Tax season can be a pain, but some at the North End Women's Centre are comparing it to Christmas since a free tax return clinic started helping people find money they didn't even know they had.

Every Friday since the beginning of March a group of volunteers at the Selkirk Avenue social services agency have been helping people file their taxes, all free of charge.

Kristi Beaune said she's found more than $250,000 in returns and benefits for over 70 clients so far.

"Most people find taxes super stressful," said Beaune, the centre's community economic development manager who is heading up the tax return program.

"But I try and get people to understand what this tax thing is about so it's not so mysterious and so daunting.

"It is by far the most exciting, the most rewarding thing that we can do for our community."

Finding the benefits of taxes

This marks the first year the North End Women's Centre has offered the service, and it's one Beaune calls incredibly important, especially for low income earners.

"Just the child tax benefit alone, for families, can mean the difference between living in poverty and not living in poverty," she said.

"An average amount of money that a single mother could get for one child — as long as she fills out her taxes — could be between $300 and $600 per month.

"It costs a lot of money to raise children and that is a big help."

It costs a lot of money to raise children and that is a big help - Kristi Beaune

Beaune said many of the people she's seeing aren't aware of the sort of benefits they're eligible for, which means more than a few have been pleasantly surprised when they see their returns.

"There's benefits for seniors, there's benefits for families, for people with disabilities, housing, post-secondary school," she said.

"We're building relationships and we're getting to know people and finding out if there's any other things that we can direct them to so they have access to other benefits.

"It's things other tax preparers outside of this program might not ask about."

'It doesn't have to be scary'

For example, Beaune said last year, while doing similar volunteer work at a different organization, she was able to help a woman take advantage of a tax credit after chatting with her and learning her child had a disability.

That one really paid off.

"Not only did her doctor say of course, the disability tax credit is definitely something you're eligible for … Revenue Canada went ten years back so she got retroactive disability tax credit for her child," she said.

"About two-and-a-half months later she came back and showed me a cheque for $29,000."

The North End Women's Centre will continue doing taxes for free after tax season ends.

Beaune wants people to understand their taxes and see how beneficial it can be to get them done.

"I try to explain what it means and what the outcome will be so they feel a little more educated and a little more prepared," she said.

"It doesn't have to be scary — we'll get through it together."