Why You Should Tell Clients the Benefits Estimates in Their Returns
We have been advised on more than one occasion by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) staff not to share with our CVITP clients the estimates of their benefits, provided in the return prepared by Ufile, because they are not always accurate.
On the contrary, we see two reasons why it is important to provide the estimates.
First, we have found it to be a useful check on any mistakes that we might have made. As the client will know if the amounts differ substantially from what they have been receiving in the past, they will tell us if they think there’s something that doesn’t sound right.
Second, the client’s main motivation for filing a return is not to pay income tax as most of our clients don’t pay any income tax. It is to maintain their benefits. They want to know what they are going to be getting if their return is filed. We always indicate that these are estimates only and that the CRA will provide the client with notices indicating the final amounts once their return has been processed. Our clients usually understand this distinction.
After reviewing the results of our calculations with the client and obtaining permission to file their return, we print out the pages listing the estimated benefits and provide this to the client with the rest of their return. The tax summary lists things like the Canada Workers Benefit and the refund which are also subject to adjustment by the CRA during processing. So even if we took the CRA agents’ advice and did not provide the estimate of some benefits, others would still show up on their return.
For us to say to our clients that the CRA has advised us not to provide them with this information because it might not be accurate would be totally unacceptable to many of them. It also presumes they cannot be trusted to understand the distinction between an estimate and the final amount as determined by the CRA.
We also find it strange as the reverse is not true: we are never advised to avoid sharing with our clients any amount they might owe in taxes because the calculation might not be accurate. When the CRA starts preparing automatic returns in its pilot next year, we hope that it does not follow its own advice. This is because we believe the response rate will be lower – or at the very least the CRA will get a lot more queries from recipients – if they have not received estimates of their benefits at the same time.
Great CRA Innovations: Represent A Client
This article describes “Represent A Client”, a new Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) innovation that we tried for the first time this year. It gives the CVITP volunteer registered for EFILE and a representative identifier (Rep ID) access – on a read-only basis – to the client’s entire CRA Account (whether or not the client has set up their own access to it). If the CVITP volunteer has the client’s permission, this function can be used for many things including:
- Getting T slip information to prepare income tax and benefit returns prior to 2017;
- Seeing the Express Notice of Assessment on the same day the return is efiled;
- Confirming that the CRA has received a return submitted by paper; and
- Troubleshooting a wide range of questions raised by the client.
The article also explains how the authorized CVITP volunteer can access the client’s CRA account using “Represent A Client”.
Why Every Volunteer Should Learn How to Use “Autofill My Return”
First introduced by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in 2017, Autofill My Return (AFR) is a great innovation. We use it all the time.
But when we speak with other volunteers about AFR, we are struck by the large number, many of them quite experienced, who continue not to use it. (The CVITP end-of-season survey results for 2022 corroborates this picture of low usage: only 35% of survey respondents confirmed that they made use of AFR.)
When we ask why they don’t use it, two of the most common complaints we hear are that it is too complicated and that it takes too much time to use.
This article outlines nine reasons why we think every volunteer should learn how to use AFR. Let us know if there’s a reason we’ve missed. We also want to hear from clinic coordinators as to why they think their organizations can offer satisfactory CVITP services without insisting that their volunteers use AFR.
Improving Calls to the CVITP Helpline for Client Information: A Simple, Secure Proposal
There comes a time in every volunteer’s work where they need to get on the phone with the client and call the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) CVITP Helpline. The Helpline is, in principle, a really good innovation which delivers expert advice efficiently. But more frequently than we would like, we have an experience which reminds us just how incredibly difficult it can be for some clients in communicating with the CRA. The barriers to client identification can be onerous, even for a client who is very well prepared going into the call.
Too often, the call’s success depends on the CRA agent who takes the call. The CRA agent first needs to ascertain that the client is indeed who they say they are. To do this, the CRA agent will ask for information on the client’s file which the client should know. Some CRA agents appear to detect from the way they answer that the client is likely to have problems with some of these questions. So, the CRA agent goes out of their way to permit the call to proceed. But this is not always the case.
Where the client fails to convince the CRA agent of their identity, the CRA agent will terminate the call. Often this results in the client being scared away from calling the CRA again. The client may also lose faith in the competence of the volunteer, thereby damaging the reputation of the host organization.
Our article outlines a proposal which builds on the security mechanisms the CRA currently uses for the CVITP. In addition to explaining a simple procedure which could be used to avoid the release of client information under fraudulent circumstances, we give a few considerations which should be taken into account when assessing our proposal.
Ultimately, we believe the CRA needs to place more trust in the rigorous security and confidentiality procedures it already has in place for the CVITP. Adopting our proposal, or something very much like it, would go some way toward reducing client stress and increasing the efficient use of CRA and CVITP volunteer resources.
How to Get Experienced Volunteers Back Next Year
Once a CVITP volunteer has been recruited, trained and gained some experience, the CVITP stands to gain if the volunteer comes back again next year. Given that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) does not publish information about its volunteers, we do not know if the root of the problem behind its stagnating volunteer numbers is principally one of poor recruitment of new volunteers or of poor retention of existing volunteers.
