Tracking net worth as a couple in Canada

This guide is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Check with the CRA, Revenu Québec or a professional for your own situation.

Most couples think about money as "ours". The tax system, lenders and the law often think about it as "yours" and "mine". Tracking net worth as a couple works best when you can see both at once: the household picture, and what each of you actually owns and owes. Here is how to set that up, and the Canadian rules that make the difference matter.

Who counts as a spouse for tax purposes

For the CRA, your spouse is the person you're married to. You are living common-law with someone, who isn't your married spouse, when you live together in a conjugal relationship and at least one of these is true:

You have lived together for at least 12 continuous months (a separation of less than 90 days because of a breakdown doesn't break the count).
They are the parent of your child by birth or adoption.
They have custody and control of your child, and the child depends on them for support.

Many of the rules below, such as attribution, spousal RRSPs and pension splitting, apply equally to married and common-law spouses. Family law on dividing property after a separation is a different matter and differs by province, so it's worth a conversation with a notary or lawyer.

Joint vs separate ownership

Start by sorting what you own into three groups:

Yours alone: an account or property in your name only.
Your spouse's alone: the same, in their name.
Shared: a home, a joint bank account or a rental bought together.

Some things can only belong to one person. A TFSA, an RRSP or an FHSA is always in one person's name, with that person's own contribution room.

Debts follow the same logic. A mortgage, a line of credit or a car loan may be in one name or both. Write down whose name is on each one, as on the lender's documents.

Ownership shares on a property

A property bought together has a share for each owner: 50/50 is common, but 60/40 or 70/30 happens too, for example when one spouse put in more of the down payment. Your deed says how the property is held.

Shares can also change over time. One spouse might buy part of the other's share, or a property owned alone might be put in both names. If you track the shares with their dates, the history stays accurate: the years before the change at the old share, the years after at the new one.

When you calculate each person's net worth, count each asset and each debt at that person's share. A $600,000 house with a $300,000 mortgage, owned 60/40, adds $180,000 of equity to one spouse and $120,000 to the other.

Attribution rules, in brief

Couples often ask whether they can save tax by moving investments to the spouse with the lower income. The attribution rules in the Income Tax Act limit that.

Gifts and loans to your spouse. If you give or lend property (money, shares, a rental) to your spouse, the income from it, such as interest and dividends, is generally taxed in your hands, not theirs. If your spouse later sells that property, you usually report the capital gain or loss too.
Exceptions. Attribution doesn't apply to a sale at fair market value when you elect out of the automatic rollover, or to a loan that charges at least the CRA's prescribed rate (or a commercial rate) with the interest actually paid within 30 days after the end of each year. These have strict conditions; get advice before relying on one.
The TFSA gift. You can give your spouse money to contribute to their own TFSA. The CRA says that amount, and the income it earns, will not be allocated back to you. It still uses your spouse's own TFSA room.

Spousal RRSP

A spousal RRSP is in your spouse's name, but you make the contributions and claim the deduction. Those contributions use your RRSP deduction limit, not theirs. You can contribute to your spouse's RRSP until the end of the year they turn 71.

The catch: if your spouse withdraws from a spousal RRSP in the year you contributed, or in either of the two years before, the withdrawal is generally taxed in your hands. Form T2205 works out how much each of you reports.

Pension income splitting

Once you have eligible pension income, you and your spouse can elect to split up to 50% of it, with Form T1032 filed with both returns. Life annuity payments from a pension plan generally qualify; RRIF and annuity payments generally qualify once the spouse receiving them is 65 or older. OAS and CPP or QPP benefits do not qualify. It's an election on the returns, done each year.

Each spouse's net worth vs the household's

The household number is the one you'll watch most: are we moving forward? But each person's own number matters for real decisions:

Contribution room is personal. To use TFSA, RRSP and FHSA room well, you need to see each person's accounts and deposits.
Taxes are filed one person at a time. Attribution means the person taxed on income isn't always the one whose name is on the account.
Estate planning and life changes. A will, a separation or a death all deal with what each person owns.

Practical steps

List every asset and debt, with whose name is on it and each owner's share.
Record shares on jointly owned property, and the date whenever a share changes.
Track each person's TFSA, RRSP and FHSA separately, with their own room.
Note any gift or loan between spouses, and any contribution to a spousal RRSP, with the date and amount.
Look at the household total monthly, and each person's total at least once a year, for example at tax time.

How Indivia helps

People & companies lists who can own something: you, your spouse or partner, your children and your companies. A group puts several owners together, for example a couple who always buy as a pair. Each property, investment account and bank account has owners with a share and a start date. When a share changes, you add a new line from that date and the charts use the right share for each period. A loan can have owners of its own when they differ from the property's.

The Net worth page can be shown for any person or company, or for several together, such as both of you, and only your share counts in your own net worth. The Contribution room card shows TFSA, RRSP and FHSA room for each person. These are part of the Free plan.

With the Basic Connected plan, you can invite your spouse or partner into your household from Settings, Account and security. They see and edit the same data on their own devices, or only view it if you choose. Any item can also be made private, so the rest of the household doesn't see it.

Sources

In Indivia’s help

Indivia keeps the numbers these guides talk about, for every property, account and person in your household.

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