What Is a TD1 Form in Canada?

Form TD1, the Personal Tax Credits Return, tells your employer or payer which tax credits to allow when it calculates the income tax to deduct from each pay. There is a federal form and a form for each province and territory except Quebec. This page explains when to fill one out, what each line claims, and the special cases: two jobs, the provincial form, northern residents and asking for more or less tax. It is part of the income tax hub; for how the credits on the form reduce tax, see tax brackets and the basic personal amount, and for the CPP side of your pay, see how to check your employer is paying CPP.

When to fill out a TD1

The federal form says to fill it out if any of these apply:

• you have a new employer or payer, and will receive salary, wages, commissions, pensions, employment insurance benefits or other pay;
• you want to change the amounts you claimed before (for example, your number of eligible dependants changed);
• you want to claim the deduction for living in a prescribed zone;
• you want to increase the tax deducted at source.

If you don’t fill it out, the form says your tax deductions “will only include the basic personal amount”. The CRA’s employers’ guide (T4001) adds that a new form is due within seven days of a change that affects your credits, that you don’t need a new one every year if nothing has changed, and that employees who don’t fill out new forms can be penalized $25 a day, from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $2,500.

What each line claims

The federal form for 2026:

On lines 7 and 8, add $2,740 to the line 1 amount if the person is infirm. The full conditions for each line are on the form itself.

The provincial or territorial TD1

You also fill out your province’s or territory’s TD1 if your federal claim on line 13 is more than $16,452. Employees use the form for the province or territory where they work; pensioners use the one where they live. If you claim only the basic personal amount, your employer deducts provincial tax after allowing the provincial basic personal amount, which differs by province (see the table of basic personal amounts). Saskatchewan residents supporting children under 18 may want to fill out Form TD1SK even if they claim only the basic personal amount, because it has a child amount.

In Quebec, employees fill out the federal TD1 and Revenu Québec’s Form TP-1015.3-V, Source Deductions Return, for Quebec income tax.

Two jobs or payers at the same time

You can’t claim the same credits on two TD1 forms. If you have already claimed your credits with one employer or payer and your total income will be more than the credits claimed there, tick “More than one employer or payer at the same time” on the second TD1, enter 0 on line 13 and leave lines 2 to 12 blank. The second employer then deducts tax without allowing any credits.

The opposite box, “Total income is less than the total claim amount”, is for someone whose income from all employers and payers for the year will be less than their claim on line 13; the employer then doesn’t deduct income tax.

Asking for more or less tax

• More tax. Enter an additional amount to deduct from each payment. The form mentions other income such as CPP, QPP or OAS as a reason; having more deducted during the year can leave less to pay when you file. The amount stays the same until you give your employer a new form.
• Less tax. To have less tax deducted for deductions or credits that aren't on the TD1, such as regular RRSP contributions, child care or employment expenses, charitable donations or tuition carried forward, you send Form T1213, Request to Reduce Tax Deductions at Source, to the CRA with supporting documents; if it approves, it issues a letter of authority, usually for one tax year, that you give your employer. The CRA usually won't issue one if you have a balance owing or unfiled returns, and no letter is needed for RRSP contributions your employer deducts from your pay. Non-resident employees working in Canada and non-resident directors don't use the form.

Northern residents and non-residents

Prescribed zones. If you live in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon or another prescribed northern zone for more than six months in a row beginning or ending in the year, you can claim $11.00 for each day you live there, or $22.00 a day if you maintain your own dwelling and are the only person in it claiming the deduction. In a prescribed intermediate zone, the claim is 50% of those amounts.

Non-residents. A non-resident can claim the credits only if 90% or more of their world income will be included in their taxable income earned in Canada; otherwise they enter 0 on line 13.

The TD1 and your tax return

The TD1 only sets how much tax is deducted from your pay during the year. Your tax return (the usual deadline is April 30; see tax deadlines for the exceptions) works out the tax you actually owe on all your income. If the credits on your TD1 were too high, or you have other income, you may owe tax when you file; if they were too low, you get a refund.

Related guides

• Income tax hub
• Tax brackets and the basic personal amount
• How to check your employer is paying CPP
• Withholding tax calculator
• Disability tax credit
• Tuition tax credit