Resources
Handouts, video and time stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Time stamps for the video:
Welcome and introductions
2:52 – Goals for webinar
4:39 – Context: Benefits Wayfinder and Disability Benefits Navigator
10:46 – Intro to the Bridge to Benefits tool
19:31 – Development process
24:10 – Demo – Walkthrough of the features
40:17 – Evaluation
44:12 – How to share this tool with others/Other resources
49:12 – Questions and feedback
Resources
Handouts, slides and video time stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Download the promotional postcard.
Download the promotional poster.
Time-stamps for the video recording:
1:26 – Welcome and introductions
3:30 – Our goals for today’s session
5:04 – Why these tools were created
7:12 – The Benefits Wayfinder and the Disability Benefits Compass
46:11 – Ways to use the Benefits Wayfinder – tax clinics
49:37 – Access to Benefits training available
Making the most of your money
Managing money is challenging. In the current economic environment, it has become even more difficult. For people living on a low-income, managing the day-to-day expenses, let alone life changes or emergencies, can be overwhelming. Prosper Canada has created an online course that you can share or use with your clients to help them access tools and resources to support their daily money management. Making the most of your money is an easy-to-use, accessible, online course to help people living on a low income organize their finances and explore ways to increase the amount of money coming in and reduce what is going out. This interactive course has activities, videos, handouts and resources that are also downloadable.
Benefits & credits: factsheets from the CRA
The CRA has compiled benefits and credits factsheets for: These are available in English and French.
Resources
Presentation slides and video time stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Time stamps for the video recording:
-
- 5:20 – Start
- 6:12 – Land acknowledgement
- 7:24 – Introduction of speakers
- 9:42 – Today’s presentation
- 10:45 – Barriers to access to benefits
- 15:12 – Designing for benefit accessibility
- 21:53 – ESDC pilot project
- 32:46 –Demo of the disability benefit compass
- 44:36 – Importance of evaluation
- 50:58 – What’s next? What’s possible?
- 58:55 – Questions
Ottawa should soften bite of benefit clawbacks for low-income families
Canada’s tax system has a punitive impact on lower income families with children hoping to earn more money, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Softening the Bite: The Impact of Benefit Clawbacks on Low-Income Families and How to Reduce It,” authors Alex Laurin and Nicholas Dahir reveal how benefit reductions serve as hidden tax rates and reduce the effective gain from working to generate additional income. Read full report here.
Who Doesn’t File a Tax Return? A Portrait of Non-Filers
The Canada Revenue Agency administers dozens of cash transfer programs that require an annual personal income tax return to establish eligibility. Approximately 10–12 percent of Canadians, however, do not file a return; as a result, they will not receive the benefits for which they are otherwise eligible. In this article, we provide the first estimates of the number and characteristics of non-filers. We also estimate that the value of cash benefits lost to working-age non-filers was $1.7 billion in 2015. Previous literature suggests either a rational choice model of tax compliance (in which the costs of filing are weighed against its benefits) or a more complex behavioural model. Our study has important consequences for policy-making in terms of the administrative design and fiscal costs of public cash benefits attached to tax filing, the measurement of household incomes, and poverty rates.
The effects of child tax benefits on the income of single mothers
The financial resources available to families with young children are an important factor affecting child development, and they can have long-term impacts on socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood. This article summarizes the findings of a new study using Statistic Canada’s data and analyzes the effects of expanding child tax benefits on after-tax income among single mothers, in the context of the 2015 reform to the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) and the 2016 introduction of the Canada Child Benefit (CCB).
Living your retirement
These resources from the Ontario Securities Commission are oriented towards planning for retirement. Resources include tips on insurance planning, government benefits, RRSP calculator, and more.
Financial Relief Navigator
The Financial Relief Navigator is an online tool that can help you find support to raise your income or lower your expenses in these challenging times. The tool will suggest income benefits or other support programs you may be eligible for in your province/territory in Canada.
2021 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada – Report 4 – Canada Child Benefit
A report from Auditor General Karen Hogan concludes that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) managed the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) program so that millions of eligible families received accurate and timely payments. The audit also reviewed the one-time additional payment of up to $300 per child issued in May 2020 to help eligible families during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The audit noted areas where the agency could improve the administration of the program by changing how it manages information it uses to assess eligibility to the CCB. For example, better use of information received from other federal organizations would help ensure that the agency is informed when a beneficiary has left the country. This would avoid cases where payments are issued on the basis of outdated information. To enhance the integrity of the program, the agency should request that all applicants provide a valid proof of birth when they apply for the benefit. The audit also raised the concept of female presumption and noted that given the diversity of families in Canada today, this presumption has had an impact on the administration of the Canada Child Benefit program.
