ReachableFree help filing your taxes — and why filing unlocks the money
A tax return is not really about tax. It is the switch that turns on almost every benefit paid to people with low incomes in Canada. Trained volunteers in Victoria will file it for you, for free, including years you never filed.
Checked on 3 September 2026
At a glance
- What you get
- A trained volunteer fills in and files your tax return. That one return is what starts or keeps the Guaranteed Income Supplement, the Canada Disability Benefit, the Groceries and Essentials Benefit, SAFER, the rental assistance programs, the B.C. Senior's Supplement and the RDSP bond.
- Who it is for
- People with a modest income and a simple return — about $40,000 for one person, $55,000 for two, more for bigger households. Having no income at all still counts.
- What it costs
- Nothing. The volunteers are not paid and cannot accept a fee.
- How long it takes
- Usually one visit. In Victoria, TAPS at 828 View Street takes drop-ins all year, no appointment.
Filing is the switch
Most people think of a tax return as something you do when you owe money, or when you are getting a refund from a job. If you have no job and no money, it feels pointless.
It is the opposite.
Almost every benefit for people with low incomes is worked out from your tax return, so a year you do not file is a year the government has no proof you are poor. The payments do not pause politely and wait for you. Some never start. Some stop in July without warning.
The most expensive sentence in this guide
"I have no income, so I don't need to file."
The person with no income is the person losing the most money by not filing. The benefits that pay the most are the ones for people with the lowest incomes — and every one of them is calculated from a return you did not send.
Here is what that looks like in real life. A senior stops filing because she has nothing but Old Age Security. The next July, the Guaranteed Income Supplement stops — that is up to $1,123.17 a month gone. The B.C. Senior's Supplement rides on the Guaranteed Income Supplement, so that stops too. Her quarterly Groceries and Essentials Benefit stops. BC Housing asks for proof of income for SAFER and she has none. One unfiled return, four losses.
What one tax return turns on
These are the big ones. Read down the last column: every single row needs a filed return.
| Benefit | What it can be worth | What the return does |
|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) | Up to $1,123.17 a month for a single senior (July to September 2026) | Recalculated every July from last year's return. No return, no GIS from July. |
| B.C. Senior's Supplement | Up to $99.30 a month for a single senior | Paid automatically, but only to people getting GIS. GIS stops, this stops. |
| Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (the old GST credit) | Up to $679 a year single, $890 for a couple, plus $234 per child under 19 | No form exists. Filing is the application. |
| Canada Disability Benefit | Up to $204.20 a month (July 2026 to June 2027) | You and your spouse or partner must have filed last year's return. |
| RDSP bond | Up to $1,000 a year, with no deposit of your own | The bond is set by your income two years ago. No return, no bond. |
| SAFER (rent help for renters 60 and over) | A monthly cheque toward rent | BC Housing asks for your Notice of Assessment or CRA proof of income. |
| BC Rental Assistance Program (families with children) | A monthly cheque toward rent | BC Housing lists filing a return every year as a condition of the program. |
| Canada Workers Benefit disability supplement | Up to $843 for the 2025 tax year, paid even if you owe no tax | It is claimed on the return itself, on line 45300. |
That is before counting the Disability Tax Credit, which is also claimed on a return, and which is itself the door to the Canada Disability Benefit and the RDSP.
What a free tax clinic is
The Community Volunteer Income Tax Program is a partnership between the Canada Revenue Agency and community organisations. Volunteers are trained by the CRA and file simple returns for free.
They are not accountants selling you something, and they are not the government checking up on you. They cannot charge you and they cannot take a cut of your refund.
Clinics come in four shapes:
- Walk-in — you show up, you wait, it gets done while you are there.
- Drop-off — you leave your papers and come back for them.
- By appointment — you book a time.
- Virtual — done by phone or video, so you never leave home.
You do not have to wait for spring
Most clinics run February to April. TAPS in Victoria files taxes all year round, on a drop-in basis. If you have missed the season, or missed several seasons, that is the door.
