Taxology – Episode 16: Tax and benefit information for Indigenous people – Part 2

CC: Before getting started, The CRA would like to acknowledge the prosperous land across the nation that sustain us and enrich our lives. We recognize and extend our gratitude to the Indigenous peoples who have cared for these lands and who continue to guide us in building respectful relationships rooted in the spirit of reconciliation.

We invite you to take a moment to reflect on your own connection to the land from which you are joining us today, and to honour the Indigenous caretakers who have shaped, and continue to shape, its ongoing story.

Welcome to Taxology, the official podcast of the Canada Revenue Agency. I’m your host CC, and today we’re finishing our two-part series helping Indigenous people navigate Canada’s tax system, and access the benefit and credit payments they’re entitled to.

On part 1, our guest Nancy guided us through the importance of filing a tax return, and keeping your information up to date. In this episode, we give you the ways to file a tax return, what you need to have on hand to file, and what to do if you get a letter from the CRA.

So, let’s welcome back Nancy to the show with more helpful information.

What do I need to file my tax return, and what options are available for Indigenous Peoples?

Nancy: Sure. First to clarify, the filing options I will start with are those that are available to all Canadians. There is one paper option that specifically is designed for Indigenous Peoples, which I will talk about at the end.

To file your tax return, there are some online options and there's some paper options.

The online options, we do have a list of certified software. It can be free or paid, and it should be outlined on our site, or at least when you click on the link that allows you to file your return.

So, you can visit canada.ca/taxes. So that's one of the options is looking online to see what certified software is out there and you would file yourself with this free software through NETFILE. That would be something you would do on your own.

The other option is if you're not familiar or you're uncomfortable with filing your return online yourself, there is the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program, otherwise known as CVITP, or the Income Tax Assistance Volunteer Program, the ITAVP, if you live in Quebec.

These are free tax clinics. They're for individuals with modest incomes and simple tax returns. They're often hosted by Friendship Centres or community organizations. And again, you can visit canada.ca/taxes to find a list of where these free clinics might be in your area. So, it's divided by the areas, so you can filter that.

So those are the online options, and those are for all Canadians. The other options are paper.

If you don't have internet access or you have limited internet access and you need to file via paper, there's a few options.

There's the standard T1 general return that we have and it's actually on our website to download the forms, the returns. This is the long return, and it does take longer to process. So that's one thing to bear in mind when you use this method of filing.

But the filing in particular for Indigenous communities, we do have a shortened tax return. It's called “Let Us Help You Get Your Benefits” and it's available for Indigenous Peoples and the purpose is to make filing easier.

It is a paper tax return, it’s designed specifically for Indigenous Peoples. It’s not available online, but it is available widely through Friendship Centres, Band Council offices, Government of Canada offices such as Service Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, Veteran Affairs, or through the CRA’s Northern Service Centres.

You can also request this information through our Outreach program. They do have those forms as well.

CC: Perfect.

Nancy: It's also important to know that you can reach out to a trusted person to get some assistance. If you have a family member or a friend who's familiar with taxes, you know, reach out and get some support from that perspective.

One other thing I do want to mention, because we are talking about filing, whether it's electronic or paper, is the fact that if you do live in Quebec, it's really important to remember you've got two returns to file. You've got the federal return, and the Quebec return for the province.

CC: So, we talked about how we can file. What are all the documents we need to collect and get ready in order to file your income tax return?

Nancy: So those most common slips that you would see are the T4 for employment income. The T5007, which is the income assistance or social assistance payments. The T4 OAS, which is the Old Age Security, T4A. and the T4A(P), which is the Canada Pension slip.

So if you've not received all your slips, you can find them online in your CRA account, or you can contact the CRA. Those who issue the tax slips have until the last day of February to send them to you.

In addition to that, what you'll also want to do is include the T90, which is Income Exempt from Tax under the Indian Act. And this form is used to report income that qualifies for the exemption under the Indian Act. And you must include this with your tax return each year.

It helps the CRA to identify portions of your income that are tax exempt. So the form will outline, you know, what you need to fill out and the portions that are considered tax exempt.

Now, this form is not something that you're given. It's something that you'll actually have to download and get yourself and fill out and include with your tax return. So those are the forms.

The other important thing is for Quebec, for provincial returns, the common slips are called Relevé, and they start with an RL. So those are important to include.

The other important thing is that you must keep all your receipts for the deductions and credits that you claim. So this could include medical expenses, tuition fees, charitable donations, travel receipts if you're claiming the northern residents deduction.

You also must gather information about other sources of income.

So let's say you've got self-employment, or you've got rental income or investment income, you need to make sure that you've gathered the sources of information for that to be able to substantiate your information on your tax return.

CC: Of course.

Nancy: The first thing is don't ignore it. It's very important that you don't ignore it.

