Share your ideas and input: Virtual tax clinics
Current status: Closed
In 2020, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) conducted surveys and interviews with organizations and volunteers who participated in virtual tax clinics through the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP).
What we learned
- Virtual tax clinics have faster filing times compared to in-person clinics. On average, completing a tax return at a virtual clinic takes 30 minutes, as opposed to 45 minutes at an in-person clinic.
- Virtual tax clinics make it easier to reach clients who have difficulty travelling. They can also reach clients living in remote areas.
- Digital intake forms have fewer errors and make completing a tax return more convenient for volunteers.
- 31% of free tax clinics offered virtual options in 2022.
- Some volunteers felt the training available did not adequately prepare them to run virtual tax clinics.
- Some volunteers had difficulty using the Auto-fill my return service.
What we’re doing
- Guidelines for how to participate in a virtual tax clinic are now included in the volunteer learning guide. An accompanying video walkthrough of the learning guide will be published in 2023.
- A series of volunteer training videos about how to use Auto-fill my return are now available.
- Questions about virtual tax clinics are now included in the CVITP’s end-of-season volunteer survey.