First time parent: filing taxes

You shouldn't need to do anything different, since you're married. (If you were single, you could have claimed the child as a dependent.)

There used to be a tax credit, line 367, that you could claim per child. This gave much less money than the dependent amount but didn't depend on your marital status. That tax credit was eliminated several years ago, however.

To claim the Child Care Benefit, both parents must file their returns. If you want to claim child care, that is claimed against the spouse with the lower income. Usually hospitals make the mother sign paperwork so she applies for the CCB "automatically" but if no money comes in for a few months, she should call the CRA's benefit line and ask about it. On a similar note, if you get GST, Trillium, etc, the amounts will rise slightly since those are based on family size.

FoFai2015 wrote: ↑ There used to be a tax credit, line 367, that you could claim per child. This gave much less money than the dependent amount but didn't depend on your marital status. That tax credit was eliminated several years ago, however.

Some provinces still have credits for children even though the federal credit was eliminated. It depends on where you live. The HBP repayment is easy but the US stock sale might be a bit more complicated. You probably don't need an accountant as I'm sure someone like H&R block could handle it. Might as well pay a few $ to get it done right this year and then use that as a template to DIY in future years.

madamadakun wrote: ↑ Hi all,

I'm wondering if I can get some insights or experience on filing taxes for firstborn. I've been filing taxes for myself and wife for the last few years and this time, we have a newborn this year. I'm not sure if there are any major differences or areas I should be aware of in filing taxes for 2020. There's also some complications as this is the year of repayment into the homebuyers plans, and I sold a US stock that I had purchased 10 years ago, parental leave mid way through the year. If this is too difficult and different than the normal tax year, I may need to do some research to find a tax accountant instead this year so I don't miss anything. Any assistance is appreciated.

Unless you're a single parent or your child is disabled, nothing much. You can get some credit for certain expenses, but that's about it.

I had my first child in 2019 and my 2nd child 2020 (October), so I'm still learning as well.

If there's something I'm missing, please share.