Disability Alliance BC
Disability Alliance BC supports people in British Columbia with disabilities through direct services, community partnerships, advocacy, research and publications. Their website provides information on disability benefits including the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), CPP Disability, Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSP) and more.
English
French
Resources
Costing a Guaranteed Basic Income During the COVID Pandemic
The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) supports Parliament by providing economic and financial analysis for the purposes of raising the quality of parliamentary debate and promoting greater budget transparency and accountability. This report responds to a request from Senator Yuen Pau Woo to estimate the post-COVID cost of a guaranteed basic income (GBI) program, using parameters set out in Ontario’s basic income pilot project. In addition, the report provides an estimate of the federal and provincial programs for low-income individuals and families, including many non-refundable and refundable tax credits that could be replaced by the GBI program.
Economic and Fiscal Snapshot 2020
The COVID-19 crisis is a public health crisis and an economic crisis. The Economic and Fiscal Snapshot 2020 lays out the steps Canada is taking to stabilize the economy and protect the health and economic well-being of Canadians and businesses across the country.
Transformation through disruption: Taxpayers’ Ombudsman Annual Report 2019-20
The mandate of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman is to assist, advise, and inform the Minister about any matter relating to services provided by the CRA. The Taxpayers’ Ombudsman fulfills this mandate by raising awareness, upholding taxpayer service rights, and facilitating the resolution of CRA service complaints issues. Through independent and objective reviews of service complaints and systemic issues, the Ombudsman and her Office work to enhance the CRA’s accountability and improve its service to, and treatment of, people. and systemic issues. This is the Annual Report of the Taxpayers' Ombudsman for 2019-20.
Low Income Retirement Planning
This booklet contains information on retirement planning on a low income. Topics include four things to think about for low income retirement planning, a background paper on maximizing the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), and determining Old Age Security (OAS) and GIS eligibility for people who come to Canada as adults.
How does the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) impact eligibility of provincial benefits?
This policy backgrounder provides an overview of how provincial and territorial governments have decided to treat receipt of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) for those receiving social assistance and/or living in subsidized housing. It also looks at provisions for youth aging out of care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Présentation de l’Explorateur d’allègements financiers (EAF)
L’Explorateur d’allègements financiers : un outil pour connaître les mesures d’aide et d’allègement liées à la COVID-19 dont vos clients pourraient bénéficier En réponse à la pandémie de COVID-19 et en raison de la complexité des mesures d’aide et d’allègement offertes à la population canadienne, nous avons créé l’Explorateur d’allègements financiers (EAF), un outil en ligne qui aide les gens vulnérables au Canada et ceux qui les accompagnent à accéder aux mesures d’aide d’urgence et d’allègement financier proposées par les gouvernements, les établissements financiers, les fournisseurs de services de télécommunication, de services publics et de services Internet. Soyez des nôtres pour assister à notre webinaire d’une heure animé par Elodie Young, de Prospérité Canada, qui vous présentera l’EAF et vous donnera des conseils sur la manière d’aider vos clients à accéder aux mesures d’aide et d’allègement financier. Que vous travailliez dans le secteur de la salubrité des aliments, de la santé mentale, de l'autonomisation financière, de l’établissement ou encore dans le secteur privé, venez apprendre comment aider vos clients à augmenter leur revenu et à réduire leurs dépenses pendant la crise. Ce webinaire concerne tous les fournisseurs de services de première ligne qui gagnent un faible revenu et les populations vulnérables du Canada.
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Presentation slides for this webinar
Handouts for this webinar
Introducing the Financial Relief Navigator (FRN)
Access the Financial Relief Navigator here.
