West Neighbourhood House (West NH) is on the lookout for people who are passionate about helping diverse people living on a low-income – seniors, newcomers, youth, parents, people experiencing homelessness individuals, and others – file their taxes. During tax season, we need volunteers for both our in-person tax clinics and hybrid-tax filing.
Ideal volunteer candidates will be detail oriented, have experience completing taxes (at least their own), are willing to learn about the tax filing issues affecting low-income earners, work well with others, and warm and welcoming.
Volunteers are supported by the West Neighbourhood House Financial Empowerment Team who has been helping people living on a low-income address their money matters since 2005. The team is supportive, very knowledgeable, compassionate and will support you while you assist others.
Volunteer Duties & Responsibilities:
- Complete personal income tax returns for individuals living on a low-income
- Inform tax filers about their tax return and the benefits of yearly tax filing
- Ability to work independently within a team environment
- Maintain privacy and confidentiality
- Must be punctual and reliable
- Participate in volunteer job-related training workshops and meetings (Training sessions will be held during weekday and evening hours in February)
- Welcoming and friendly
- Strong commitment to anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices
- Successfully completes the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) Registration and applies for EFILE and RepID #.
Skills/Qualifications:
- Previous experience in filing income tax with the Canadian Revenue Agency, minimally filing your own taxes.
- Must be 18 or older
- Must have a valid Canadian Social Insurance Number (required by Canada Revenue Agency)
- Computer proficiencies (use of laptop, tax software, etc.)
- Awareness of the challenges experienced by low-income individuals
- Good communication skills
- Friendly, reliable, responsible
- Demonstrated understanding of anti-racist, anti-oppressive principles, and commitment to ongoing learning
- Flexible and willing to learn
- Second language is an asset, especially: Hungarian, Arabic, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Urdu, Mandarin, Tibetan, Tamil, Vietnamese, Turkish and Spanish
- Must have a recently completed Vulnerable Sector Check, or be willing to complete a Vulnerable Sector Check prior to their volunteer start date
What you’ll get:
- West NH staff and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) orientation and training before volunteers start tax-filing
- On-going support from staff
- Learning and the satisfaction of helping to uplift others
Volunteer Commitment:
- Orientation and Software training sessions in February
- 3 hours per week (minimum) from March 1 to April 30, 2025
- Note: In-person or hybrid/phone tax clinics and appointments take place: In-person clinics (248 Ossington Ave): Mondays and Wednesdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
- Phone clinics to be announced at a later date
- Pre-screening call to take place with the Financial Empowerment and Problem Solving program team prior to onboarding
How to Apply/Contact:
Please call 416-532-4828, ext 171 or email volunteers@westnh.org for more information. You can apply to be a volunteer by completing this application form: