NATIONAL Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced on Monday that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is expanding its SimpleFile by Phone service. More than 1.5 million individuals, double the number from last year, have been invited to automatically complete and submit their tax returns in 2024.

This simplified method for filing income tax returns helps lower-income individuals access the benefit and credit payments they are entitled to more easily, while simplifying their lives.

Benefit and credit payments, such as the Canada child benefit and the goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax credit, help make life more affordable, said the minister. Filing a tax return also confirms an individual’s eligibility for programs such as the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

SimpleFile by Phone is a free, easy and secure automated service that has existed since 2018. It is designed to help individuals with lower or fixed incomes and simple tax situations complete their tax returns in as little as 10 minutes. This service uses the information on file for the individual and the responses they provide to automatically complete and file their tax return.

Bibeau said: “Among the many people working to reduce poverty in Canada, several have told me that when lower-income Canadians complete and send in their tax returns and start receiving government benefit and credit payments, they have much less need to rely on community services to make ends meet. That’s one of the reasons we want to make filing easier for them through initiatives like SimpleFile by Phone and by promoting free tax clinics.”

Starting in Summer 2024, the CRA will also pilot SimpleFile digital and paper options in all the provinces and territories. These new services will target lower-income individuals who do not file their tax returns or who have a gap in their filing history, and therefore are not receiving the benefit and credit payments they could be entitled to.

The CRA plans to consult with stakeholders, community organizations, and tax professionals on the next phase of Canada’s automatic tax filing plan beyond 2025.

• SimpleFile by Phone is an automated phone service and users do not need to speak to a contact centre agent.
• SimpleFile by Phone is an invitation-only service. The CRA will invite individuals by mail, or by email if the option to receive emails is selected in My Account.
• Individuals can complete their tax return in as little as 10 minutes from the comfort of their own home, at a time that works for them.
• Individuals need to confirm some personal information and then answer a series of short questions, using the keypad of their phone. There are no forms to fill out or calculations to do.
• The service is available 21 hours a day, from 6 am to 3 am, Eastern time, 7 days a week.
• With a personal identification number (PIN), individuals can receive an estimate of their net income, taxable income, and any refund that they may be eligible for at the end of the call. A tax return can still be automatically filed without a PIN.
• Individuals will receive a notice of assessment either in the mail or in My Account after their return has been processed.