Time-stamps for the video recording:
3:22 – Agenda and Introductions
6:00 – Audience poll
9:00 – Why we created the Financial Relief Navigator (Speaker: Janet Flynn)
11:55 – What’s in the Financial Relief Navigator (Speaker: Janet Flynn)
16:35 – FRN Walkthrough using a Persona (Speaker: Galen McLusky)
33:15 – Tips for using the FRN (Speaker: Galen McLusky)
36:00 – The Working Centre experience using the FRN (Speaker: Sue Collison)
41:15 – Q&A
English
Benefits 101
What are tax credits and benefits
Reasons to file a tax return
List of common benefits
Getting government payments by direct deposit
Common benefits and credits Benefits pathways (for practitioner reference only – some illustrations presented are Ontario benefits)
Pathways to accessing government benefits
Overview of tax benefits and other income supports (adults, children, seniors)
Overview of tax benefits and other income supports (people with disabilities or survivors)
Income support programs for immigrants and refugees
Glossary of terms – Benefits 101
Resources – Benefits 101
Key benefits you may be eligible for
Make sure you maximize the benefits you are entitled to if you are First Nations, Inuit, or Métis
Benefits of Filing a Tax Return: Infographic
Common benefits and credits
Resource links:
Benefits and credits for newcomers to Canada – Canada Revenue Agency
Benefit Finder – Government of Canada
Electronic Benefits and credits date reminders – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Income Assistance Handbook – Government of Northwest Territories
What to do when you get money from the government – Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
Emergency benefits
General emergency government benefits information & navigation
Financial Relief Navigator tool (Prosper Canada)
Changes to taxes and benefits: CRA and COVID-19 – Government of Canada
Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)
Apply for Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) with CRA – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Questions & Answers on CERB – Government of Canada
What is the CERB? – Prosper Canada
FAQ: Canada Emergency Response Benefit – Prosper Canada (updated June 10th)
CERB: What you need to know about cashing your cheque – FCAC
COVID-19 Benefits (summary, includes Ontario) – CLEO/Steps to Justice
COVID-19 Employment and Work – CLEO/Steps to Justice
GST/HST credit and Canada Child Benefit
COVID-19 – Increase to the GST/HST amount – Government of Canada
Canada Child Benefit Payment Increase – Government of Canada
Benefits payments for eligible Canadians to extend to Fall 2020 – Government of Canada
Support for students
Support for students and recent graduates – Government of Canada
Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) – Government of Canada
Benefits and credits for families with children
Benefits and credits for families with children
Resource links:
Child and family benefits – Government of Canada
Child and family benefits calculator – Government of Canada
Benefits and credits for people with disabilities
Benefits and credits for people with disabilities
RDSP, grants and bonds
Resource links:
Canada Pension Plan disability benefit toolkit – Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
Disability benefits – Government of Canada
Disability tax credit (DTC) – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Free RDSP Calculator for Canadians – Plan Institute
Future Planning Tool – Plan Institute
Creating Financial Security: Financial Planning in Support of a Relative with a Disability (handbook) – Partners for Planning
Nurturing Supportive Relationships: The Foundation to a Secure Future (handbook) – Partners for Planning
RDSP – Plan Institute
Disability Tax Credit Tool – Disability Alliance BC
ODSP Appeal Handbook – CLEO
Disability Inclusion Analysis of Government of Canada’s Response to COVID-19 (report and fact sheets) – Live Work Well Research Centre
Demystifying the Disability Tax Credit – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Benefits and credits for seniors
Benefits and credits for seniors
Resource links:
Canadian Retirement Income Calculator – Government of Canada
Comparing Retirement Savings Options – Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
Federal Provincial Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors Forum – Employment and Social Services Canada (ESDC)
Retiring on a low income – Open Policy Ontario
RRSP vs GIS Calculator – Daniela Baron
Sources of income for seniors handout – West Neighbourhood House
What every older Canadian should know about: Income and benefits from government programs – Employment and Social Services Canada (ESDC)
French
Comprendre les prestations
Que sont les crédits d’impôt et les prestations?
Pourquoi produire une déclaration de revenus?
Processus d’accès aux prestations (simple, complexe ou laborieux)
Aperçu des prestations et crédits d’impôt et des autres mesures d’aide au revenu
Aperçu des prestations et crédits d’impôt et des autres mesures d’aide au revenu : personnes handicapées ou survivants
Programmes d’aide au revenu pour immigrants et réfugiés – Admissibilité et processus de demande
Glossaire – Prestations et credits
Ressources : Prestations et credits
Principales mesures d’aide auxquelles vous pouvez être admissibles
Assurez-vous de maximiser les prestations auxquelles vous avez droit si vous êtes Autochtone,
Infographie sur les avantages de produire une déclaration de revenus
Prestations et crédits courants
Prestations et crédits pour familles avec enfants
Prestations et crédits pour personnes handicapées
Prestations et crédits pour les personnes âgées
Informations d’identification pour accéder aux prestations
Études de cas
A workplace-based economic response to COVID-19
This brief emerged from a conversation, held in late March 2020, among a number of individuals and organizations who work on issues of household financial security. Employers with financial resources and governments have an opportunity to use the workplace as a significant channel to deliver financial relief as part of the economic response to COVID-19, complementing critical supports governments are providing to individuals and businesses.
