital status, and other personal factors, and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) calculates it for eligible individuals or families.
Here are some common reasons:
1. GST/HST credit, CCR and other benefits are Issued to One Spouse
- When you’re married or living in a common-law relationship, the GST/HST credit, CCR and other benefits are typically paid to only one spouse. In most cases, the CRA will issue the credit to the spouse whose tax return was assessed first for the year.
- If your spouse received it, this does not mean you are not eligible—rather, the credit was directed to them on behalf of the household.
2. Household Income May Be Too High to Qualify for the Benefit
- The GST/HST credit, CCR and most other government benefits are income-tested, meaning it’s based on your family’s combined net income from your tax returns. If your combined family income exceeds a certain threshold, you or your spouse may not qualify for the credit.
- You need to be careful with this when you get married or become common-law. CRA will review your family’s combined net income from your previous tax returns, even if you were not married at that time and use that figure to determine if you were eligible for the benefit. However, this often does not happen until they are notified of the marriage or start of the common-law relationship, until you file your next years tax return and notify CRA of this change. This is one of the situations that can happen and is discussed in another of our articles. If it is determined that your combined family income was too high in the month that the benefit was paid, you will have to pay that back (and any subsequent amounts paid that you were not eligible for).
3. Tax Return Filing Issues
- If your tax return was filed late, or there was an issue with your return (e.g., it was incomplete or missing information), the CRA may not have processed your eligibility for the GST/HST credit, CCR and other benefits.
- Ensure that both you and your spouse filed your returns for the relevant tax year and that all details were accurate. If one spouse files and the other does not, this will result in the CRA not issuing the benefits until the combined family income can be determined. While CRA may issue one CTB payment on the old information, in July, they will most likely stop the remaining payments and request a refund of the July payment. This is to give some time for people to file who are not required to file prior to June 15 (typically business for self taxpayers). However, if the returns are filed late, it will cause delays and issues with benefit payments.
4. Change in Marital Status
- If you recently changed your marital status and the CRA was not updated, they may not have recalculated the credit based on your new situation. Make sure the CRA is aware of your marital status and other personal changes.
5. Other Eligibility Issues
- If your personal information (like your income or residency status) changed, it might affect your eligibility for the credit. For example, if you moved out of Canada for part of the year or earned income in a way that disqualified you, the CRA may have excluded you from the credit.
- You have an out of date address with CRA and they have had mail returned. If CRA has attempted to mail you something previously and it is returned due to an incorrect address, they typically will not mail cheques or other payments until the address is corrected in their system. This is another reason why you should update CRA about your personal situation changes asap.
What You Can Do:
- Check CRA My Account: Log into your CRA My Account online to see if you are listed as eligible for the GST/HST credit, CCR and other benefits and to review your personal details.
- Confirm Household Income: Verify that your family income was below the GST/HST credit, CCR and other benefits thresholds. For the 2023-2024 benefit year, the income limit is around $49,166 for a family with no children (the limit increases if you have children).
- Call the CRA: If you believe you should have received the credit, you can contact the CRA to ask for clarification on why it was not issued to you.
Typically, in a married or common-law relationship, the CRA issues the GST/HST credit, CCR and other benefits to only one person in the household.