Who qualifies for a free clinic
Two things: a modest income, and a simple return.
| People in the family | Most you can earn |
|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 |
| 2 | $55,000 |
| 3 | $60,000 |
| 4 | $65,000 |
| 5 | $70,000 |
| Each extra person | Add $5,000 |
"Simple" means ordinary income: a job, a pension, CPP, Old Age Security, EI, disability or social assistance, RRSPs, scholarships, or small amounts of interest. Having no income at all is the simplest return there is.
Volunteers cannot do a return that has self-employment or business income, rental income, capital gains, foreign property or foreign income, a bankruptcy, or a return for someone who has died. If that is your situation, a clinic will tell you at the door — ask them who they refer people to.
Where the clinics are in Victoria
Together Against Poverty Society (TAPS), 828 View Street — free tax filing all year, drop in, no appointment
- TAPS, 828 View Street. Drop in Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, 9 am to noon or 1 pm to 4 pm. Open all year, not just in tax season.
- Burnside Gorge Community Centre, 471 Cecelia Road. Takes drop-offs for TAPS. 250-388-5251
- James Bay Community Project, 547 Michigan Street. Runs its own tax clinic. 250-388-7844
- Disability Alliance BC — Tax AID. Free tax filing by phone for people with disabilities whose income is under $35,000. 1-877-940-7797
- In tax season (February to April), search the CRA's clinic directory at canada.ca/taxes-help for walk-in, drop-off, appointment and virtual clinics near you.
What to say at the desk
"I'd like to get my taxes done. I have a low income and a simple return. I haven't filed for [number] years and I'd like to get all of them caught up, because I think it's stopping my benefits."
If you are missing paperwork: "I don't have all my slips. Can you pull them from the CRA for me?" Volunteers can do this with your permission.
What to bring
- Your Social Insurance Number and photo ID.
- All your tax slips — the ones that come in the mail. T4 from a job, T4A, T4A(P) for CPP, T4A(OAS) for Old Age Security, T5007 for social assistance or workers' compensation, T5 for bank interest.
- Your rent for the year, or your property tax if you own. Bring the total you paid and your landlord's name.
- Last year's Notice of Assessment, if you can find it. Do not let a missing one stop you from going.
- Any letters from the CRA or from Service Canada that you did not understand. Bring them all.
If a slip never arrived or you have lost it, phone the CRA at 1-800-959-8281 and ask them to reissue it — or just tell the volunteer, because they can usually pull your slips from the CRA once you give permission.
Years you never filed
This is the part people are most afraid of and it is almost always the part that pays.
Clinics can file past years, not just this one. Nobody will scold you. Volunteers see unfiled years constantly — it is one of the most ordinary things that walks through the door.
What catching up can do:
- Restart benefits that stopped. GIS, the B.C. Senior's Supplement, and the Groceries and Essentials Benefit all come back once the missing returns are in.
- Pay you what you were owed. If you file a late return for a past year, the CRA can still pay the Groceries and Essentials Benefit you were owed for that year.
- Reach money from programs that have ended. The B.C. climate action tax credit made its last payment in April 2025. If you never filed a return for 2023 or an earlier year, filing it now can still get you that year's credit.
- Unlock the RDSP bond. The bond is worked out from your income two years back, so unfiled returns are the most common reason it never arrives. See our RDSP guide.
You do not owe money just because you did not file. If your income was low, filing usually means money coming to you, not going out.
Getting help with the Disability Tax Credit
The Disability Tax Credit is claimed on your tax return — on line 31600 — but you have to be approved for it first, using Form T2201. Part A is yours to fill in. Part B is filled in by a doctor, nurse practitioner, or another qualifying practitioner.
A tax clinic volunteer does not fill in the doctor's part. What a clinic can do is just as important:
- Claim the disability amount on your return once the CRA has approved you.
- Ask the CRA to go back and fix past returns. You can claim the Disability Tax Credit for up to 10 past years, and that often means a refund.
- Make sure you have the filed returns that the Canada Disability Benefit and the RDSP bond need before you apply for them.