Seniors: tips to help you this tax season
As a senior, you may be eligible for benefits and credits when you file your taxes. The Canada Revenue Agency has tips to help you get all of them! This page includes tips for seniors at tax time and links to relevant Government of Canada resources.
Basic Income: Some Policy Options for Canada
As the need for basic income grows, the Basic Income Canada Network (BICN) is often asked how Canada could best design and pay for it. To answer that in a detailed way, BICN asked a team to model some options that are fair, effective and feasible in Canada. The three options in this report do just that. The three options demonstrate that it is indeed possible for Canada to have a basic income that is progressively structured and progressively funded. BICN wants governments, especially the federal government, to take this seriously—and to act.
Evaluating Tax Time Savings Interventions and Behaviors
This report explores the behaviors and outcomes related to savings and financial well-being of low- and moderate-income (LMI) tax filers in the United States. Findings from research conducted by Prosperity Now, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis and SaverLife (formerly EARN) during the 2019 tax season are presented. This analysis is unique in that it compares tax filers' outcomes over time across three different tax-filing and savings program platforms: volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) sites, online tax filing through the Turbo Tax Free File Product (TTFFP), and SaverLife's saving program.
Comparison of Provincial and Territorial Child Benefits and Recommendations for British Columbia
First Call BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition has been tracking child and family poverty rates in BC for more than two decades. Every November, with the support of the Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC), a report card is released with the latest statistics on child and family poverty in BC and recommendations for policy changes that would reduce these poverty levels. This report presents data from the latest report card released by First Call on a cross-Canada comparison of child benefits.
Retirement Literacy Website
The ACPM Retirement Literacy Program complements the financial literacy education efforts by the federal and provincial governments, and other organizations. The website contains a series of quizzes to help improve your knowledge of pensions and retirement savings plans as well as links to financial literacy resources.
Results from the 2016 Census: Examining the effect of public pension benefits on the low income of senior immigrants
This is a study released by Insights on Canadian Society based on 2016 Census data. Census information on immigration and income is used to better understand the factors associated with low income among senior immigrants. This study examines the factors associated with the low-income rate of senior immigrants, with a focus on access to Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) benefits.
Welfare in Canada, 2018
These reports look at the total incomes available to those relying on social assistance (often called “welfare”), taking into account tax credits and other benefits along with social assistance itself. The reports look at four different household types for each province and territory. Established by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, Welfare in Canada is a continuation of the Welfare Incomes series originally published by the National Council of Welfare, based on the same approach.
English
Download in English
French
Download in French
Helping Families Save to Withstand Emergencies
This brief identifies policy solutions to help American families build savings to withstand emergencies that threaten their financial stability.
Giving Savings Advice
This is one video in a series of videos catered to Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program volunteers on how to introduce the savings conversation to tax filers during the tax filing process. This video shows what the savings conversation could look like at a specific point in the tax preparation process: when entering dependent information. The video also includes examples of commonly heard reasons tax filers give for not wanting to save, and possible responses.
Talking About Savings
This is one video in a series of videos catered to Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program volunteers on how to introduce the savings conversation to tax filers during the tax filing process. This video discusses why promoting savings at tax time is a critical component of VITA volunteers.
Canada Revenue Agency Child and Family Benefits Calculator
This online tool released by the Canada Revenue Agency can be used to determine the eligibility and payment amounts of child and family benefits. Additional information on child and family benefit programs may be found on the Canada Revenue Agency's child and family benefits page.
Canadian Financial Diaries
The Canadian Financial Diaries Research Project is using the financial diaries methodology to understand the financial dynamics of vulnerable Canadians in a rapidly changing socio-economic context. This includes understanding the barriers and opportunities that people face in trying to improve their financial and overall well-being. The website shares research insights and news about the project as the different phases of research are synthesized.
Accessing the Canada Learning Bond: Meeting Identification and Income Eligibility Requirements
Introduced in 1998, the Canadian Education Savings Program (CESP) was designed as an incentive to encourage education savings for the post-secondary education of a child. The program is centred on Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs), where savings accumulate tax-free until withdrawn, to pay for full- or part-time postsecondary studies such as a trade school, CEGEP, college, or university, or in an apprenticeship program. The CLB was introduced in 2004 specifically for children from low income families. CLB provides, without family contribution being required, eligible families with an initial RESP payment which may be followed by annual payments up until the child is aged 15 years old. The objective of this paper is to assess the extent to which not tax-filing and not having a SIN for a child could pose a challenge to accessing the CLB and the CESG. This study will address the knowledge gap by analyzing overall differences in SIN and tax-filing uptake by family income, levels of parental education, family type and Indigenous identity of the child. The findings will help understand access issues related to the CLB but also to other programs with similar administrative conditions. En francais: Accéder au Bon d’études canadien: l’atteinte des critères d’identification et d’éligibilité selon le revenu.
