Soon, your taxes may be filed automatically—and according to new research, that could produce a nice little windfall for many Canadians.
Driving the news: The planned roll-out of an automatic tax filing service could see up to $1.6 billion in benefits paid out next year to people who don’t currently file taxes, according to a new study by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).
Catch up: Last year, the federal government announced plans to launch an automatic income tax filing service for people without complicated returns, something around 30 other countries already offer.
- In Canada, if you don’t have any taxable income or taxes owing, you (in most circumstances) don’t have to file a tax return, and around 10% of people — many of whom have incomes below the poverty line — don’t file.
Why it matters: Automatic tax filing would put a meaningful amount of cash into the pockets of hundreds of thousands of Canadians.
- While not filing a tax return when you don’t have to may avoid some paperwork, it also means you’ll miss out on a plethora of government benefits that can be worth big bucks.
- The PBO estimates, for example, that 172,210 families are missing out on the Canada Child Benefit, which can amount to up to $7,437 per child.
What’s next: The CRA is aiming to launch a pilot of its automatic tax filing service this summer.—TS