NOTICE: We file tax online with Skype. Please add cvitp@eclife.ca to your Skype after your registration and confirm your booking. Please make sure the mic and camera working on your device.

ECLife Newcomer Centre is a CRA CVITP clinic to provides Tax return assistance for newcomers. Our team members are all volunteers combined with students and immigrants who are willing to contribute to the local community.

Our program runs from Mar 1, 2024, to April 30, 2024. After you submit your booking information, we will contact you for an appointment to file your tax with a volunteer.

How to start

  1. Confirm you are eligible
  2. SIN or ITN
    • In order to complete a tax return, you will need a SIN (social insurance number). If you are not a Canadian resident, like you are an international student who is not able to get a SIN, you can apply for an ITN (Individual Tax Number). SIN can be obtained from Service Canada. Apply ITN here.
  3. Submit your tax request
  4. After you submitted your request, please add cvitp@eclife.ca to your Skype to confirm your booking.
  5. In general, you need to prepare your SIN/ITN, photo ID/passport, tax forms, previous year NOA (Notice of Assessment), bank transfer info (click see example)
  6. Please prepare all the tax-related documents and go online with Skype on or 5 mins before your appointment time.  our volunteer will complete the tax return online.  We will check your ID to confirm you are who you are over the webcam with mic. (Please test your webcam and mic to make sure they work.)

If you have any questions, please email cvitp@eclife.ca

Find out if you are eligible

You may be eligible for help at ECLife office for FREE if you have a modest income and a simple tax situation.

Modest income

In general, a modest income means your total family income is less than the amount shown in the chart below, based on the size of your family. 

Family size Total family income is under...
1 person $35,000
2 persons $45,000
3 persons $47,500
4 persons $50,000
5 persons $52,500
More than 5 persons $52,500 plus $2,500 for each additional person

Simple tax situation

In general, your tax situation is simple if you have no income or if your income comes from any of these sources:

  • employment
  • pension
  • benefits, such as the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, disability insurance, employment insurance, and social assistance
  • Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs)
  • scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, or grants
  • interest (under $1,000)

Your tax situation not simple if you:

  • self-employment income or employment expenses (Exception: under $1,000; no expenses are claimed; not GST/HST registrant)
  • business income and expenses
  • rental income and expenses
  • interest income over $1,000
  • capital gains or losses
  • bankruptcy in the tax year (or the year before, if that return has not yet been filed)
  • deceased person
  • foreign property (T1135)
  • foreign income ** (Exception: receive U.S. Social Security benefits )

CRA Program Full Reference

After we completed the tax return

Our volunteer will submit the tax report to CRA through CRA-certified software, you will receive an email from CRA to confirm. We will email you a PDF file, which is your 2023 tax return report. Please keep the tax return report for more than 7 years. There may be a case that the tax report can not submit online, so you have to print out the tax report and mail them to CRA.

Follow up service

Due to the fact that most of the follow-up requests come after April 30, therefore, the ECLife Community Volunteer Tax Return Program does not provide follow-up service in general. We may have limited year-round volunteers who can help you or the paid service could help with the follow-up requests. 

Adjustment service

Our program does not include a free Tax Adjustment service if your tax is done wrong by another tax preparer or tax clinic. If anything is done wrong with our office or volunteer, we will do a tax adjustment for you with no charge.

What if I am not eligible for CVITP

We have a limited paid tax return service if needed. Please contact us for more details after you submit your booking request. 

What if I am not eligible to serve at ECLife

Lots of other organizations also provide the same CVITP service you could choose from like the public libraries and schools. You can always seek help from a professional tax preparer/clinic or accountant for a fee. Or you can also buy tax return software done by yourself. 

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