Paul Raines volunteers at the Hart Pioneer Centre, among other locations, to help people with low incomes file their taxes for free.

By Tommy Osborne

Tax Season

Stressed about taxes? Local organization offers free help

Mar 24, 2026 | 4:27 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — It’s tax season, and if you’re stressed about getting your taxes filed in time for the April 30 deadline, there are several local organizations offering free help. Among them is the Hart Pioneer Centre, offering a volunteer tax service for anyone on a low income.

“Every Monday from the beginning of March until the end of April, we have free income tax preparation. And it’s for anyone, you do not have to be a senior as long as you meet the criteria,” explained the Hart Pioneer Centre’s President Lorraine Prouse.

“We get young employees from McDonald’s. We get people in their 40s, we get people in their 80s, so it’s open to everyone. It’s free,” she added.

The service is a first-come first-served basis from 9:15 a.m. to noon, and to qualify for the service, Prouse explains there are several qualifications you must meet:

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• Must bring all your income tax receipts
• Electronic filing only
• Annual salary limits: $40,000 if you’re single, $55,000 if you are single with a dependent, $55,000 couple/ $5000 each additional dependent
• Simple tax situations only, things like bankruptcy, capital gains or losses, etc. will not be accepted

Prouse says those that have benefited from the free help provided by volunteer Paul Raines love it, saying she’s heard nothing but good things from those who come in.

“Some of the people who have come last year are coming in this year, and they bring some other friends along,” Prouse said.

As far as why you should file your taxes, besides the potential penalties that could incur, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says there are many benefits you could miss out on if you don’t file in time.

“That includes your Canada Child Benefit or even your GST, which is now the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit. Just because you may not have income to report, or have minimal income, it doesn’t mean that you’re not going to get some benefits, so filing your taxes is very important,” said CRA Spokesperson Nelson Ramos.

If you’d prefer to file your taxes online, Ramos says the CRA website has a list of trusted organizations you can file with, which have free and paid options. That’s on top of additional services the CRA itself provides, trying to make the process as seamless as possible.

“One of the ways that we try to make it easier at the CRA is that we introduced Simple File, where we’ve invited some people who have those simple tax situations or minimal income, and we can help file on their behalf,” Ramos said.

“It (online tax programs) makes sure that it captures all the benefits that you may be entitled to, whether you’re a student, whether you’re a senior, as long as you answer those questions, then you should be able to get a full tax return,” Ramos continued.

You still have more than a month to file your taxes, but Ramos encourages you to get on it sooner rather than later, especially if you have any questions or concerns, as the sooner you address those the quicker those can be answered.