Canadians receiving an average of $2,053 in tax refunds, CRA says

Canadians who filed tax returns this year and were owed a refund received an average of $2,053 from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), according to statistics the agency released on Friday.

Taxpayers who were in a debit position owed an average of $6,980, it said.

The 2022 tax season runs from February 2022 to January 2023. The statistics on returns and amounts owed or owing refer to the period from Feb. 10 to July 18 for individual tax returns from 2021 and previous tax years that the CRA processed during that period.

Of the 29.1 million returns the CRA has processed so far in the 2022 tax season, 16.9 million were in a refund position for a total of $34.7 billion. There were 7.4 million returns in a debit position for a total of $51.8 billion owed to the CRA.

Another 4.8 million were in a nil position with no amount owed or owing.

More than three-quarters (78%) of Canadians received their refund by direct deposit, while 22% received it by cheque.

The CRA received 29.4 million tax returns between Feb. 7 and July 17: 59.0% through EFILE, the service used by tax preparers for individual returns; 32.9% through NETFILE, the service used by individuals submitting on their own; 7.9% in paper format; and 0.2% through File my Return, the CRA’s automated telephone filing service for eligible filers.

During the 2021 tax season, the CRA processed 30.9 million returns in total, with 58.1% received through EFILE, 32.5% through NETFILE, 9.2% in paper format, and 0.2% through File my Return.

Rudy Mezzetta

Rudy is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on tax, estate planning, industry news and more since 2005. Reach him at rudy@newcom.ca.