The Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) at the Invermere Public library has received the software to begin taking on clients for the 2016 tax season.
The CVITP allows for the public to access help by trained volunteers to assist them in filing their tax returns.
It is a program that has been put together by the Canada Revenue Agency and they’ve reached out to community groups across the country for groups such as ours to host the CVITP locally. This will be our third year being an access point for the community volunteer income tax program, said library director, Nicole Pawlak.
Last year, the program in Invermere was able to match 60 individuals with community volunteers who helped them file their returns. Out of the 60 individuals who accessed the program, may of them had used the program the year prior, according to Ms. Pawlak.
I expect, for the 2016 tax season, we’ll have another growth and we have three community volunteers who have also gone through the training process who are able to assist people with their tax returns, she said.
The CVITP has requirements for people who want to use the program the Canada Revenue Agency asks that you have a modest income and simple tax situation. According to Canada Revenue Agency, if your income comes from the following sources, you could be eligible: employment, pension, benefits such as CPP, disability, CCB, EI, social assistance, RRSP, support payments, scholarships, fellowships, bursaries or grants, interest (under $1,000).
If a person qualifies under those guidelines, which are set by the Canada Revenue Agency, they can contact the library by giving us a call or they can email us. Once we know that there’s somebody who is looking for assistance, then we connect with local volunteers who have registered with the CVITP program and have done online training. We match them up with a time that works for both of them and then they come in and they use the library computers to file their income tax return, said Ms. Pawlak.
The CVITP is free to use and staff at the Invermere Public Library will work with your schedule to link you with one of the community volunteers. For more information on the CVITP program and for a complete list of participant requirements, visit www.cra-arc.gc.ca/volunteer/. Visit the librarys website at http://invermere.bc.libraries.coop/ or email [email protected].
