TIES Tax Clinic Sees Huge Response from Calgarians

A free tax clinic at TIES (The Immigrant Education Society) is well on its way to helping hundreds of people this tax season.

The clinic is available year-round but really ramps up during the months of March and April. This year, TIES opened the clinic a week early to accommodate growing demand, and officials say that demand has definitely been there.

“It’s hectic,” TIES Manager, Settlement & Financial Literacy Noha El Tanahi says. “That’s for sure.”

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As of March 10th, the clinic had already helped 415 people, with 361 tax fillings completed. Last year, it served more than 1,400 clients – in just two months.

El Tanahi says although TIES is largely considered an immigrant serving organization, anyone with low-to-moderate finances is welcome.

“We see everybody. We see newcomers, refugees, Canadians, youth, seniors … all the clients with simple taxes,” she adds.

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Bev Jerrett works with a local agency helping Calgary seniors.  

She’s here with one client, whom she says would likely be taken advantage of if he had to file on his own.

“If he had to do something with technology, he would be getting scammed left, right and centre because he wouldn’t know,” she says.  

“If he was left on his own to do it – it would be very dangerous.”

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El Tanahi says her team not only file tax returns, but they also help educate clients on everything they need to know about taxation and benefits.

Kateryna and Roman Moroziuk needed a “tax education” after arriving in Canada from Ukraine in 2022.  

“It’s the first experience for us because in Ukraine we don’t need it,” Kateryna says.

“We don’t do annual tax report,” Roman adds. “The employer pays taxes for us. So, it’s an automatic thing.”

“This makes all the difference because all of the other tax clinics are not free and here, we can ask everything we are interested in.”

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The clinic is largely run by volunteers, who have been trained by the CVITP-CRA (Community Volunteer Income Tax Program/Canada Revenue Agency) team as well as by TIES Tax Clinic Staff.  

Nina Gonzalez is a first-time volunteer. The accounting student says she’s happy to be able to help others overcome what can be a tough situation.

“I’m also an immigrant myself, so I remember what it was like to integrate into Canada,” she says. “I thought it would be really nice if I could use my skills from what I’m studying to help other people.”

“I know it was a struggle for my family, so I think it’s nice to pay-it-forward now that we’re settled in here.”

Gonzalez says her goal is to help give clients the best information and the best refund possible.  

El Tanahi says the feedback she’s getting shows they’re reaching that goal.

“I’m very happy that our reputation and our tax clinic is growing and growing.”

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The TIES Tax Clinic is available by appointment or walk-in Monday to Saturday – in person or virtually.  

It also offers assistance in many different languages including English, Arabic, French, Mandarin, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Nepali, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

The clinic will run until May 7^th and is made possible thanks to funding support from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the United Way Calgary and Area.

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Media RSVP, Interviews & Inquiries:

Tomasia DaSilva

Media and Relationship Strategist

Email: tomasiadasilva@immigrant-education.ca

Phone: 403-291-0002

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