In certain limited circumstances, you may be able to claim an amount for certain dependants who live outside Canada if they depended on you for support. For more information, see Income Tax Folio S1-F4-C2, Basic Personal and Dependant Tax Credits.
If you are eligible to receive the Canada child benefit (CCB), you will continue to receive it and any related provincial or territorial benefits that you are eligible for during your absence from Canada. However, you will have to file a return each year so that the CRA can calculate your CCB.
The short answer is no, you cannot claim yourself as a dependent on your tax return. This is because you are considered to have your own personal exemption.
(updated Aug. 2, 2022) In general, you can claim qualifying individuals as your dependents. To be your dependent, the qualifying individual must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. resident alien, or a resident of Canada or Mexico for some part of the calendar year in which your tax year begins.
If you sojourned in Canada for 183 days or more (the 183-day rule) in the tax year, do not have significant residential ties with Canada, and are not considered a resident of another country under the terms of a tax treaty between Canada and that country, see Deemed residents of Canada for the rules that apply to you.
The marriage or common-law relationship must be in good standing. The non-resident spouse must have earned less than the basic personal amount for the year. The taxpayer must have financially supported the non-resident spouse during the year and be able to provide proof if requested by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
In certain situations, you can claim your nonresident alien spouse as a dependent if they have no gross income and aren't a US citizen or resident. This allows you to use the head of household status. However, your spouse must have an ITIN, and you must provide over half of their support.
If you are eligible to receive the Canada child benefit (CCB), you will continue to receive it and any related provincial or territorial benefits that you are eligible for during your absence from Canada. However, you will have to file a return each year so that the CRA can calculate your CCB .