Canadians lose their taxginity at a young age, survey says

H&R Block survey looks at Canadian's first time filing taxes

CALGARY, March 21, 2017 /CNW/ - How old were you your first time? A new survey released today by H&R Block reveals the majority of Canadians (63 per cent) stopped asking their parents to file their tax returns for them and started filing themselves when they were between the ages of 18-24.

"We wanted to see how comfortable young Canadians are with their taxes, as Canadians in general can be bold, courageous and pioneering. We wanted to see if these traits apply to filing taxes, and it turns out, they do," said Adriana Harper, H&R Block. "The survey found that not only do Canadians take charge of their taxes at a young age, they also find the process to be easier than expected."

Canadians had a variety of reasons for relying on their parents to file their taxes. The most common reason being the fear of making a mistake (21 per cent) followed by the ease of depending on their parents (14 per cent), relying on the experience/knowledge of their parents (14 per cent), and not having to spend money on a tax professional (13 per cent).

"Canadians are looking for the comfort and ease of filing taxes that they had when their parents helped them, which is why H&R Block's variety of offerings is perfect for millennials," said Harper. "Canadians can file their taxes in an office to get the step-by-step support from a Tax Expert, and if they're comfortable they can also file online with H&R Block for free."

The survey found that although the majority of millennials (61 per cent, ages 18-34 at the time of the survey) filed their taxes on their own before the age of 24, they were also the largest cohort of respondents who still had their parents filing their taxes (20 per cent).

Other interesting findings include:

• Ten per cent of Canadians asked their parents for help filing their taxes between the ages of 25-34.
• Males were more likely to file their own taxes under the age of 18 without the support of their parents (18 per cent versus females at 13 per cent).
• Albertans were most likely to file on their own under the age of 18 (19 per cent).
• Canadians from British Columbia (8 per cent), Ontario (8 per cent) and Atlantic Canada (8 per cent) were most likely to continue asking their parents to file their taxes, over Saskatchewan (2 per cent), Alberta (4 per cent), Manitoba (4 per cent) and Quebec (6 per cent).
• At 16 per cent, Quebeckers struggled the most with taxes and found that doing them on their own was as difficult as they imagined it would be.
• Women were more likely to fear making a mistake when filing (23 per cent) than their male counterparts (19 per cent).

Filing your taxes online can be easy
H&R Block Tax Software offers comprehensive support features so people can manage their own filings with confidence, no matter the complexity of their situations.  Backed by the promise of being 100% free, H&R Block's Download and Online Tax Software is mobile-optimized, allows you to import data from other tax preparation software and provides tips, resources and help from H&R Block on how to complete your tax refund.

H&R Block's Download and Online Tax Software, which are available in both national languages, are available at www.hrblock.ca.

About the Survey
From March 8^th to March 9^th 2017 an online survey was conducted among 1,509 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to education, age, gender and region (and in Quebec, language) Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About H&R Block Canada
For over 50 years, H&R Block Canada is Canada's tax leader, with over 1,200 locations across Canada, and free do-it-yourself Tax Software. H&R Block's comprehensive education program, Tax Academy, trains experts and continually updates their skills. Learn more at www.hrblock.ca or 1-800-HRBLOCK.

SOURCE H&R Block Canada Inc.

For further information: or to arrange an interview: Amanda Federchuk, [email protected], 416-355-7401