Evaluation of the Guaranteed Income Supplement
The Old Age Security program is the largest statutory program of the Government of Canada, and consists of the Old Age Security pension, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and the Allowance. The Guaranteed Income Supplement is provided to low-income seniors aged 65 years and over who receive the Old Age Security pension and are below a low-income cut-off level. This evaluation examines take-up of the Guaranteed Income Supplement by various socioeconomic groups, the characteristics of those who are eligible for the Supplement but do not receive it, and barriers faced by vulnerable groups.
The income of Canadians
This infographic from Statistics Canada shows the median after-tax income of households, by province, as of 2016. It also shows changes in median government transfers, and number of people living on low incomes according to the after-tax low income measure.
The Economic Well-Being of Women in Canada
Economic well-being has both a present component and a future component. In the present, economic well-being is characterized by the ability of individuals and small groups, such as families or households, to consistently meet their basic needs, including food, clothing, housing, utilities, health care, transportation, education, and paid taxes. It is also characterized by the ability to make economic choices and feel a sense of security, satisfaction, and personal fulfillment with respect to finances and employment pursuits. Using Statistics Canada data from a variety of sources, including the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, the Canadian Income Survey, the Survey of Financial Security, and the 2016 Census of Population, this chapter of Women in Canada examines women’s economic well-being in comparison with men’s and, where relevant, explores how it has evolved over the past 40 years. In addition to gender, age and family type (i.e., couple families with or without children; lone mothers and fathers; and single women and men without children) are important determinants of economic well-being. Hence, many of the analyses distinguish between women and men in different age groups and/or types of families.
Resources
Barriers to tax filing experienced by people with low incomes
Income tax filing and benefits take-up: Challenges and opportunities for Canadians living on low income, Uttam Bajwa, University of Toronto
Tax time insights, Nirupa Varatharasan, Prosper Canada
“Stories from the field”: Contextualizing the barriers Indigenous People face, Erin Jeffery, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Closing the tax-filing gap: Challenges and opportunities
The Community Volunteer Income Tax Program, Nancy McKenna, CVITP, Canada Revenue Agency
Supporting organizations in the CVITP, Aaron Kozak, Employment and Social Development Canada, and Melissa Valencia, Canada Revenue Agency
A Realist analysis of nonprofit tax filing services, Kevin Schachter, University of Manitoba and SEED Winnipeg
National and regional strategies to boost tax filing
The Community Volunteer Income Income Tax Program, Nancy McKenna, Canada Revenue Agency
GetYourBenefits! Diagnose and Treat Poverty, Dr. Noralou Roos, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy
Get your piece of the money pie, Althea Arsenault, New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation
Innovations in tax filing assistance
Scaling tax filing assistance, John Silver, Community Financial Counselling Service (CFCS)
Virtual Tax Filing Pilot, Radya Cherkaoui, Intuit Canada, and Steve Vanderherberg, Woodgreen Community Services
Innovative use of technology for VITA, German Tejeda,
Get Your Piece of the Money Pie
In this presentation, Althea Arsenault, Manager of Resource Development, NB Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation, shares insights from the 'Get Your Piece of the Money Pie' tax clinic program. This program has operated since 2010, and currently files over 23,000 returns each year. This presentation is from the panel discussion 'National and regional strategies to boost tax filing', at the tax research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Get Your Benefits! Diagnose and Treat Poverty
In this presentation, Noralou P. Roos, Co-Director, GetYourBenefits! and Professor, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, explains how access to tax filing and benefits is an important poverty intervention. This presentation is from the panel discussion 'National and regional strategies to boost tax filing', at the tax research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Providing tax filing and benefits assistance to Indigenous communities
In this presentation, Simon Brascoupé, Vice President, Education and Training, AFOA Canada, explains the financial wellness framework and how tax filing presents opportunities for building financial wellness in Indigenous communities. This presentation is from the session 'Closing the tax-filing gap: Challenges and opportunities', at the tax research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Stories from the field: Contextualizing the barriers Indigenous People face
