Individuals and families with low to modest incomes in Regina are being offered free tax filing assistance.
The service is being offered in partnership with SaskTel Pioneers and Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), through the Community Volunteer Income Tax program.
“It can be really intimidating and overwhelming for a lot of people to file their tax returns especially if they’re in a vulnerable situation where they won’t have their forms to file,” CRA officer Jennifer Olauson said.
“It’s really important for those clients to come to a clinic and get their taxes done.”
From March to April in 2018, the clinic completed 5,075 income tax and benefit returns.
“If you don’t file your tax return, you’re going to miss out on your Canada child benefit or your GST payments and that’s really important for people to feed their families or pay rent,” Olauson said.
The clinic is hosted by United Way Regina.
“We’re about mobilizing community to help others and making sure we are starting with the most vulnerable so this a huge opportunity to support our community,” United Way Regina CEO Robyn Edwards-Bentz said.
Edwards-Bentz said the service is all-year around, but putting an emphasis on it during tax season really drives up the numbers.
“The more information that goes out there, the more opportunity we have for people to know that this is a service available in the community and we see more people come out,” Edwards-Bentz said.
And it couldn’t be done without the hard of work of the volunteers.
“I want to thank the dedicated volunteers from the SaskTel Pioneers and the United Way of Regina for their efforts, and for showing what can be accomplished when Canadians help each other,” Minister of National Revenue Diane Lebouthillier said.
To qualify, a single person can’t make more than $35,000, a two-person family’s income can’t be over $45,000, and a three-person family can’t earn more than $47,500.
To learn more visit the CRA online.