An individual (with no previous relevant ownership) bought the individual’s home in July 2009 in co-ownership with a new spouse, this home was their principal place of residence, the new spouse had never owned another home, and on December 31, 2009, CRA confirmed that spouse could claim the HBTC if the spouse satisfied all the conditions of application, stating:.
However, where more than one individual is entitled to claim the HBTC in respect of a qualifying home, the HBTC may in that case be claimed by, or shared between, any of the individuals. However, the total amount of the credit claimed by all individuals combined cannot exceed $750.
Conversely:
[W]here only one of the spouses or common-law partners satisfies all the conditions for claiming the HBTC, only the qualifying spouse or common-law partner could claim the HBTC, regardless of the fact that the other spouse or common-law partner could not.