January 24, 2021

---

Introduction

In our series on The Evolution of the CVITP, we tracked four areas within the CVITP on which we could find data over time: clients, returns, volunteers and host organizations.

In December 2020, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) released its Departmental Results Report for fiscal year 19/20 in which it reported only on the number of individuals assisted through the CVITP for the 2020 tax season.  In the background section to a January 2021 News release, the CRA also reported on the number of returns filed, organizations registered to host clinics and volunteers registered to prepare returns through the CVITP for the 2020 tax season.

We take the data from these two sources for the 2020 tax season, which covers the 2019 Tax Year, and plug the numbers into our tables to see how the program is evolving.

Clients

It is evident that the 2019 Tax Year saw a dramatic decline in the number of individuals assisted through the CVITP.  As we have noted elsewhere, the CRA puts the blame for this squarely on the introduction of COVID related public health restrictions.

Returns

Not surprisingly, the reduced number of individuals assisted is also reflected in the reduced number of returns filed.  Despite the dramatic decline, the average number of returns filed per client continues its modest upward trend.  This suggests the program continues to make gains in getting its clients to submit returns for prior tax years for which they had not filed.

---

Volunteers

There are two things worth noting here.  First, the number of volunteers declined for the first time.  It remains to be seen whether this is a temporary setback or indicates the CVITP will have trouble attracting more volunteers as the CVITP seeks to expand in future years.  (If it is indeed the latter, this will constrain the program’s ability to serve more clients.)

Second, we believe the number of CVITP volunteers should be viewed with caution.  Given the number of individuals assisted through the CVITP declined so significantly, it must be assumed at the very least that volunteers served, on average, fewer clients than in previous years.  (CVITP services were shutdown mid-March and remained closed for around 8 weeks, severely disrupting the traditional tax season.  In light of this, it is possible that some of the volunteers who had originally registered for the CVITP and are reflected in the total number served far fewer clients than in previous years.  Equally, some volunteers who supported the virtual clinics might have surpassed their previous year totals for clients served.)

Host Organizations

The number of host organizations registered continued to trend upward in 2020 (for the 2019 tax year).  In principle, this is good news.  However, just as with the number of volunteers reported by the CRA, this number should be treated with caution.

Given the number of individuals assisted through the CVITP declined so significantly, it must be assumed at the very least that host organizations, on average, served significantly fewer clients than in previous years.  (CVITP services were shutdown mid-March and remained closed for around 8 weeks, severely disrupting the traditional tax season.  In light of this, it is equally possible that some of the host organizations who had originally registered for the CVITP and are reflected in the total number served far fewer clients than in previous years.  Similarly, some host organizations that re-opened in May offering virtual clinics might have exceeded their previous year totals for clients served.)

The modest decline in the number of volunteers and the increased number of host organizations registered in the CVITP for the 2020 tax season, when combined, yield an average number of volunteers per host organization that reinforces the downward trend we have previously noted.