It’s that time of year again… tax season is upon us! In the coming weeks, individuals and businesses in Canada will be preparing to declare their income and benefits received in 2024.
Filing taxes can be a headache, but for many, there is a reward at the end of the tunnel. Millions of Canadians across all income brackets emerge from the tax season with a refund.
In addition to potential refunds, there are many benefits, credits and programs available when you do your taxes. While you may need to apply for certain benefits and credits, the Canada Revenue Agency assesses whether you are entitled to several forms of benefits, based on your tax returns.
For example, in April 2023, 12.1 million Canadians received $1.7 billion in quarterly GST/HST credits, and in June 2023, 3.4 million families received $2.2 billion in Canada child benefits based on what they reported in their tax returns.
Overall, the Canadian government paid out $43.8 billion in refunds to 19.1 million Canadians from February 8, 2024, to January 27, 2025, for an average return of $2,295.
Getting help with your taxes
For both individuals and businesses, consulting with tax specialists may help to obtain the most favourable tax return possible. For those working in the accounting or tax preparation world, March and April are the busiest months of the year.
Operating revenue has grown every year since 2012, at an average rate of 7.0% per year. Following a 9.8% increase in 2022, the operating revenue of the accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services industry rose 9.7% to $28.2 billion in 2023.
Taxation preparation and representation services were the largest source of sales for the industry, making up 28.4% of all sales in 2023.
More than two-thirds (68.7%) of the accounting firms in Canada crunched numbers for businesses, and just over one in six (17.3%) filed on behalf of individual Canadians or households. The remainder (13.9%) worked for non-governmental organizations, government agencies or foreign customers.
Regardless of how you choose to do your taxes, a wealth of helpful tax information for individuals, businesses, charities and trusts is available.
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Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).