In this presentation, Erin Jeffery, Outreach Officer with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) shares what the CRA Outreach team has learned about tax filing barriers facing Indigeous People in Canada. These barriers include lack of documentation, lack of trust, access to services, and challenges around accessing Canada Child Benefit. This presentation is from the session 'Barriers to tax filing experienced by people with low incomes', at the research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Tax time insights: Experiences of people living on low income in Canada
In this presentation, Nirupa Varatharasan, Research & Evaluation Officer with Prosper Canada, explains the research methods and insights gathered in the report 'Tax time insights: Experiences of people living on low income in Canada.' This includes demographic information, the type of tax filing resources accessed by this population, and insights on the types of challenges and opportunities that result from their tax filing processes. This presentation is from the session 'Barriers to tax filing experienced by people with low incomes', at the research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Income tax filing and benefits take-up: Challenges and opportunities for Canadians living on low incomes
In this presentation, Uttam Bajwa, Global Health and Research Associate with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, reports on tax filing challenges and opportunities for Canadians living on low incomes. This includes the challenges of not knowing what to do, fear and mistrust, and challenges accessing supports. This presentation is based on the research conducted for the Prosper Canada report 'Tax time insights: Experiences of people living on low incomes in Canada'. This presentation is from the session 'Barriers to tax filing experienced by people with low incomes', at the research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
English
2023 Tax Resources: Canada Revenue Agency
The Canada Revenue Agency kicks off the 2023 Tax filing season
- Factsheet – Students
- Factsheet – Persons with disabilities
- Factsheet – Modest income individuals
- Factsheet – Housing insecure individuals
- Factsheet – Adults 65 and older
- Factsheet – Indigenous peoples
- Factsheet: Northern residents deductions
- Factsheet: Individuals experiencing gender based violence
- Factsheet – Newcomers
Resources
- Infographic: Child-related benefits
- Infographic: Newcomers
- Tear sheet: Register for my account
- Tear sheet: Doing your taxes
- Service option card
- Video: Individuals with a modest income
- Video: Persons with disabilities
- Video: International Students
- Video: Students, it pays to do your taxes!
- SimpleFile by Phone automated phone service (formerly called File my Return)
2022 Tax Resources: Canada Revenue Agency
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Students
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Persons with disabilities
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Modest income individuals
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Housing insecure individuals
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Adults 65 and older
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Women in shelters
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Indigenous peoples
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Newcomers
Canada Dental Benefit
One-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit
Get your taxes done for free at a tax clinic
Canada workers benefit
Make sure you maximize the benefits you are entitled to if you are First Nations, Inuit, or Métis
2021 Tax Resources - Canada Revenue Agency
Last-minute tax tips (Canada Revenue Agency) – April 13, 2021
New Canada Recovery Benefits – What to Expect
Answers to your questions on paying back the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)
Benefits and credits fact sheet – Indigenous people living in Canada
Benefits and credits fact sheet – Modest income
Benefits and credits fact sheet – Newcomers
Benefits and credits fact sheet – Newcomers in Quebec
Benefits, credits, and deductions for Seniors
COVID-19 Measures for Persons with Disabilities
Benefits and credits – Persons with Disabilities
Canada Workers Benefit – Infographic
Canada Workers Benefit – promotion card
Get your taxes done for free – promotion card
Income tax basics
Why file? The benefits of tax filing (Tax toolkit)
Getting government payments by direct deposit
Income tax 101: What are tax deductions, benefits, credits, exemptions, and brackets? (Tax toolkit)
Considerations for Indigenous people at tax time (Tax toolkit)
Resources about tax filing in Canada (Tax toolkit)
Common tax deductions
Common sources of income and their tax slips
Notice of Assessment – how to read it
Community tax clinic guides
About volunteer tax clinics: Help your community members file their taxes (Tax toolkit)
Getting started as a community tax clinic (Tax toolkit)
Tax clinic staff and volunteer roles (Tax toolkit)
Tax clinic preparation: Recommended timeline (Tax toolkit)
Insights on planning free tax clinics in Indigenous communities: Infographic (Tax toolkit)
Encouraging tax filing at virtual clinics (sample “active choice” email) – The Behavioural Insights Team *NEW*
Tax clinic resources for practitioners
The tax clinic resources below are from our community partner organizations. These are examples that may be adapted to your own community tax clinic needs. Whenever possible, we have credited the original author of each document and included contact information if you would like to find out more about using and adapting the resource.