For help with the T2201 form itself, Disability Alliance BC has two free services. Access DTC walks you through the Disability Tax Credit and the RDSP at 604-923-8136. Tax AID files taxes for people with disabilities with income under $35,000 at 1-877-940-7797. Both can also be reached on the toll-free line 1-800-663-1278, Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Do these in order
Disability Tax Credit approved → tax returns filed → then apply for the Canada Disability Benefit and open an RDSP. Doing it in that order saves months of being told to come back later.
Why people miss this
- "I have no income, so I don't need to file." This is the single most costly belief on this whole website. Filing with zero income is normal, fast, and free.
- They missed the spring clinics. They do not know TAPS files all year.
- They are missing one slip and stop. The CRA can reissue slips, and volunteers can pull them for you.
- They have several unfiled years and feel ashamed. Clinics do prior years routinely. Nobody is keeping score.
- They assume a free clinic means a bad job. The volunteers are CRA-trained and file the same return an accountant would for a simple situation.
- They were told to file by someone once and did it, but only once. GIS and the rental programs need it every year.
- They think they earn too much for a clinic. $40,000 for one person is higher than most people guess.
Where to get help in Victoria
- TAPS, 828 View Street — free tax filing all year, plus advocacy on income assistance and tenancy. 250-361-3521
- Burnside Gorge Community Centre, 471 Cecelia Road — drop-off for TAPS. 250-388-5251
- James Bay Community Project, 547 Michigan Street. 250-388-7844
- Disability Alliance BC — Tax AID for tax filing and Access DTC for the Disability Tax Credit. 1-800-663-1278
- Victoria Disability Resource Centre, 817A Fort Street. 250-595-0044
- Canada Revenue Agency — missing slips, your account, past returns. 1-800-959-8281
- 211 — dial 211 any time to find a clinic near you.
Or call the Reachable Line. We will help you work out which years are missing and which clinic to go to, and we will stay on the phone while you make the call if that helps.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page comes from a government or agency page we read on the date shown. Benefit amounts change, usually in July or January. If you are reading this long after the date at the top, phone the number for that programme and check.
- Canada Revenue Agency, Free tax clinics: canada.ca — free tax clinics (read 1 September 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Get your taxes done at a free tax clinic (income table, what counts as a simple return, clinic types): canada.ca — need a hand (read 1 September 2026)
- Together Against Poverty Society, Victoria office (year-round drop-in tax filing, 828 View Street): tapsbc.ca (read 1 September 2026)
- Burnside Gorge Community Association, community services (TAPS drop-off, 471 Cecelia Road): burnsidegorge.ca (read 1 September 2026)
- James Bay Community Project: jbcp.bc.ca (read 1 September 2026)
- Disability Alliance BC, contact and programs (Tax AID under $35,000, Access DTC, toll-free line): disabilityalliancebc.org (read 1 September 2026)
- Service Canada, Guaranteed Income Supplement amounts and payments, July to September 2026: canada.ca — OAS payments (read 1 September 2026)
- Province of B.C., Senior's Supplement rate table, effective 1 July 2026: gov.bc.ca — Senior's Supplement rates (read 1 September 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit — how much you can get: canada.ca — how much (read 1 September 2026)
- Service Canada, Canada Disability Benefit — how much you could receive (July 2026 to June 2027): canada.ca — CDB amount (read 1 September 2026)
- Employment and Social Development Canada, RDSP — how much you could get in grants and bonds: canada.ca — RDSP amounts (read 1 September 2026)
- BC Housing, SAFER (proof of income needed, income limits): bchousing.org — SAFER (read 1 September 2026)
- BC Housing, Rental Assistance Program (filing a return every year is a condition): bchousing.org — RAP (read 1 September 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Line 45300 — Canada Workers Benefit and the disability supplement amounts for 2025: canada.ca — CWB amounts (read 1 September 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Claiming the Disability Tax Credit (line 31600, adjusting up to 10 past years): canada.ca — claiming the DTC (read 1 September 2026)
- Province of B.C., Climate action tax credit (final payment April 2025; past years still claimable by filing): gov.bc.ca — climate action tax credit (read 1 September 2026)
Reachable is not the Canada Revenue Agency, an accountant, or the government. This guide explains public programs in plain language so you can go and claim them. It is not tax advice about your own situation.