Just as with the recruitment of new volunteers, the CRA currently relies primarily on its host organizations’ efforts to retain their existing volunteers for the next tax season. Yet the evidence suggests this indirect approach, mediated via its host organizations, is not working. In this article, we propose ways for the CRA to get directly involved in efforts to retain its existing CVITP volunteers.
Volunteers need to be recognized for their efforts. This is a fundamental aspect of any organization’s work on retaining its volunteer. However, at present the CRA does remarkably little to recognize its CVITP volunteers’ contributions.
This article offers ideas for the CRA to better acknowledge their volunteers’ contributions both to the volunteers themselves and to the wider community. It also includes some other measures the CRA could take to help retain experienced volunteers.
These suggestions are informed by Volunteer Canada’s Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement (CCVI) and, in particular, its checklists for putting the Code into action (including the checklist on recruitment on page 9). While it has not adopted the Code, we believe the CRA should heed its advice as the Code represents the industry standard for Canadian organizations, whether non profit or government, in working with volunteers.
Stagnating Volunteer Numbers: Will CRA Succeed In Recruiting Better?
The federal government has frequently indicated it wants the CVITP to grow. In recent years, the CVITP budget has quadrupled to expedite this growth. As volunteers lie at the heart of the CVITP’s service delivery, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) needs to ramp up recruitment. How’s that going?
In the first article of this three-part series, we explore the current trends for volunteering in Canada and in the CVITP. We present evidence suggesting that the CVITP faces an existential threat with stagnant or declining volunteer numbers.
In the second article of this series, we review what the CRA has recently said about its plans for volunteer recruitment. It appears to rely primarily on the volunteer recruitment efforts of its host organizations to grow its volunteer base. Yet the evidence suggests this indirect approach, mediated via its host organizations, is not working.
Gambling further on using just this approach poses a great risk to the future success of the CVITP. The third and final article proposes that the CRA also get directly involved in more actively recruiting volunteers. The article offers ideas in three areas: developing appropriate promotional materials, launching an annual recruitment campaign, and using diverse media. These are used to illustrate what this more direct approach might look like. The article also suggests how the CRA could manage this direct approach.
These suggestions are informed by Volunteer Canada’s Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement (CCVI) and, in particular, its checklists for putting the Code into action (including the checklist on recruitment on page 9). While it has not adopted the Code, we believe the CRA should heed its advice as the Code represents the industry standard for Canadian organizations, whether non profit or government, in working with volunteers.
Once the CRA has recruited new volunteers, what can it do to keep them? Watch for our forthcoming article on CVITP volunteer retention.
Observations From Helping Chronic Non-filers to File
One host organization we work with as CVITP volunteers has good connections with other social services in the local community and, through those connections, identifies chronic non-filers who are now seeking to file. A number of these cases have been forwarded to us to work on. This article covers some issues we have identified when filing for these chronic non-filers. It also highlights issues raised that the CVITP is not designed to handle but which can impact on the client’s situation. This article does not cover the mechanics of how to file for these individuals; information on this can be found in our article “How do I file a client’s returns for prior years?”
Sixteen Lessons From Dealing With COVID
As we reported here, in the 2020 tax season the CVITP served only 55% of the clients it had served in the previous year. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) attributes the dramatic decline to the public health restrictions introduced in 2020 to deal with COVID.
In preparing for the forthcoming tax season, the CVITP tax clinics will be subject to similar COVID related public health restrictions. Furthermore, as of now, the CRA has given no indication that it will change the traditional filing deadline of April 30th to ensure the continuity beyond June 2021 of the many benefits which are conditional upon filing an up-to-date return. Significant changes in practices and procedures are needed to avoid an outcome similar to last year’s.
What can be learned from the experience last year which can be applied to this year’s tax season and to future years when the public health restrictions are no longer an issue?
This article identifies 16 lessons. We also invite our readers to share additional lessons drawing on their own experiences.
How do I file a client’s returns for prior years?
Volunteers are usually asked to file a client’s income tax and benefit return for the most recent tax year. However, there are also instances where volunteers may be asked to file prior years’ returns for a client who has skipped one or more tax year filings. In this article, we describe, in a series of steps, what we’ve learned from helping clients to file for prior years.
Client or Volunteer Error? Promoting Learning and Improving Service Quality
Volunteers make mistakes in filling out client returns. After all, to err is human. Here is what the Canada Revenue Agency could be doing to promote learning among its volunteers while improving CVITP service quality. At the same time, it would demonstrate a commitment to further protecting the integrity and reputation of the CVITP which encompasses its host organizations and volunteers.
The Evolution of the CVITP – Volunteers
In a series of articles, we trace the evolution of the CVITP, using information from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) reports and plans for Parliament. Read the article on the CVITP volunteers who have helped clients to file their returns. Our other articles tell you about the clients served by the CVITP tax clinics, the returns that have been filed at the these clinics, and the organizations which have hosted CVITP tax clinics.
Interested in reading the whole series? Start with our introduction and learn why we reach the conclusion that “the CRA’s reporting on the CVITP has been weak to date and gives Parliament too little information.”