More Canadians to get access to an automatic tax filing service this summer
More Canadians will get invited to use the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) automatic tax filing service this summer.
The government agency announced on Tuesday that it has expanded its SimpleFile services to invite over half a million lower-income individuals to file their return and potentially get money from unclaimed benefits and credit payments.
“This automatic tax filing national pilot targets individuals who have never filed a tax return or who have a gap in their filing history, and builds upon the success of small-scale SimpleFile pilots previously undertaken by the CRA,” reads the announcement.
The CRA has already invited more than 1.5 million Canadians with a lower or fixed income to use SimpleFile by phone earlier this year.
Did you know that we’re expanding SimpleFile this summer? 📬
If you still haven’t filed, you may be invited to file your taxes over the phone, digitally, or by paper.
For more info: https://t.co/nQIhtdWD9R #CdnTax pic.twitter.com/fTAjFsTebB
— Canada Revenue Agency (@CanRevAgency) July 29, 2024
How does the SimpleFile tax filing service work?
The invitation-only service — which is available by phone, online and on paper — lets Canadians complete their tax return in as little as 10 minutes from the comfort of their own home any time it works for them.
According to the CRA, when using the phone or digital service, individuals will need to confirm some personal information and answer a series of short questions.
For those using the phone service who have already created a personal identification number (PIN) in My Account, an estimate of their net income, taxable income, and any refund that they may be eligible for will be available at the end of the call.
If you don’t have a PIN, not to worry — the CRA says a tax return can still be filed without it.
“Individuals will receive a notice of assessment either in the mail or in My Account after their return has been processed,” reads the announcement.
SimpleFile is one of the government’s commitments in Budget 2024 and the CRA is on track to increase the number of invitations to two million for the 2025 tax season.
If you’ve been invited to use the service, it’s available for a limited time to help you automatically file your 2023 tax return.
The phone and digital services are available 21 hours a day, from 6 am to 3 am, Eastern time, 7 days a week.
In addition to SimpleFile, the CRA has a number of programs and services to help Canadians file their taxes including Auto-fill my return in certified tax software, and the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (the Income Tax Assistance – Volunteer Program in Quebec).
Last month, a report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer also announced a new proposed tax filing service that could give Canadians over $1 billion in unclaimed government benefits in the next few years.
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