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Do you qualify for automatic free tax filing by the CRA?

automatic tax filing system

Over half a million lower-income individuals will receive a SimpleFile invitation this summer. This summer, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is sending out SimpleFile invitation letters. One of the following tax filing options may be extended to you: SimpleFile by Phone, SimpleFile Digital, or SimpleFile by Paper. 

This national pilot program for automatic filing is designed to help people who have never filed a tax return or have a gap in their filing history. It also builds on the success of the CRA’s earlier small-scale SimpleFile pilots.

One of the government’s promises in Budget 2024 is SimpleFile, and the CRA plans to send out two million invitations for the 2025 tax year.

Automatic Tax Filing Services

SimpleFile by Phone

  • An automated service that’s simple, safe, and free is called SimpleFile by Phone. By providing brief phone replies to questions, people with lower incomes and simple tax situations can have their income tax and benefit returns automatically filed.
  • There are no calculations to perform or paperwork to complete. After the call, people can obtain an estimate of their net income, taxable income, and a refund amount (if qualified) by providing their personal identification number.

SimpleFile by Paper

An easier way to file that works with paper that is accessible to all Indigenous communities.

SimpleFile Digital

A secure online service that lets users, along with authorized representatives using certified software, automatically fill in certain sections of an income tax and benefit return with data that is currently on file with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

The phone and digital services are open seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. Eastern time, for twenty-one hours every day.

Apart from SimpleFile, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) offers various services and programs to assist taxpayers in filing their returns, such as the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (also known as the Income Tax Assistance – Volunteer Program in Quebec) and Auto-fill my return in certified tax software.

How does the SimpleFile tax filing service work?

The invitation-only program, accessible by phone, online, and on paper, enables Canadians to file their taxes whenever it’s convenient for them, from the comfort of their own homes, in as little as 10 minutes.

The CRA states that to use the phone or digital service, users will be required to verify certain personal information and respond to a brief series of questions.

Customers using the phone service who have already generated a personal identification number (PIN) in My Account will have access to an estimate of their net income, taxable income, and any potential refunds.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a PIN; according to the CRA, you can still file a tax return without one.

Following the processing of their return, “individuals will receive a notice of assessment either in the mail or in My Account.

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