2024 Edition (2020 tax year) visualization

This interactive data visualization dashboard provides information on tax filing and benefit participation for six populations deemed hard-to-reach or vulnerable, estimated by linking the 2021 Census and Canada Revenue Agency tax data for the 2020 tax year by sociodemographic characteristics and geographic area.

Explanatory notes

Tax filing and benefit participation rates in this report are based on the ‘linked population’, which refers to Canadian residents who were found and matched in both the 2021 Census and individual tax datasets. Individual tax data for the 2020 tax year was linked with the 2021 Census data using common and personal identifiers such as date of birth and address.

For more information, please consult the 2024 edition of the report.

Limitations

Tax filing and benefit participation rates should not be compared to rates for the overall Canadian population because they are based on the ‘linked population’.

Since data in the visualization and statistical tables of this report are based on linkages between CRA’s individual tax data in 2020 and StatCan’s 2021 Census of Population, the estimates therefore exclude people who: 

• did not participate in the 2021 Census
• do not participate in the tax system
• have made mistakes when filling out the 2021 Census and/or CRA tax forms

Identifying specific individuals not in receipt of benefits is a challenge. Data on some population segments, particularly those who have not interacted with government, is incomplete and in some cases does not exist. 

In addition, tax filing rates in this report do not consider the impact of late filing and compliance activities beyond December 31, 2021.

The benefit participation rates in this study do not consider income and other requirements to determine eligibility for the Canada Child Benefit, Canada Workers Benefit, and Guaranteed Income Supplement.

Users should be aware that Statistics Canada uses income definitions that do not always correspond to income concepts used by other organizations. For example, the definition of total income adopted by the Census of Population Program does not correspond to the total income on line 15000 of the T1 Income Tax and Benefit Return that the Canada Revenue Agency uses for income tax purposes. For additional information on these linkages, please refer to Statistics Canada’s Income Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.

Since personal identifiers such as the name, date of birth, sex, and address, were used to create the linkages, the volume of the linked population depends on the quality of personal information collected in the Census and available in CRA records. There is a possibility of overlap between CRA records not linked to the Census and Census records not linked to the CRA datasets. While it is the best proxy for estimating the tax filing rates of hard-to-reach populations, these linkage rate studies should not be used solely as a proxy for estimating the total number of non-filers in Canada.

Comparability

Different methodologies, at different points in time, create different results. Any comparisons over time should be made with caution.

Tax filing rates in this research should not be compared to the CRA’s Departmental Results Framework Indicators because they use a different timeframe, different data sources, and only consider those who filed a T1 tax return.

Participation in the Guaranteed Income Supplement should not be compared with take-up rates for the benefit, which refer to the percentage of seniors receiving the benefit among those who meet the eligibility criteria, including income. Take-up rates for the Guaranteed Income Supplement are available in Employment and Social Development Canada’s Departmental results reports.

For more information on these data, please consult the 2024 edition of the report.

CSV Format

The data used to create this interactive dashboard is from the following data tables:

Table 1: Hard-to-reach populations’ tax filing and benefit participation rates by province or territory of residence (CSV, 33 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2 Footnote 3 Footnote 8}

Table 2: Hard-to-reach populations’ tax filing and benefit participation rates by census metropolitan areas and census agglomeration (CSV, 331 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2 Footnote 3 Footnote 7 Footnote 8}

Table 3: Hard-to-reach populations’ tax filing rate by age group (CSV, 3 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2 Footnote 3}

Table 4: Hard-to-reach populations’ tax filing rate by gender (CSV, 3 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2}

Table 5: Hard-to-reach populations’ tax filing rate by education level (CSV, 7 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2}

Table 6: Hard-to-reach populations’ tax filing rate by marital status (CSV, 8 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2}

Table 7: Hard-to-reach populations’ tax filing rate by first official language (CSV, 6 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2}

Table 8: Hard-to-reach populations’ tax filing rate by employment sector (CSV, 29 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2}

Table 9: Hard-to-reach populations’ tax filing rate by visible minority status (CSV, 3 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2 Footnote 3}

Table 10: Hard-to-reach populations’ tax filing rate by visible minority group (CSV, 14 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2 Footnote 3}

Table 11: Hard-to-reach populations by population centre (CSV, 6 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2}

Table 16: Newcomers to Canada’s tax filing rate by admission category (CSV, 1 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2}

Table 17: Indigenous People’s tax filing rates by Indigenous identity (CSV, 2 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2}

Table 18: Indigenous People’s tax filing rates by residence on reserve or off reserve (CSV, 1 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2}

Table 19: Persons with disabilities’ tax filing rates by difficulty performing certain activities of daily living (CSV, 2 KB) ^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2}