Not filing taxes leaves thousands of dollars in benefits and tax-credits on the table for low income Calgarians.

And tax time is just around the corner.

Federal and provincial benefits like the Canada Child Benefit, old age security, GST rebates, climate action incentive payments, and income support are all tied to filing with the Canada Revenue Agency.

For example, the Canada Child Benefit provides up to $6,833 per year, per child, for the lowest income families.

“So things that really help people who live on low incomes, and increase their income—many times those extra resources are tied to filing taxes,” said Donna McBride, director of operations with Momentum.

Although the tax filing deadline is April 30, Momentum and other partner agencies that make up the Apsire Calgary Financial Empowerment Collective are looking to help low-income Calgarians prepare for tax season.

“Really, why we do this work as a poverty reduction strategy is because it does help people increase their income by helping them understand what benefits that they qualify for,” said McBride.

“One of the strongest methods for doing that is by having community agencies that have relationships and trust with people who live on low incomes, to put on clinics.”