Who it’s for and what people take away
Adults who file a tax return, aren’t sure whether they need to, or receive or might qualify for government benefits, including first-time filers, people on lower incomes and people new to the country.
By the end, people can:
- explain why filing a return can matter even for people who earn little
- find free, official filing help where it exists, and know what to ask a paid preparer
- put together a tax-time folder of the records they are likely to be asked for
- recognize tax and benefit scams, and check a message by going to the official source directly
Before the session
- Read the run sheet and the country block for where you are teaching, and open each official source so you know what it says.
- Print one worksheet and one country handout per person, plus spares.
- Make the activity cards: write each of the ten made-up items listed in the activity on its own card or slip, one set per table. Use no real names, numbers or logos.
- Ask the host whether there is a free tax clinic or official help point nearby, and check it is free before you mention it.
- Check the current filing season dates on the official tax authority site for your country, so you can answer “when is the deadline?” from the source.
- Check that the deck opens on the room’s screen, and have a printed copy as a fallback.
You will need
- Projector or large screen
- Printed worksheets and country handouts, one each per person
- One set of ten activity cards per table
- Pens
- Four sorting labels per table: Keep for tax, Keep for benefits, Keep for both, Be suspicious
Run sheet
60 minutes. Slide numbers refer to the deck.
Session timings| Starts | Length | What happens |
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| 0:00 | 5 min | Welcome and ground rulesSlides 1–2Introduce yourself. Go through the ground rules, and say clearly that you won’t look at or prepare anyone’s return.Say: “Nobody needs to tell me what they earn or what they receive. Everything today is general, and the handout tells you where to get help with your own return.” |
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| 0:05 | 10 min | Why filing mattersSlides 3–5Explain how filing can be the way refunds, credits and some benefits reach people, and that the tax authority often already has income information from employers and banks.Say: “For a lot of households, filing is how money they are owed reaches them.” |
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| 0:15 | 10 min | Free help first, and paid preparersSlides 6–7Go through the kinds of free help that exist in some countries, then what to ask a paid preparer. Point to the country block for the official free services where you are. |
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| 0:25 | 15 min | Activity: build a tax-time folderSlides 8Groups sort the ten cards into the four piles, then tick the folder checklist on the worksheet. Debrief, making sure the two suspicious cards were spotted. |
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| 0:40 | 10 min | Credits, benefits and scamsSlides 9–11Explain the kinds of support people often miss and that official checkers are free. Then cover tax and benefit scams and the habit of going to the official source directly.Say: “Nobody needs to charge you to apply for a benefit, and the tax office won’t demand payment by gift card.” |
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| 0:50 | 10 min | Records, questions and closeSlides 12–13Cover what to keep and for how long, using the country block. Take questions. Hand out the country handout and ask people to write their questions for free help on the worksheet. |
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Build a tax-time folder
15 minutes, using the worksheet.
- Give each table a set of ten cards and the four labels: Keep for tax, Keep for benefits, Keep for both, Be suspicious.
- The cards: a pay statement; an end-of-year income statement from an employer; a bank statement showing interest; a receipt for childcare; a letter from the tax office; a copy of last year’s tax return; a letter about a benefit payment; a rent receipt; a flyer offering “your refund today, as a loan”; a text message saying “You are owed a tax refund. Click here to claim it.”
- Groups have eight minutes to sort the cards and agree a reason for each. There is more than one right answer for several of them.
- Then everyone uses the checklist on the worksheet to tick what they would keep in their own folder. They don’t share it.
- Debrief for five minutes. Make sure the room spotted that the text message is a likely scam, and that the refund loan flyer is a cost to ask hard questions about before signing.
Questions for the room afterwards
- Which cards did your table disagree about, and why?
- Why might a benefit office ask for the same records as the tax office?
- What would you do with the text message instead of clicking the link?
- What would you want to know before accepting a refund loan?
Take care
General information, never advice about one person’s situation, and nothing to sell.
- Never ask about anyone’s income, benefits, immigration status or tax situation, aloud or on paper.
- Don’t prepare, check or advise on anyone’s return, and don’t estimate what someone might get. Point them to the free official help on their country handout.
- Don’t name or recommend any tax software, preparer or company. Where the tax authority runs or lists a free service, name that service only.
- Don’t quote tax rates, thresholds or credit amounts. They change, and the official site is the place to check them.
- If someone says they have been contacted by a possible tax scammer, help them find the official contact details; don’t call the number in the message.
Questions people ask
Do I need to file if I earned very little?
It depends on your country and your situation. Even when you don’t have to, filing can be how refunds, credits or some benefits reach you. Check the tax authority’s official site or free help on your country handout before deciding not to.
Will a refund or a tax credit affect my benefits?
