The Importance of Filing Taxes — Even If You Don’t Owe

In 2026, Rise Calgary’s tax clinic opened in February to begin collecting intakes for our low-income tax clinic. During this time, we were also coordinating and training volunteers to ensure they were familiar with the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) process.

Our clinic is not the only low-income tax clinic in Calgary. In fact, there are dozens of clinics across the city and throughout Canada. The good news is that there are many volunteers willing to help. However, volunteer availability can still be limited, especially during peak tax season.

Early in the season, our wait times are typically around four weeks. During the busiest periods, volunteers may be balancing vacations, work, or personal commitments, which can limit our filing capacity. At those times, wait times may extend to approximately 12 weeks for taxes to be fully completed.

If you would like to learn more about becoming a volunteer, visit CRA’s Become a CVITP Volunteer page.

Long wait times should not discourage you from filing your taxes. Sooner or later, taxes will need to be filed in order to continue receiving government benefits and credits. Most low-income individuals do not owe significant amounts, but even if taxes are owed, avoiding filing can lead to additional interest and penalties over time.

The CRA also offers options for relief from penalties and interest in certain situations. More information can be found here: Cancel or Waive Penalties and Interest at the CRA. However, tax returns must first be filed before relief can be considered.

April and May are often the busiest months of the year for our clinic. Life gets busy, and it can be easy to forget that personal taxes are generally due at the end of April. Even so, our tax clinic remains open for intakes throughout the season.

Key Things to Remember When Filing With Us

• Beat the rush by completing your intake early. We typically open intakes in early February, although dates may vary each year, so keep an eye on our website for updates.
• If you are filing with a spouse, or if you were married or common-law during the years being filed, we will require your partner’s basic information. However, exceptions may be possible if you are separated and unable to access that information.
• After your taxes are filed, our clinic will provide you with a tax summary. Please note that this is only a summary. Your official Notice of Assessment (NOA) will still be sent to you by mail or uploaded to your CRA account. Minor differences between the summary and official NOA may occasionally occur.
• If you have never created a CRA account, you will need either your tax summary or Notice of Assessment to register. These documents contain specific line numbers that the CRA uses for identity verification.
• If you paid medical expenses out of pocket, please total the expenses for each tax year before your appointment. We do not require receipts during filing, but you should keep them for your records in case the CRA requests them later.
• The same applies to self-employed individuals. Please total your expenses by category before filing. We can provide an expense tracking sheet to help organize this information.

Tax season can feel complicated, but at Rise Calgary, we are doing our best to make the process simpler and more accessible. We understand that professional tax filing services can be expensive, and we want to ensure support remains available to the community.

To everyone who has filed with us, we sincerely appreciate your patience. We also want to thank our volunteers for filing hundreds of tax returns and helping return thousands of dollars in refunds and benefits back to clients.