Tax Tip - Empower yourself to do your own taxes

OTTAWA, ON, March 30, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Canada Revenue Agency

Learn about your taxes is a new self-guided online course from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for youth, new residents, and individuals who have never done their taxes before. It is also a great learning tool for anyone who needs a refresher on taxes. And, it includes lesson plans for educators who want to use the course in the classroom.

Canadians have told us they need help understanding how to do their taxes. Following public consultations, the CRA also identified a knowledge gap among young Canadians about the role and value of taxes. This free online learning tool will help all Canadians gain confidence in doing their taxes on their own.

What you'll learn

"Learn about your taxes" takes you through each step of filing your income tax and benefit return. It explains what documents and forms you'll need, how to read your pay stubs and tax slips, what your notice of assessment is, and more. It also helps you understand what taxes are and why we pay them.

The course consists of six easy modules you can work through at your own pace. It includes videos, practical examples, exercises and quizzes. For a course sample, check out this video about pay stubs.

Table 1. The six modules in "Learn about your taxes"

Module title	What you'll learn
Purpose of taxes	What to expect from the Canadian tax system and what our taxes pay for
Starting to work	What to expect when you start a new job and the tax information you should be aware of
Preparing to do your taxes	What you need to get ready to do your taxes
Completing a basic income tax and benefit return	The basic steps of filling out a Canadian income tax and benefit return and how CRA-certified tax software calculates the final amounts you'll see on your return
After sending us your tax return	What to expect after you file your tax return, including getting your notice of assessment and communicating with the CRA
Using My Account	How to use My Account, which is the CRA's secure online portal for individuals to manage their tax account

Lesson plans for educators

Educators can incorporate "Learn about your taxes" into the curriculum to help their students gain the important life skill of tax literacy.
Lesson plans are available to help them guide their students through each module of the online learning tool.

More tax resources

"Learn about your taxes" is a great way to start learning about the Canadian tax system. If you have more tax filing questions, we can help with those too!

Check out these questions and answers about filing your taxes. We update this page periodically with any changes that may affect you during the tax-filing season.

If you want a quick answer to a common question, use Charlie, our friendly chatbot. Charlie will help you find the information you need to file your tax return. Charlie is available on the CRA home page and many other CRA web pages on Canada.ca.

Stay connected

• Follow the CRA on Facebook
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• Subscribe to a CRA electronic mailing list
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• You can also watch our tax-related videos on YouTube

SOURCE Canada Revenue Agency

Media Relations, Canada Revenue Agency, 613-948-8366, [email protected]