It can in some countries and for some benefits, so ask the benefit office or the free tax help service about your own situation. This session can’t answer it for one person.
I didn’t file last year. What should I do?
File as soon as you can rather than waiting. In some countries a late return can still release payments you were owed. Contact the tax authority or free help, and ask whether there are any penalties and how to sort them out.
How can I tell if a message from the tax office is real?
Don’t use the link or number in the message. Sign in to your account on the official website or app yourself, or call the number on the official site. A real tax office won’t demand payment by gift card, crypto or a payment app, or threaten immediate arrest.
Can a free clinic help with everything?
Usually they help with simpler returns. If you are self-employed, rent out property or have a complicated situation, ask the clinic first whether it can help, and what to bring.
Where you are teaching
The rules differ by country. Teach the shared material from the slides, then use the block for the country you are in, and hand out that country’s sheet.
United States
- Free help from volunteers. The IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offer free basic tax return preparation by IRS-certified volunteers, at places such as community centers and libraries. VITA generally focuses on people who meet the Earned Income Tax Credit income guidelines, and TCE especially helps people aged 60 and older.
- IRS Free File. Go through IRS.gov to use IRS Free File; you won’t get it by going straight to a partner’s commercial website. Guided software has an income limit and partners set their own eligibility, while Free File Fillable Forms are available at no cost at any income level.
- Earned Income Tax Credit. The EITC helps low- to moderate-income workers and families reduce the tax they owe and may increase their refund. By law, the IRS must wait until mid-February to issue refunds to people who claim it.
- Paid preparers. Anyone with an IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number can be a paid preparer, and the IRS keeps a directory of preparers with recognized credentials. The IRS warns about preparers who charge fees based on the size of your refund.
- Keep your records. Generally keep records that support your income, deductions and credits until the period of limitations for that return runs out, which is three years in many cases, and keep copies of every return you file.
- Benefits. USAGov, the official guide to government services, lists federal benefit programs and how to apply, and points to your state social service agency for state programs.
United Kingdom
- Most tax is taken automatically. Tax is usually deducted automatically from wages and pensions. People with other income report it in a Self Assessment tax return, and if you need to file for the first time you must normally tell HMRC by 5 October after the tax year ends, or you could be fined.
- Your personal tax account. HMRC’s personal tax account lets you check your income from work and the Income Tax you paid over the previous 5 years, manage a Self Assessment return and find your Unique Taxpayer Reference.
- Refunds and allowances. GOV.UK has a free tool to check how to claim a tax refund if you have paid too much, for example on job expenses such as work clothing or tools. Marriage Allowance lets a lower earner transfer part of their Personal Allowance to a husband, wife or civil partner; it isn’t open to couples who aren’t married or in a civil partnership.
- Benefits calculators. GOV.UK links to independent benefits calculators that are free and anonymous, to check what you could be entitled to, including Universal Credit and Council Tax Reduction.
- HMRC scams. HMRC will never tell you about a tax rebate, or ask for personal or payment information, by text message. Forward suspicious texts to 60599 and suspicious emails to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk.
Canada
- Free tax clinics. Through the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program, and the Income Tax Assistance – Volunteer Program in Quebec, community organizations host free tax clinics where volunteers complete returns for people with a modest income and a simple tax situation. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) lists clinics by location.
- Filing brings benefits. The CRA administers the Canada child benefit, a tax-free monthly payment for eligible families with children under 18. For the GST/HST credit, now renamed the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, you generally only needed to file your return each year for the CRA to work out automatically whether you were entitled, and a late return for a past year may still bring a payment.
- Benefits Finder. The Government of Canada’s Benefits Finder helps you find federal benefits and links to your province or territory for local ones.
- Tax scams. The CRA says it may be a scam if someone offers to send your refund by e-transfer or text message, threatens to arrest or deport you, or wants to meet in a public place to collect a payment.
Australia
- Free help to lodge. You may be eligible for help lodging your return through the ATO’s free Tax Help program, or through National Tax Clinics, which help some people who can’t afford professional help. A registered tax agent is a paid option.
- Lodge, or tell the ATO you don’t need to. Most people need to lodge a tax return or a non-lodgment advice before 31 October each year. Waiting until the ATO has pre-filled your income information helps you get it right.
- Family payments. If you lodge a return, your income information goes to Services Australia to balance Family Tax Benefit and Child Care Subsidy. If you or your partner don’t need to lodge, you still need to tell Services Australia.
- After you lodge. Your notice of assessment is sent to your myGov inbox. You can amend your return if you made a mistake, and you may be able to set up a payment plan if you can’t pay a tax bill in full.
- Scams at tax time. myGov warns that scams and identity theft can increase during tax time.