Low-income Canadians will be able to file their tax returns by phone this year.
Under a new automated service called “File My Return” announced by National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier today, about 950,000 Canadians with low or fixed incomes that don’t change from year-to-year can file their returns by answering a series of questions over the telephone.
That represents between two and five per cent of all tax filers.
People eligible for the new service will receive personalized invitation letters beginning mid-February, 2018.
They will be able to access all the deductions, benefits and credits they are entitled to, without having to do any of the paper work or calculations, according to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Nearly one million people with low or fixed incomes will be eligible for the new program.