April 11, 2025
The CRA’s pilot project which provided financial incentives to host organizations to file returns was extended to the end of May 2025.
I believe this pilot project was instrumental in encouraging host organizations which had shut down their CVITP clinics during the pandemic to reopen again in 2021. But it has not resulted in a substantial increase in the number of host organizations over the four-year period running from 2021 to 2024. This has limited the reach of the CVITP within many communities.
The uncertainty around future grant funding for the CVITP beyond May 2025 remains. Below, I provide some predictions, informed by this context.
Results from delivering CVITP service to clients
The numbers of individuals assisted and returns filed may reach new peaks in 2025. But the annual growth in both numbers will be more modest than was seen in recent years.
As noted in Part 1, the number of individuals assisted grew by 17% between 2022 and 2023 and then by 13% between 2023 and 2024. Similarly, the number of returns filed grew by 18% between 2022 and 2023 and then by 13% between 2023 and 2024 seasons (when clients and returns both grew by 13%). The slowing growth reflects capacity constraints within the CVITP’s infrastructure.
The average number of returns filed per individual assisted may remain at 1.15, the high level originally seen in 2020 but repeated in the 2023 and 2024 return filing periods. It is conceivable that this average will rise but if this happens, it will be only marginally higher.
With each tax filing season, volunteers can use EFILE for an additional tax year. This year, it will be for the last eight years, from 2017 to 2024. This makes it easier to file more prior year returns, especially when combined with the use of the Autofill My Return function which is available for the same eight-year period as EFILE.
The funding formula for the fifth-year extension of the pilot grant project is much less generous than in the past few years. As the revised funding model only pays for returns filed, most host organizations will struggle to maintain their grant funding at the same level. One way to moderate the negative impact on their grant funding will be to focus on filing more prior year returns.
These two factors, when taken together, may lead to a marginally higher average number of returns filed per individual assisted.
Infrastructure supporting CVITP service delivery
The number of host organizations is unlikely to grow significantly, if at all, in the 2025 tax filing season.
As noted in Part 2, the number of host organizations fell by 2% between 2021 and 2022, was unchanged between 2022 and 2023, and grew by 3% between 2023 and 2024. This was despite the availability of funding from the pilot grant project throughout the entire period, which aimed to growing the number of host organizations by at least 5% per year. The weak growth relative to the target suggests that the pilot project funding was too low to serve as an incentive for more community-based organizations to host CVITP clinics.
The number of volunteers may grow further in 2025 but if it does, it will be only marginally higher than in 2024.
The number of volunteers declined by 3% between 2021 and 2022 but then grew by 8% between 2022 and 2024 and then a further 13% between 2023 and 2024. However, host organizations are constrained by limited resources like staff, office space and computers. The uncertainty surrounding further CRA financial support in the lead up to the 2025 return filing period meant that many host organizations were not planning to address these constraints. The eventual CRA announcement of a less generous funding formula for 2025 means that many host organizations will be unable to address these constraints. Thus, they will not be keen to recruit significant numbers of new volunteers.
CVITP service productivity
In the past two years, both volunteers and host organizations have, on average, been working at some of the highest levels of productivity ever seen in the CVITP. There are no reasons to believe there may be further productivity improvements within these two factors in 2025.
Capacity constraints within host organizations would suggest limitations on the numbers of additional individuals that could be assisted and returns that could be filed. If host organizations recruit more volunteers while individuals assisted and returns filed do not grow proportionately, volunteer productivity will decline.
Many CVITP clients received invitations to use SimpleFile by Phone in 2024. But very few people made use of this service. The CRA has indicated that it will continue to invite individuals to use its SimpleFile service in 2025.[i] Some invitation recipients may approach CVITP volunteers to get advice on using SimpleFile by Phone. As CVITP volunteers and host organizations have not been briefed by the CRA on this service, they will be in no position to provide advice.
[i] The SimpleFile service employs three methods for filing: by phone, by computer and by paper mail. Some 1.5 million invitations will be issued in 2025. While the CRA gives no breakdown on the numbers by method, most are expected to be invitations to use SimpleFile by Phone.