CRA marital status change: deadlines, effective dates and what happens to your benefits

When do I have to tell the CRA about a marital status change?

You must report a CRA marital status change by the end of the month following the month in which it happened (CRA, change your marital status). If you married on August 22, 2026, the deadline is September 30, 2026.

Marital status, for CRA purposes, is the household category that decides whose income is combined into adjusted family net income, the figure used to calculate most federal and provincial benefits. The six statuses are married, living common-law, widowed, divorced, separated and single.

When you become common-law

A partner becomes your common-law partner once you have lived together in a conjugal relationship for 12 continuous months, with breaks of under 90 days not interrupting the count. The 12 months do not apply if the person is the parent of your child, or has or had custody of your child who depends on them for support.

When you separate

Do not report a separation until you have lived apart because of a breakdown in the relationship for more than 90 days. Once the 90 days have passed, your separated status is dated from the day you began living apart, not from the day you report it (CRA, marital status).

How to change your marital status with the CRA

The fastest way to change marital status with the CRA is online in My Account, which updates your file immediately. The CRA marital status change form, RC65, is the paper option for people who cannot use the online service.

Updating the status on your next tax return is not enough to meet the deadline if the change happened early in the year. A marriage in March 2026 reported only on a return filed in April 2027 would mean more than a year of benefits calculated on the wrong income.

CCB change of marital status: how your child benefit is recalculated

After a CCB change of marital status, the CRA adjusts the benefit starting with the month following the month your status changed (CRA, T4114). The new amount uses the combined income of the new household, or your income alone after a separation.

• New partner: their net income for the base year is added to yours. For July 2026 to June 2027, that is 2025 income. A family above $38,237 of adjusted family net income starts losing CCB at 7% to 23% of the excess, depending on the number of children.
• Separation: only your own income counts, which often raises the CCB. The CRA recalculates from the month after the separation date and pays any amount owed for months already paid at the lower rate.
• Shared custody after separation: if the child lives with each parent 40% to 60% of the time, each parent gets half of what they would receive with full custody.

Worked example: parents with two children start living apart on May 10, 2026. The 90 days pass on August 8, and one parent updates My Account in August. The separated status is dated May 10, so the CCB is recalculated from June 2026 on that parent's income alone, and the difference for June, July and August is paid with a later payment.

How a marital status change affects the CGEB

The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, which replaced the GST/HST credit in July 2026, is recalculated from the first quarterly payment after the change. In the CRA's own example, a single person marries in August 2026 and reports it in September; from the October 2026 payment, the benefit is based on the couple's combined 2025 income (CRA, RC4210).

Only one person in a couple receives the CGEB for both. It usually goes to the partner whose return is assessed first, and the amount is the same whichever of you gets it. If both of you kept receiving individual payments after the change, one of you will have to repay what was received after the status changed.

When a CGEB recipient dies and the payment included a spouse amount, the CRA reviews the surviving spouse's eligibility for the remaining payments automatically. The survivor must have filed a return to be paid.

Separation vs new partner: what changes in each case

Late reporting of a new partner is the costly case. The CRA recalculates back to the effective date, and any excess is recovered from future benefits and refunds; see benefit overpayment. If your payments stopped or dropped after an update, check CCB payments stopped and the missing benefit payment hub.

Does a CRA marital status change update OAS and GIS?

Treat them separately. Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) are paid by Service Canada, and the GIS depends heavily on whether you have a partner: for October to December 2026 the maximum GIS is $1,138.90 a month for a single person and $685.56 when your partner receives OAS. Tell Service Canada about the change as well, and see why is my OAS lower if a pension amount changed afterward.

Updating your status does not move your bank account. If a separation also means a new bank account, change it with each agency and allow time before closing the old one; CRA direct deposit time explains when deposits land.