Resources to support tax clinic delivery and tax filing
Simplified Intake Form 2019 (ACSA, Scarborough, ON)
Tax Clinic Host Checklist (The Working Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)
Income tax checklist for participants (The Working Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)
Intake form for Couples (E4C, Edmonton, AB)
Tax Prep Quick Reference Guide (E4C, Edmonton, AB)
Other resources to support participants at tax time
Income tax summary (The Working Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)
Form for Missing Income Info for Revenue Canada (The Working Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)
Forms for rental information (The Working Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)
Referral to FEPS (The Working Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)
Envelope checklist (E4C, Edmonton, AB)
Seniors Info Sheet – Federal and provincial benefits (E4C, Edmonton, AB)
Resources for outreach and promotion
Tax clinic flyer (ACSA, Scarborough, ON)
2019 tax clinic flyer (Jane Finch Centre, Toronto, ON)
2019 tax clinic flyer (North York Community House, Toronto, ON)
Resources to support tracking and evaluation
Tax data entry sheet – Tax toolkit (Sunrise Community Centre, Calgary, AB)
Anonymous tax tracking sheet (Aspire collective, Calgary, AB)
Additional information and resources on tax filing
Benefits, credits and financial support: CRA and COVID-19 – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Covid-19: Free virtual tax clinics – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Get ready to do your taxes – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Taking care of your tax and benefit affairs can pay off (tax filing info sheet) – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) *NEW
Slam the scam – Protect yourself against fraud – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Virtual Tax Filing: Piloting a new way to file taxes for homebound seniors – Prosper Canada
Webinar Series on Taxes (May 2020) – Momentum
SimpleFile by Phone automated phone service (formerly called File my Return) – Prosper Canada Learning Hub
Tax season prep – Plan Institute
Demystifying the Disability Tax Credit – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
What to do if your tax return is reviewed or audited – OSC
French
Ressources de déclaration de revenus 2024 - Agence du revenu du Canada
Ressources de déclaration de revenus 2023 - Agence du revenu du Canada
L’Agence du revenu du Canada lance la saison des impôts 2023
- Fiche descriptive: Étudiants
- Fiche descriptive: Les personnes handicapées
- Fiche descriptive: Les personnes à revenu modeste
- Fiche descriptive: Les personnes en situation de logement précaire
- Fiche descriptive: Les personnes âgées de 65 ans et plus
- Fiche descriptive: Les personnes autochtones
- Fiche descriptive : Déductions pour les habitants de régions éloignées
- Fiche descriptive : Personnes aux prises avec la violence fondée sur le sexe
- Fiche descriptive: Les nouveaux arrivants
Ressources
- Infographie – Prestations pour enfants
- Infographie – Prestations et crédits pour les nouveaux arrivants
- Feuille détachable : Inscrivez-vous à Mon dossier
- Feuille détachable : Produire votre déclaration de revenus
- Carte d’option de service
- Webinaire – Les personnes à revenu modeste
- Video: Persons with disabilities
- Webinaire – Les étudiants étrangers
- Webinaire – Avis aux étudiants : c’est payant de faire vos impôts!
Ressources de déclaration de revenus 2022 - Agence du revenu du Canada
Fiche descriptive : Étudiants
Fiche descriptive : Les personnes handicapées
Fiche descriptive : Les personnes à revenu modeste
Fiche descriptive : Les personnes en situation de logement précaire
Fiche descriptive : Les personnes âgées de 65 ans et plus
Fiche descriptive : Femmes dans les refuges
Fiche descriptive : Les personnes autochtones
Fiche descriptive : Les nouveaux arrivants
Prestation dentaire canadienne
Supplément unique à l’Allocation canadienne pour le logement
Faites faire vos impôts à un comptoir d’impôts gratuit
Allocation canadienne pour les travailleurs
Assurez-vous de maximiser les prestations auxquelles vous avez droit si vous êtes Autochtone, Inuit ou Métis
Ressources de déclaration de revenus 2021 - Agence du revenu du Canada
Nouvelles prestations canadiennes de la relance économique – À quoi s’attendre
Réponses à vos questions sur le remboursement de la Prestation canadienne d’urgence (PCU)
Recevez vos versements de prestations et de crédits! – Les les autochtones qui habitent au Canada
Prestations et crédits – Revenu modeste
Nouveaux arrivants, vous pourriez recevoir des prestations et des crédits!
