Tax Clinic
The TMAPS Tax clinic initiative is a collaboration with Canada Revenue Agency’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program, known as CVITP. Our volunteers are CRA trained and will file simple tax situations* for the current tax year only (2023). Our Tax Clinic is available to support TMU students. You must be a current member of either TMAPS, TMSU or TMGSU.
*A tax situation is simple if an individual has no income, OR their sources of income are from: employment, pensions, benefits, RRSP’s, support payments, scholarships, fellowships, bursaries or grants, and interest (under 1000$).
We will not complete returns for individuals who:
- Are self-employed or have employment expenses.
- Have business income and expenses (unless income is in box 048 on a T4A slip and less than $1,000 with no related expenses).
- Have rental income and expenses.
- Have interest income over $1,000.
- Have capital gains or losses.
File at Home for free!
Through membership in our national students’ union–the Canadian Federation of Students, TMAPS members can access tax filing software absolutely free.
To file for free, members must:
- Sign in to a new or existing UFile account for the current tax year
- Enter tuition fees and months at school (must file T2202a)
- Locate the “Special Offer” form in UFile’s left-hand navigation
- Enter the special offer code: CFS1981
(note: entering the code CFS1981 at check-out will not discount the tax file, the student must enter the code in the Special Offer section.)
Click here for more information.
Work-from-Home Income Tax Deductions
Students should file an income tax return even if they don’t have employment income, because they may still receive a refund and credits that they can carry forward to future years.
Even before the pandemic and shutdown, employees could deduct home office expenses, but it was a complicated process. The Canada Revenue Agency now provides a form on which employees who worked from home more than 50% of the time for at least four consecutive weeks due to the pandemic can claim $2.00 per day to a maximum of $500.00, without having to submit receipts, or anything from their employer.
Find a Community Tax Clinic in your area
TMAPS’s tax clinic is part of a collaboration with Canada Revenue Agency’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program, known as CVITP. There are hundreds of clinics in the CVITP program across Canada. These clinics provide service free of charge and vary in their level of service. Some clinics operate all year round, preparing past years’ returns, others may assist if you have self-employment income. Some clinics operate on a drop-in basis, others strictly by appointment.
Click here for the full list of clinics operating in your area.