By: Danielle Dufour
Tax season is upon us and Brenda Dreaver, a financial literacy consultant with Bridging Financial Literacy from the Big River First Nation, has some good tips for us to get prepared.
“You need to file by April 30th to avoid any implications,” said Dreaver. “For instance, if you’re a parent, it could affect your child tax or GST (Goods and Services tax credit).”
There are numerous ways to file your taxes.
“We can use the software, we can also file to apply to process our applications individually, or we can go to a tax preparer … like H&R Block, Liberty Tax,” said Dreaver.
“You basically just need a photo ID (identification), could be a driver’s licence or a status card,” said Dreaver. “You need your SIN (Social Insurance) number.”
For tax documents, Dreaver noted that you don’t necessarily need your T4 slips as the tax preparer can access them on file with your authorization.
Section 87 of the Indian Act states that income earned by a Status Indian is exempt from federal and provincial income tax if it is ‘situated on a reserve’, or if duties of employment are performed on a reserve, or if the employer is on a reserve.
Taxes and benefits for Indigenous peoples – Canada.ca
(https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/indigenous-peoples.html)
First Nations Tax Exemptions in Canada: Status, GST/HST, Income & Business Guide | taxbreak.ca
(https://taxbreak.ca/first-nations-tax-exemptions/)
As Indigenous communities have different taxation, they likely utilize TFSA’s (Tax Free Saving Accounts).
For those not tax exempt, when filing your income tax return, reporting RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings) contributions can lower your taxable income.
March 2nd is the deadline for RRSP contributions.
Students who have paid eligible tuition fees can also benefit by reporting their T2202 (Tuition and Enrollment Certificate) form for the 2025 taxation year, allowing them to claim tuition tax credits on their income tax return.
“There is also the Graduate Retention Program,” said Dreaver. “Those are tuition rebates that you can use to reduce your taxable income (after graduating from a certificate, diploma or degree program).”
If you happen to be eligible for a refund, some tax preparers offer immediate refunds called discounting that gets money to you quicker, but at a reduced amount.
The Tax Rebate Discounting Act governs the practice of discounting tax refunds and regulates how tax preparers acquire clients’ rights to refunds. The Act ensures that discounters pay at least 85 cents for the first $300 of a refund and 95 cents for any additional amount.
“They’ll give you your refund immediately or within 24 hours so you have access to that, or it could be given to you though a card, or through direct deposit, depending on which preparer you go to,” said Dreaver. “Five per cent might not be a lot, but if you’re getting thousands in return, then it can increase.”
Dreaver points out that if you wait the 10 business days, you will get the full tax refund from Revenue Canada.
Receiving a refund might cause one to feel excited but knowing what to do with those funds is important.
Dreaver suggests considering needs, wants, saving or debt reduction while thinking long term as opposed to spending it immediately.
“When you do pay off debt, but then go back into debt, then that might not be beneficial,” said Dreaver. “You want to stop and not get into another form of debt thereafter.”
Bio:
Brenda Dreaver is a proud member of Big River First Nation, located within Treaty 6 territory. She currently resides on Flying Dust First Nation. She earned her Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 2011 and has since dedicated her career to supporting Indigenous populations in both First Nations communities and urban settings.Grounded in her cultural background and guided by a strong commitment to community empowerment, Brenda has successfully helped secure millions of dollars in compensation for Day Scholar applicants by providing detailed, compassionate, and thorough application support. Her advocacy work reflects many hours of building relationships which assisted her in identifying the need to create financial education and awareness. She developed and delivered a financial literacy presentation to promote money management skills within Indigenous communities.
Her work as a Financial Literacy Coordinator reflects a deep commitment to advocacy, education, and creating lasting community impact.
(https://www.bridgingfinancialliteracy.ca/)