With tax season upon us, the majority of Canadian post-secondary students who don’t know how or care to do their own taxes most likely decide to walk up to the local H&R Block cough up $30 to have their income tax return, compared to those fortunate enough have their parents, family member or friend do it for them.

For those of you who already know how to do your own taxes, did you know that you could file it online for free? With a partnership between UFile.ca and the Canadian Federation of Students, you can file your taxes online and on time for free can be found here. Conversely, as that promotion applies only to students, everyone else can use StudioTax found here.

As for those who aren’t fortunate of having their own taxes done for them, don’t despair! You can have your income taxes done for you for FREE through the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) run through volunteer initiatives supported by the Canada Revenue Agency.

After scouring the internet, here’s a list of free tax clinics that I found run by your school’s student union. (If your school isn’t listed, here are alternative services that are under the CVITP program if you follow this link)

• University of Alberta
• University of British Columbia
• Brock University
• Carleton University
• George Brown College
• McMaster University
• Mohawk College
• Ryerson University
• University of Toronto (St. George Campus)
• University of Toronto (Scarborough)
• University of Waterloo (Undegraduate students)
• University of Waterloo (Graduate students)
• University of Western Ontario
• York University

Here are some common things to bring with you to make sure your return can be prepared:

* Photo I.D. and S.I.N
* Rent Receipts
* Medical Receipts
* Charitable Donation Receipts
* Public Transit Passes (Monthly or longer)

Information Slips
* T4, Statement of Remuneration Paid
* T4A, Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income
* T4E, Statement of Employment Income and Benefits
* T5007, Statement of Benefits
* T5, Statement of Investment Income
* 2005 Notice of Assessment for Tuition carry forward amount
* RC62, Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB)
* T2202A, Education Amount Certificate

Furthermore, I’m pretty sure you can attend any one of these free tax clinics even if you don’t attend the school that’s hosting the clinic, provided that you can prove that you’re a student.

If I accidentally omitted your school and you know that your school does in fact have a free tax clinic, please post it in the comments so everyone can benefit! Thanks!

- Will