More than 76% of Canadians filed their income tax returns electronically this year – a 17% increase compared with last year – the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced this week.
As of June 20, 2013, the CRA reports that 20 million Canadians had filed their taxes electronically. At the same time last year, the CRA had received 17 million electronic returns, representing 66% of total returns filed.
Some tax filers still prefer to use snail mail, but the percentage is dropping. In 2012, 8.8% of returns were paper; this number fell to 6.2% in 2013.
The CRA also reported that the average return increased to $1,641 for the 2012 tax-filing season. This is an increase of $22 per person from 2011’s figure of $1,619. The agency attributes this difference in part to the new family caregiver tax credit, which was introduced this year and applies to those looking after a physically or mentally impaired dependant.
