Help people in your community by completing income tax returns, so they get the benefits and tax credits they are entitled to.

What is expected of a program volunteer?

Volunteers who participate in the income tax assistance program play a very important role: they prepare income tax returns for individuals with modest incomes and simple tax situations. However, the community organization a volunteer is affiliated with can assign them other roles, such as having them schedule appointments, check the eligibility of individuals, act as a resource person for other volunteers, or help organize income tax return preparation sessions.

All volunteers must register to participate in the program. In addition, most volunteers must meet one or more specific requirements in order for their participation to be approved.

If you want to become a volunteer, make sure you meet the requirements for the role you take on with the participating organization. For a description of the roles, go to the Register as a Volunteer page.

Regardless of your role, as a tax assistance program volunteer, you agree:

• to participate in the program through a participating community organization;
• to work within the program's operational framework;
• to safeguard and respect the confidentiality of the information of the taxpayers you help;
• to provide your services at no charge and decline any offer of a monetary reward;
• to always identify yourself as a tax assistance program volunteer and not as a representative of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or Revenu Québec;
• to not make any misrepresentations and to meet the high standards of integrity that taxpayers are entitled to expect.

Note that your usual place of residence must be located in Canada and you must be physically present in Canada at the time you prepare and file income tax returns under the Income Tax Assistance – Volunteer Program.

What are the benefits of being a program volunteer?

As a program volunteer, you will:

• have access to tax preparation software provided under the income tax assistance program;
• receive online training as webinars, web pages to read and case studies to learn about your responsibilities and acquire basic knowledge about personal income tax;
• develop new knowledge and earn experience completing the federal and provincial income tax returns;
• have year-round access to toll-free phone lines reserved for you;
• have access to the CRA's and Revenu Québec's online filing services, the CRA's Auto-fill my return and Revenu Québec's Tax Data Download service;
• receive certificates of appreciation from the CRA and Revenu Québec.

How to register as a program volunteer

To register for the income tax assistance program, click Register as a Volunteer.

Accountants and tax professionals

If you are an accountant or tax professional and you want to participate in the income tax assistance program, you must make a clear distinction between your own clients and the taxpayers taking advantage of the program. As a volunteer, you cannot use the EFILE and NetFile Québec numbers used for your business when preparing returns under the program. You must obtain separate numbers for use under the program.