Understanding CRA target audiences
There are 4 target audiences for CRA content: Individuals, businesses, charities and non-profit organizations, and representatives. Use the personas, audience profiles and other research for these audiences to help you create user-centered content.
On this page:
Individuals
Users across a variety of demographic groups (age, gender, income, etc.) who may be eligible for CRA benefit programs or are obligated to complete tax filing on a yearly basis.
Example sub-groups
- Individual persons
- Families
- Varying demographic groups (location, age, gender, etc.)
Personas
- Typical tax-filer – Lara Infozone
- Vulnerable – Fatima Infozone
- Needs help with taxes – Nate Infozone
Other research
- Ethnography of homeless and housing-insecure Canadians’ experiences filing taxes and accessing benefits
- Ethnography of vulnerable newcomers' experiences with taxes and benefits
- Ethnographic Study on Seniors’ Experiences with Taxes and Benefits Infozone
- An Analysis of the Individual Early/On-Time Debt Filer Population Infozone
- Assessing the Impact of Benefit Letters upon Taxpayers’ Filing Compliance – Phase 5 Infozone
Businesses
For profit companies of varying sizes (small, medium, and large) who interact with the CRA throughout the year for applicable tax programs and may be eligible for certain benefit programs.
Example sub-groups
- Incorporated small/medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
- Sole proprietors
- Partnerships
- Large companies
Personas
- Business owner – Beatrice Infozone
Other research
- Small business baseline usability test - Phase 1 Infozone
- Canada Revenue Agency 2020/2021 Annual Corporate Research – Quantitative Report: Small and Medium-Sized Businesses & Tax Intermediaries Infozone
Charities and non-profit organizations
Organizations of varying sizes (small, medium, large) that are either a registered charity with the CRA, or meet the criteria of a non-profit organization (i.e. organized and operated for any other purpose than profit).
Example sub-groups
- Registered charities
- Non-profit organizations (NPOs)
Personas
- None
Other research
- Charities IA validation - Phase 2 Infozone
Representatives
Users who interact with the CRA on behalf of another one of the client profiles - either a designated representative (e.g. a parent) or a tax professional/intermediary.
Example sub-groups
- Tax professionals
- Any authorized representative (e.g. friend/family)
- Community volunteer tax clinic representatives
Personas
- Tax service provider – Wayne Infozone
Other research
- Tax professionals’ journey map Infozone
Audience research tools
The Designing People First experiences page Infozone provides information about how to learn more about your target audiences through personas and journey mapping.
CRA has a research inventory tool Infozone that catalogues research reports submitted from groups throughout the agency. This inventory is continually updated and is a great resource to find information about our target audiences.
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