Students: Put more money in your pocket with benefits and credits!

January 21, 2021

Ottawa, Ontario

Canada Revenue Agency

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) understands that many students have been struggling with financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even if you didn’t make any income last year, that’s okay! We still encourage you to file your income tax and benefit return, so you don’t miss out on a refund, benefit, or credit that you may be entitled to receive.

To get your refund faster, avoid delays and reduce your exposure to COVID-19, we encourage you to sign up for direct deposit, and make sure you file online and on time. The CRA’s Get Ready page has information about online filing and deadlines, as well as other helpful links.

COVID-19 benefits and your return

If you received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB), or Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) payments, these are considered taxable income, and you will have to enter on your return the total of the amounts you received. You will receive a T4A (for benefits issued by the CRA) and/or a T4E (for benefits issued by Service Canada) tax slip in the mail with the information you need for your return. You can view tax slips online as of February in My Account. Residents of Quebec will receive both a T4A and RL-1 slip.

In addition, you may owe tax when filing your return. This will depend on your personal circumstances, and the type of COVID-19 benefits you received:

We recognize that for some individuals, repaying these benefits could present significant financial hardship. For this reason, payment arrangement parameters have been expanded to give Canadians more time and flexibility to repay based on their individual financial situations.

There may be other impacts to filing your tax return that are specific to the COVID-19 benefit you received, or if you are a resident of Quebec.

Get free tax help

If you have a modest income and a simple tax situation, a volunteer may be able to complete your income tax and benefit return, for free! This year, volunteers may be able to complete and file returns virtually by videoconference or phone, or through a document drop-off arrangement. To determine if you’re eligible and to find a tax clinic near you, go to canada.ca/taxes-help.

You can also quickly and securely file your return online. The CRA has a list of certified tax software products that are easy to use, fast, and secure. Some of which are free!

Put more money in your pocket

Here are some benefits and credits you may be entitled to that could save you money at tax time:

Take advantage of the CRA’s digital services!

Sign up for My Account to easily manage your tax and benefit affairs online. You can use My Account to quickly change your address and direct deposit information, track your refund, view your return status, make a payment, sign up for email notifications, and more.

If you signed up for My Account to apply for the CERB or the CESB, we encourage you to enter the security code you received from us in the mail to access all the features available in My Account.

Protecting you from scams and fraud

We recognize that there is a significant financial and emotional effect on victims of scams, fraud, and identity theft and we are doing our best to protect Canadians and ensure they receive the benefits to which they are entitled.

It is important to protect yourself from scams, and to know when and how the CRA might contact you.

As a fraud prevention measure you can sign up for email notifications from the CRA to receive a notification when you have new mail to view in My Account and when important personal information such as your address or direct deposit information is changed on CRA records. You can register to receive email notifications in My Account or the MyCRA or MyBenefits CRA web apps.

The scams and fraud webpage provides more information about how to protect yourself from fraud.

To learn more about the benefits of filing, go to canada.ca/taxes-students. You can also check out our questions and answers about filing your taxes for help on the tax filing process.

Contacts

Media Relations
Canada Revenue Agency
613-948-8366
cra-arc.media@cra-arc.gc.ca

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