Filing taxes is critical for many Canadians, not just for financial record keeping purposes, but for accessing income boosting benefits. Federal government benefits like the GST tax credit, Canada Child Benefit and Working Income Tax Benefit are only accessible to Canadians who annually file their taxes.

For many Canadians, filing taxes is viewed as an obligation or responsibility. However for many Canadians, particularly those living on lower incomes, filing a tax return can be an overwhelming process. Even though filing them is the only way to access benefits that provide a meaningful boost to their personal income. For example, for families living on social assistance, up to 40% of the family income can be received from the benefits accessed through tax returns.

Since the benefits available through the tax system are so significant, some people might wonder why everyone isn’t filing their taxes. The big reason is that many Canadians experience significant barriers to completing a tax return. The most common barriers include insufficient access to tax filing services, the cost of commercial tax help, and lack of awareness of the importance to file, especially when someone doesn’t have taxable income. For many people there is a mistrust of the government. For Indigenous Canadians this may be due to the legacy of colonization and negative experiences with government services. These barriers are even more prevalent in Alberta with over 11% of Albertans not regularly filing – one of highest non-filing rates in Canada.

When tax filing barriers are reduced for people living on lower incomes, it can be life changing. Last year, CTV News reported on Mr. Grey, who filed his taxes for the first time through a free tax clinic hosted by Sunrise Community Link Resource Centre (Sunrise) – the benefits he was able to access enabled him to move into stable housing after experiencing homelessness for several years.

In Calgary, many organizations provide support to break down the barriers to filing taxes. Check out the Enough for All Tax Filing Help page for local resources including free tax clinics in the Calgary area. This year Sunrise is also working to recruit Indigenous volunteers for their tax clinics.

The community effort to reduce barriers to file taxes is making a difference – last year in Calgary more than 4,800 people worked with 16 agencies to file their taxes and accessed a collective total of $3.5M in refunds.

You can either get help to file your taxes at a tax clinic or volunteer at tax clinic to help a neighbour in Calgary access their benefits completing their taxes.