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Tax trivia: 25 facts about income tax

Tax season is a time for facts, figures and number crunching, as millions of Canadians sit down to calculate how much they owe — or are owed by — the Canada Revenue Agency.

To mark tax season in all its numeric splendour, CBC News has compiled tax numbers and statistics detailing things such as how many people file returns, what the average refund is and how many offences against the Income Tax Act are recorded. (All the numbers are from Statistics Canada unless specifically noted.)

23.4 – Percentage of tax filers who claimed a charitable donation in the 2010 tax year.

$260 – Median charitable donation claimed by Canadian taxpayers in the 2010 tax year.

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$1,900 – Median federal and provincial income tax for senior families in the 2009 tax year.

24,512,273 – Number of 2010 personal income tax returns received by May 31, 2011.

15,129,554 – Number of returns electronically via Netfile or Efile system (2011).

8,569,627 – Number of paper returns received (2011).

16,816,779 – Number of taxpayers who received a refund for 2010 tax year (Canada Revenue Agency figure).

$1,586.87 – Average refund amount for the 2010 tax year.

$189.2 billion – The amount of personal income taxes collected by federal, provincial and territorial governments in 2009.

$63,800 – Median after-tax income for a Canadian family of two or more persons in 2009.

$500 – Amount families can claim annually in sports and fitness activity fees per child under the age of 16.

$9,400 – Median federal and provincial income tax for non-senior families in 2009.

$11,747 – Total income tax a person with an annual income of $50,000 will pay in Quebec for 2011, the highest regional amount in Canada. (Ernst and Young tax calculator).

$8,349 – Total income tax that same person would pay in Nunavut, the lowest regional amount in Canada. (Ernst and Young tax calculator).

$50.3 billion – Total amount of corporate income taxes collected by federal, provincial and territorial governments in 2009.

8.2 million – Number of Canadians reporting income from non-tax sheltered investments.

$50.9 billion – Total value of income from non-tax sheltered investments in 2009.

$8.3 billion – Total amount of charitable donations reported in 2010, an increase of 6.5 per cent from 2009.

$20,000 — Amount of principle each Canadian could have in tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) in 2012 without paying a penalty.

$39.2 billion – The total value of TFSA holdings in Canada at the end of 2010.

$54.4 billion – The amount of money held by Canadians in tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) in mid-2011.

$6,354 – The average TFSA account holding as of June 2011.

8.56 million – The number of tax free savings accounts in Canada as of June 2011.

562 – Number of offences against the Income Tax Act in fiscal year 2008/2009.

87 – Percentage of those offences that resulted in a guilty verdict.