You may be eligible to take advantage of the income tax assistance program, which is provided free of charge.

If you have a modest income and a simple tax situation, a volunteer will help you complete your income tax returns and claim all the benefits and tax credits you are entitled to.

Modest income

Your total family income must not exceed the income limit for your situation (see the table below). Note that each community organization can set its own income limits. Check with the community organization to see if you are eligible for assistance.

The suggested income limits are shown below.

Suggested income limits
Person living alone	$35,000
Couple	$45,000
Each dependant	$2,500
One adult with one child	$45,000
Each additional dependant	$2,500

Simple tax situation

Generally speaking, your tax situation is considered simple if you do not have any income or if the source of your income is:

• employment;
• a pension;
• benefits such as those from the Québec Pension Plan, a disability insurance plan, employment insurance or social assistance;
• income or an annuity from a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP);
• support payments;
• a scholarship;
• income from interest (less than $1,000).

Your situation is not considered simple if: 

• you are self-employed or have employment expenses (however, we consider your situation simple if your income is less than $1,000, you do not have employment expenses and you are not registered or required to register for the GST or QST);
• you have rental or business income and expenses;
• you own property outside Canada;
• you sold a residence;
• you have capital gains or losses;
• you declared bankruptcy; or
• you are completing the return of a deceased person.

Income tax return preparation sessions

Participating community organizations throughout Québec hold income tax return preparation sessions where program volunteers complete eligible taxpayers' income tax returns for free. Organizations may choose to offer tax preparation services by appointment or on a walk-in basis, or may offer a drop off and pick up option.

Most income tax return preparation sessions are held during the day in March and April for income tax returns for the previous year. However, some organizations offer tax preparation services outside of this period.

To see the list of income tax return preparation sessions scheduled in Québec, click List of Income Tax Return Preparation Sessions.

Required documents

Remember to bring your information slips and RL slips, your receipts, your notices of assessment for the previous year and any other relevant documents. Volunteers will need them to complete your federal and Québec income tax returns.

If you are missing an information slip or RL slip, you can get a copy online through:

• My Account for Individuals, for federal slips
• My Account for individuals, for Québec slips

Auto-fill my return and Tax Data Download services

If you don't have all your tax slips, the organization may offer to use the Auto-fill my return service of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or the Tax Data Download (TDD) service of Revenu Québec to file your income tax returns.

Auto-fill my return is an optional and secure CRA service that allows eligible program volunteers to automatically fill in parts of your federal income tax return using software provided under the program. With your authorization, volunteers can access your CRA file through the Represent a Client service and use the information available at the time of filing your federal income tax return.

The Tax Data Download (TDD) service is a secure Revenu Québec service that lets program volunteers who have been authorized by the CRA and Revenu Québec automatically complete parts of your Québec income tax return using software provided under the program. The TDD service allows volunteers to access information held by Revenu Québec when filing your Québec income tax return.