Personal tax Quick guide
Just married or moved in together? 5 tax things that change
Five things change. You must tell the CRA about the marriage by the end of the following month.
Life events › Getting married or moving in together
Getting married or moving in together
Marriage, or 12 months of living together, changes the test for benefits from your income to your family's income, opens credits you can combine, and makes a spousal RRSP and TFSA successor-holder designations available. It is also the moment to review who is named on every account and policy.
How the pieces connect
- Report the status change
- Benefits recalculated on family income
- Credits to combine
- Spousal RRSP
- TFSA successor holder
- Insurance and beneficiaries
Insurance, TFSAs, RRSPs, RESPs and tax planning solve different problems. The goal is not to sell one product as the answer to everything. Each path below shows how the pieces connect for one event, and which guide to read for each piece.
Guides for this path, in reading order
TFSA, RRSP and RESP Quick guide
Spousal RRSPs: a useful tax tool with a rule people forget
A spousal RRSP lets the higher-income spouse contribute, within their own room, to a plan the other spouse owns, and take the deduction.
TFSA, RRSP and RESP Quick guide
TFSA in 2026: 7 rules people still get wrong
Seven rules. Your room is the current year's limit plus unused room plus last year's withdrawals minus this year's contributions, so it is personal.
Insurance Quick guide
Do you need life insurance if you already have a TFSA, RRSP and workplace coverage?
Maybe. Savings and insurance do different jobs. A TFSA or RRSP is an asset that takes years to build and is worth whatever is in it on the day.
Insurance Quick guide
Had a baby, got married or bought a home? Review these 7 beneficiary and protection decisions
Seven decisions. Who is the successor holder of your TFSA. Who is the beneficiary of your RRSP or RRIF.
TFSA, RRSP and RESP Quick guide
What happens to your TFSA, RRSP and life insurance when you die?
Each account is treated differently. A TFSA passed to a spouse named as successor holder stays tax-free.
Personal tax Quick guide
BC renter's tax credit: who qualifies and what records to keep
You can claim up to $400 if you lived in BC on December 31. You must also have rented an eligible unit in BC for at least six months of the year.
TFSA, RRSP and RESP Quick guide
TFSA, RRSP, RESP or life insurance? Four tools, four different jobs
They solve different problems. A TFSA holds money you have already paid tax on; it grows tax-free and comes out tax-free, and withdrawals do not affect benefits.
Insurance Quick guide
Term life and permanent life insurance: what should you compare?
Term life insurance pays a benefit if you die within a fixed period, such as 10 or 20 years, or before a set age.
What belongs with a lawyer: A marriage can affect an existing will; ask a lawyer or notary.
Other life events
Want this worked through for your situation?
Call us or request a callback. We explain the tax side; insurance is arranged by Parminder Singh Oberoi through Punjab Insurance Agency Inc.; legal documents need a lawyer or notary.