Not having a Social Insurance Number (SIN) and not filing taxes may represent challenges to access government programs and supports such as the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) and the Canada Learning Bond (CLB). Limited data availability has prevented a full assessment of the extent of these...
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...
Answer the questions in this Government of Canada online tool to get a customized list of benefits for which you may be eligible. The Benefits Finder may suggest benefits from federal, provincial or territorial...
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...
The mandate of the Committee is to provide advice to the minister of national revenue and the commissioner of the Agency on: the administration and interpretation of the laws and programs related to disability tax measures; ways in which the needs and expectations of the disability community...
In this report, The Common Cents Lab and MetLife Foundation share findings from the experiments we have run over the past several years with VITA providers to improve tax-related outcomes. We encourage you to consider implementing these ideas and engaging in additional conversations about how to...
A lack of emergency savings renders low-income households vulnerable to material hardships resulting from unexpected expenses or loss of income. Having emergency savings helps these households respond to unexpected events, maintain consumption, and avoid high-cost credit products. Because many...
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...
Tax time financial capability services offered at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites range from encouraging taxpayers to save a portion of their refund to free credit reviews, to referrals to financial coaching, and others in between. This report from Prosperity Now summarizes research...
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...
This is a one-hour webinar on the tax filing experiences of Canadians living on low incomes, and some successful strategies frontline practitioners can use to reduce stress at tax time for participants, in their delivery of community tax clinics. The speakers in this webinar are: Nirupa...
The research symposium "Overcoming barriers to tax filing for people with low incomes" was held in Ottawa on Thursday, February 7, 2019, hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit. The symposium presents research results and insights from practitioners in the field on barriers to tax filing experienced...
In this presentation, German Tejeda, National Director of Financial Programs, Single Stop USA, shares results from the Virtual VITA Program in the United States since 2012. This presentation is from the session 'Innovations in tax filing assistance', at the tax research symposium hosted by...
In this presentation, Radya Chaerkaoui, Senior Product Manager and Innovation Catalyst, Intuit Canada, and Steve Vanderherberg, Director-Strategic Initiatives, WoodGreen Community Services, share insights from their Virtual Tax Filing Pilot program. This presentation is from the session...
In this presentation, John Silver, Executive Director, Community Financial Counselling Service (CFCS), Winnipeg, shares insights from the low income tax program at CFCS. This program files almost 10,000 returns each year, and also provides tax clinic support to other agencies and delivers detailed...
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...
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...
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...
In this presentation, Kevin Schachter, Graduate Student at University of Manitoba and Information Manager at SEED Winnipeg, presents a realist analysis of nonprofit tax filing services. This presentation is from the session 'Closing the tax-filing gap: Challenges and opportunities', at the tax...
In this presentation, Aaron Kozak, ESDC and Melissa Valencia, CRA, present findings from their research on the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP). This includes recommendations for structural changes to the program, review of CVITP training, changes to registration, and more. This...
In this presentation, Nancy McKenna, Manager, CVITP, Canada Revenue Agency, explains how the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) works. This includes eligibility requirements, the size of the program in 2017/2018, and partnerships. This presentation is from the session 'Closing the...
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...
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...
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...
For people living with low incomes in Canada, tax time is an important opportunity to access a wide range of federal and provincial/territorial benefits and credits. However, many people with low incomes experience barriers to tax filing that prevent them from accessing these important sources of...
