Photo: Keith Lacey/Local Journalism Initiative

This group of volunteers has signed up to provide assistance this year and includes back row, left to right, Kathy Locke, Lillian Hibbert, Bev Mohuruk, Claire Chesley, program co-ordinator Shirley Pretty and receptionist Sue MacDermott. In front is Ankit Sachdeva.

Tax season can be a nervous time for many Canadians, but it’s especially overwhelming for low-income residents as many choose not to file their taxes for a variety of reasons, including the cost of filing a return.

A longstanding program in Penticton offers free income tax services to hundreds of local low-income residents and the 2025 program is well underway.

The Community Volunteer Income Tax (CVIT) program includes numerous volunteers, who are trained by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) staff, who spend several weeks completing annual income tax forms for low-income residents.

Shirley Pretty, the co-ordinator of the CVIT program in Penticton, said the small group of volunteers is busy preparing income tax forms for clients. It began last week and continues four days a week in March and April.

“I’ve been with this service for I believe is my 13th year,” said Pretty.

The volunteer program used to be offered by the Penticton Women’s Centre for many years and now operates on its own with program supporters.

The South Okanagan community foundation helps pay for the space to run the program over two months. This year’s CVIT program is being offered out of the Access Tax Centre, located at 246 Martin Street, in a commercial building located right beside Pasta Factory in downtown Penticton.

Viv Mohoruk, a longtime volunteer, said helping people who don’t have a lot of extra money laying around, provides great satisfaction.

“Our service is offered to people who are earning $35,000 annually for one person and it does change as more dependents are considered,” she said.

Under CRA regulations, low-income is defined as $35,000 or under for one person, $45,000 and under for two people, $47,500 for three people and each dependent can claim an additional $2,500 in expenses.

The free tax services are not offered for families of someone who has just passed away, those who have filed for bankruptcy, those who are self-employed, refunds involving capital gains, those filing employment expenses, business or rental income or sale of a principal property.

“We just do simple, basic tax returns,” said Mohoruk.

What many clients don’t realize is that properly filing their taxes can open the door to life-changing benefits, such as the child tax credit, GST rebates, Guaranteed Income Supplement, Canada Pension Plan and more, said Pretty.

“Last year and this year there’s something special that happened for a lot of our clients,” said Pretty. “That’s the B.C. renters benefit. Once they’ve filed their income tax, if they’re renting and not leasing from a relative, for more than six months, they are entitled to this benefit, which is $400 that comes back on their tax return.

“Almost all of our clients don’t pay a refund, so this benefit means they get $400 automatically deposited into their bank account.”

Even though the CVIT program has been around for more than two decades, there are still many Penticton and area residents who don’t know anything about it and that’s unfortunate, said Pretty.

“A lot of people of clients come in and they spread the word,” she said. “Once people know they can come in and get their taxes done for free, we get new people coming in all the time. The fact it’s free, of course, is huge.

A document presented by staff shows the number of clients the volunteers assist annually ranges from a low of 687 in 2013 to a high of 1,329 last year, with the average being about 1,100 clients annually.

More than 160 clients were assisted in the first four days of the 2025 CVIT program since the office opened on March 3.

The program continues Monday through Thursday until the end of April.

The program continues two days a week through May and then one afternoon each week for the rest of the year.

There are 11 volunteers on board for the 2025 program doing tax returns and two office receptionists, said Pretty.

“Most people are very thankful and very happy we offer this service for them,” said another longtime volunteer Lillian Hibbert.

Another benefit of the program is assisting clients who might not know how to access certain government documents to complete their income tax returns, said Pretty.

They will assist clients in going to the right government agencies and departments to access that information, she said.

“If people don’t have all of their tax papers, we have someone who can help them by sending them to the appropriate ministry office,” she said. “We also have a great relationship with Service Canada staff, who are more than willing to help.”

Ankit Sachdeva is a new volunteer and already enjoying helping clients.

“I wanted to participate more in helping the community,” he said. “One of the reasons I feel there is hesitancy in doing income tax applications is because people feel that if they’re paying people do their taxes, they are automatically more trustworthy,” he said. “But I can assure you coming to us you will be getting the same level of service if you go to a private income tax provider.”

Volunteers in the CVIT program offer a safe, supportive environment where low-income individuals can complete their taxes for free, she said.

Staff can also assist clients in setting up automatic deposit information with their respective banking institutions.

“We’re making a big difference people in peoples’ lives,” she said.

In 2024, volunteers served 1,324 clients file 1,735 returns.

“Our efforts brought over $18 million back into the hands of our community members through various benefits and rebates,” said Pretty.

Clients are urged to bring photo identification, and any tax slips they have.

Donations are the heart and soul of this program, making it possible for volunteers to continue offering this critical support.

This originally appeared in the Penticton Herald and is shared via the Local Journalism Initiative