Nouveaux arrivants, vous pourriez recevoir des prestations et des crédits! (Quebec)
Il y a des avantages à faire ses impôts! – Personnes agées
Mesures relatives à la COVID-19 à l’intention des personnes handicapées
Des prestations et des crédits pour vous! – Les personnes handicapées
Chaque dollar compte! – L’allocation canadienne pour les travailleurs (ACT)
Chaque dollar compte! Carte promotionnelle pour l’allocation canadienne pour les travailleurs (ACT)
Faites faire vos impôts gratuitement – Carte promotionnelle
Fondements de l’impôt sur le revenu
Pouruoi declarer? Les avantages de produire une declaration de revenus
Recevoir des paiements du gouvernement par dépôt direct
Que sont les déductions, les avantages fiscaux et les crédits d’impôt?
Considérations sur la période d’impôt pour lesautochtones qui habitent au Canada
Ressources pour en savoir plus
Comptoirs d’impôt bénévoles : Aidez les membres de votre communauté
Ressources
S’occuper de ses impôts et de ses prestations peut être payant – Agence du revenu du Canada
Service automatisé Déclarer simplement par téléphone (anciennement Produire ma déclaration)– Agence du revenu du Canada
Démystifier le crédit d’impôt pour personnes handicapées – Agence du revenu du Canada
2018 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada: Bold Ambitions for Child and Family Poverty Eradication
The 2018 national report card “Bold Ambitions for Child Poverty Eradication in Canada,” provides a current snapshot of child and family poverty and demonstrates the need for a costed implementation plan to eradicate child poverty in this generation. In advance of the 30th year of the all-party commitment to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000 and the federal election in 2019, our spotlight is on the central role of universal childcare in the eradication of child poverty. The lack of affordable, high quality childcare robs children of valuable learning environments and keeps parents, mainly women, out of the workforce, education and training. Without childcare, parents cannot lift themselves out of poverty and improve their living standards.
Boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit for Singles
By providing a refundable credit at tax time, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is widely viewed as a successful public policy that is both antipoverty and pro-work. But most of its benefits have gone to workers with children. Paycheck Plus is a test of a more generous credit for low-income workers without dependent children. The program, which provides a bonus of up to $2,000 at tax time, is being evaluated using a randomized controlled trial in New York City and Atlanta. This report presents findings through three years from New York, where over 6,000 low-income single adults without dependent children enrolled in the study in late 2013. The findings are consistent with other research on the federal EITC, indicating that an effective work-based safety net program can increase incomes for vulnerable and low-income individuals and families while encouraging and rewarding work.
Redesigning Social Policy for the 21st Century
In this video presentation Sunil Johal from the Mowat Centre explains how social policy in the 21st century could be redesigned to accommodate the changing nature of work and income in Canada. This presentation was given at the Prosper Canada Policy Research Symposium on March 9, 2018. Read the slide deck that accompanies this presentation. Pour lire les diapositives de la présentation, cliquez ici. View the full video playlist of all presentations from this symposium.
Backgrounder: Working Income Tax Benefit
The federal government has indicated that it will expand WITB by approximately $250 million per year beginning in 2019 to “provide additional benefits that roughly offset incremental Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions for eligible low-income workers.”1 The changes to CPP will be phased in, starting in 2019. These changes mean that workers will be paying higher CPP contributions from their paycheques. Low-income workers especially could feel the impact on their take-home pay. This backgrounder provides an introduction to the program, explores how it impacts low-income workers, and how it could be improved.
Policy Brief – Why is Uptake of the Disability Tax Credit Low in Canada?
Disability supports should be designed to provide benefit and not burdens to eligible recipients. Unfortunately, this is not a reality when it comes to one of the main benefits open to Canadians with disability: the federal Disability Tax Credit (DTC). Designed to recognize some of the higher costs faced by people with severe disabilities and their caregivers, the DTC appears to be more of a burden for many, with estimated utilisation unacceptably low at around 40 per cent of working-aged adults with qualifying disabilities. Low uptake is a concern not only because people are missing out on the credit itself but also because eligibility to the DTC – which is not automatic – is a gateway to other important and more valuable benefits such as the Child Disability Benefit and Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSP).
What can we learn about low-income dynamics in Canada from the Longitudinal Administrative Databank?
Financial Empowerment: Improving financial outcomes for low-income households
Financial Empowerment is a new approach to poverty reduction that focuses on improving the financial security of low-income people. It is an evidence-driven set of interventions that have proven successful at both eliminating systemic barriers to the full financial inclusion of low-income people and providing enabling supports that help them to acquire and practice the financial skills and behaviours that tangibly improve their financial outcomes and build their financial security. The Financial Empowerment approach focuses on community level strategies that encompass five main types of interventions that have been identified as both necessary for low-income households to improve their financial outcomes, and effective at helping them to do so.