Voice of English-speaking Québec offers English-language tax clinic
Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
editor@qctonline.com
Low-income members of the English-speaking community who need help filing their taxes this season will be able to have their returns prepared by trained volunteers, through a partnership between Voice of English-speaking Québec (VEQ) and the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP), a long- standing Revenue Canada program.
Individuals who made $35,000 or less in 2023, and couples filing jointly who made a combined $45,000 or less are eligible to file their taxes for free at a CVITP clinic, explained Maria Hoyt, CVITP co- ordinator at VEQ. The income threshold increases by $2,500 for each dependent child listed on the tax return. Only those with simple tax situations – people who are employed or reporting pension or social assistance income – are eligible; those who are self-employed, reporting income from rental properties or capital gains, reporting foreign earned income, dealing with a bankruptcy or filing on behalf of a deceased person’s estate are not eligible.
“If you’re interested in filing your taxes through the clinic, contact VEQ before March 29, and if we haven’t already filled the spots, we might have room,” said Hoyt. “I’ll ask a few questions to make sure you’re eligible. Then we’ll make an appointment where you can come to the office, bring all the tax documentation you have and fill out your consent form.” The necessary documents will then be sent to a volunteer, who prepares the return. Once the return has been filled out, the taxpayer will get a call from VEQ to come in, review their return and sign a final consent form. The volunteer will then file the tax return electronically with Revenue Canada and Revenu Québec.
The VEQ CVITP clinic has a small team of volunteers and spots are limited, Hoyt said. “The goal [of our clinic] is to support unilingual English speakers in the Quebec City region. If people are able to speak French, I refer them to other options.”
While the VEQ CVITP clinic is the only clinic in the region aimed at unilingual English speakers, three other CVITP clinics in the city – at the Centre des loisirs Saint-Sacrement in Upper Town, the Patro Laval in Limoilou and the Notre-Dame-de-Foy parish office in Sainte-Foy – offer English-language service. The Saint-Sacrement and Notre-Dame-de-Foy clinics also offer service in Spanish. Most clinics are able to process returns from current and past years.
VEQ will hold a virtual tax information session at 6 p.m. on March 27 for newcomers and other members of the English-speaking community with tax questions. To learn more or register for the information session, contact Maria Castro at newcomers@veq.org.
To learn more about the VEQ CVITP clinic or to become a volunteer, call VEQ at 418-683- 2366 or contact Maria Hoyt at maria.hoyt@veq.org. To find a CVITP clinic near you, go to canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/community-volunteer-income-tax-program.html and click “Find a tax clinic in your area.” File your taxes by April 30 to avoid late fees.