In most cases, these letters are sent to update your personal information so that your benefit payments are accurate and they're going to the correct person. So if the CRA asks you for documents or additional information, try to provide them as soon as possible to avoid any delays in your payments.

If you don't understand some of the information in the letter, there can be jargon sometimes in our letters. So it's important If you need more time, it's important to contact the phone number that's listed on the letter.

If you need more time to collect the documents or you're not understanding, that's who you would contact, they do give you a specific contact on the letter. And it's usually directly to a specific agent rather than our larger contact centre. So that's important for you to know.

If you are in the North, Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Iqaluit in our CRA Northern Service Centres, you can visit a Service Canada office or a Friendship centre. You can also ask someone you trust in your community for help.

If you need to provide documents, you can submit them online if you do have access to the internet through My Account, or you can send them by mail and you address it to the information that you've been given on the letter.

It's really, really important to always keep a copy of what you sent in case you need it later, particularly if things go in the mail. Sometimes things can sprout legs and run away.

CC: Oh, ha ha ha!

Nancy: It's important to make sure that you've got a copy of that, so that if the CRA says we didn't receive it, you're able to provide that quickly.

And I can sort of reiterate a situation again with Sam, if you like, sort of putting this whole picture together.

So remember Sam and his mom from earlier, when Sam's mother began caring for his child, she received a letter from the CRA to confirm her address and the child's address. After she provided the requested information, she began receiving the Canada Child Benefit payments because she confirmed with the CRA that the child was now staying with her, while Sam was living at a different address.

So it's important for Sam to advise this area as soon as possible, as well if his child is being cared for temporarily by someone else. And I say that because you never want to be in a situation where you would need to pay money back because the change wasn't advised to CRA at the time, right?

So it's really important to recognize that there are impacts if the information is not provided in a timely manner.

CC: You've given us so much information today, Nancy.

If someone needs help understanding how taxes or benefits work, where can they get started?

Nancy: There are many resources available and I can certainly go through them with you.

So if you have access to internet, so CRA does have a dedicated webpage. It's a dedicated webpage that's tailored specifically for Indigenous Peoples. You will find helpful information on this webpage. There's forms, there's answers to frequently asked questions.

This page is also available in Inuktitut.

CC: Oh, wow.

Nancy: Which is great. So you can visit canada.ca/taxes-benefits-indigenous, and that will be the main page that is specifically a resource for Indigenous Peoples.

There's also a learning tool that we've got called Learn About Your Taxes. This is a free online course or courses, to help people better understand the tax system and to do their own taxes.

So this course includes videos, quizzes, interactive type of activities. So it's very helpful in understanding the process and understanding what you need to do.

There's also in-person help. So we've got, as I mentioned, our free tax clinics.

We have the CRA Northern Service Centres that are located in Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Iqaluit, and they offer in-person assistance there.

We have our dedicated phone line for the residents of the Northern Territories. So people with area code 867 can call this dedicated individual and benefit inquiries telephone line. If they have specific tax questions, they don't have to call the general inquiries line.

So that's a specific resource for those folks in the north that have, in many cases, more challenging situations because of where they're living.

We do also have outreach information sessions. So the CRA hosts outreach sessions in communities across the country, including in Indigenous communities.

So you can learn more about, you know, where we're going by going to canada.ca/taxes and you can type in “CRA outreach activities” in that search bar and you'll be able to find out where we are in communities.

CC: Also, a lot of webinars are recorded and put on YouTube as well.

Nancy: Absolutely.

CC: Nancy, do you have any last minute tips or tricks to leave our listeners with?

Nancy: Absolutely. I can give you some key takeaways that I think are really important.

CC:Yes, please!

Nancy: So number one, file your tax return each year. Even if your income's low, if it's zero, you're tax exempt, you have income assistance, it's very important that you file your return.

Secondly, filing your income tax return allows you to access the benefits and credits that you're eligible for. And that's a very, very important thing to make sure that you keep getting those benefits.

Thirdly, keep your personal information with the CRA up to date. If you live in Quebec, make sure that you notify Revenu Quebec as well when you have changes to your personal information.

And lastly, if you receive a letter from CRA, it's very important that you update your personal information. Responding to us quickly, avoids any interruption in your payments.

CC: Awesome.

Well, thank you so much for coming today, Nancy.

Nancy: Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity to have this conversation.

CC: Thanks again to our guest, Nancy, for joining us on our series for Indigenous Peoples!

We hope we’ve given you tips to file correctly and to get the refund, benefit, or credit amounts that you’re eligible for. And remember to keep your personal info with the CRA up-to-date year-round!

For more information about taxes and benefits for Indigenous people, go to canada.ca/taxes-benefits-indigenous. You can also follow us on Facebook, X, or Instagram @CanRevAgency, and listen to our previous episodes to stay informed on all things taxes.

Thanks for listening to this series. Until next time! I’m your host CC. Stay safe, and do your taxes.