Part II - Does roommate income need to be treated as

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Hi,
If  XXXXXX arrived from the UK & got a job, but we were living together as a couple..& we had an arrangement like he would pay for the groceries & I would pay for the cable, phone, hydro, we'd each pay for our own clothing & "incidentals" (stuff we bought ourselves just because) etc... since I own my condo, would I have to claim his household contributions as rent?  
If he is unemployed at first & I am sponsoring him, can I claim him as a dependant? 
He's not back yet..do you do income tax returns for people with no real problems? (I do them myself, but I hate it...too much "take figure 132 off line 37 of schedule 12 & multiply it by 4 if less than $1000.00 " etc... ), if so do you charge more/less than H&R Block? 
I want to ask a question for my Mum... How safe is it when you are financially strapped to begin borrowing $$ on your house. She really doesn't want to leave & I can't blame her..Moving is a really big job. I know this isn't a tax or immigration question, but heck! you are so smart! 
Thanks, XXXXXX :-)
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david ingram replies:
You are not describing a rental, you are describing a common law union.  You can claim him as a dependent after you have lived together for twelve months.
A reverse mortgage or CHIP mortgage is a more expesive form of borrowing against the equity in the house than you can arrange for outside the CHIP system.  However, CHIP is structured, convenient and likely safe.
We (the office)  charges the same or similar to H & R Block at the low end and slightly higher at the complicated end. I charge a minimum of $300 an hour for single country and $350 an hour for multi country consultations.  During Jan Feb, Mar and April, there is a two hour minimu charge in the office and one hour on the phone. 
[email protected] wrote:
  To David Ingram,
  I have been reading information on the 'ask an expert' page and I found all
  sorts of answers to questions I have had for a long time, so I want to say
  thanks for all the good info. Hopefully you could answer one more question
  for me as I did not see it on-line.
  I have been living in my home in Canada for a few years but I am recently
  considering getting a few roommates to move in and share my living space in
  order to assist me with house expenses and bills. Do I have to claim this
  as rental income or are they considered boarders who are just sharing in the
  monthly living expenses? I would prefer to not claim there income and not
  claim any expenses or deductions and keep my income tax simple. Any help
  would be greatly appreciated. Thanx, SXXXXXX
  _________________________________________________________________
  david ingram replies:
  One two or three roommates is considered rental income and needs a T776 form
  filled in for Canada or a Schedule E filled in for the USA.
  Depending upon how much you are charging and what your expenses are, you may
  end up with a taxable profit or even a deductible loss.
  If they were only sharing food and light and telephone, it might be
  considered a room mate situation but if you own the house and are charging
  more than a share of the light and heat and food, a rental schedule should
  be filed.
  David Ingram's US/Canada Services
  US / Canada / Mexico tax and working Visa Specialists
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