How the TD1 form works
The TD1 is the form that decides how much income tax your employer holds back. If you never fill one in, your employer allows only the basic personal amount, which is $16,452 federally for 2026. Claim more, and the tax on a $60,000 Ontario salary can drop by $2,860 a year. Claim less, and it can rise by $2,959.
What the form does
The Canada Revenue Agency's 2026 Personal Tax Credits Return lists amounts you can claim, and you add them up on line 13, the total claim amount. Your employer uses that figure to work out your tax deductions. Fill it in when you start a job, or when your circumstances change, for example if the number of your eligible dependants changes.
The form only changes how much tax is held back during the year. The credits themselves are settled when you file your return, which is why the CRA warns that claiming the full basic personal amount on a high income can leave you owing at the end of the year.
The federal lines for 2026
| 1. Basic personal amount | $16,452 |
| 2. Canada caregiver amount for infirm children under 18 | $2,740 for each child |
| 3. Age amount (65 or older, net income $46,432 or less) | $9,208 |
| 4. Pension income amount | Up to $2,000 |
| 5. Tuition | Fees you will pay |
| 6. Disability amount | $10,341 |
| 7. Spouse or common-law partner amount | Line 1 less their net income |
| 8. Amount for an eligible dependant | Line 1 less their net income |
| 9. Canada caregiver amount for an infirm dependant or spouse | Worksheet |
| 10. Canada caregiver amount for infirm dependants 18 or older | Up to $8,773 |
| 11. Amounts transferred from a spouse or partner | Their unused amounts |
| 12. Amounts transferred from a dependant | Their unused amounts |
| 13. Total claim amount | Lines 1 to 12 added |
Complete only the lines that apply to you. Several lines are worked out with the form's worksheet, TD1-WS, because the amount shrinks as your or your family member's income rises. On line 1, if your net income from all sources will be over $181,440 and you enter the full $16,452, the CRA says you may owe tax when you file. You can work out a partial claim on TD1-WS instead.
A claim amount becomes a credit at the lowest rate
Every dollar on line 13 is multiplied by the lowest federal rate, 14%, and the result comes off your federal tax. That is the same treatment the basic personal amount gets in how Canadian income tax works. Your province works the same way with its own lowest rate. In Ontario it is 5.05%.
So an extra $10,000 of claim amounts is worth $1,400 federally and $505 in Ontario, whatever your tax bracket. Credits can lower your tax to zero but not below it.
You need a provincial form too
The federal form says you must also fill out your province's or territory's TD1 if your federal claim on line 13 is more than $16,452. Your employer uses both forms. Without a provincial form, tax is worked out with only the provincial basic personal amount. Employees use the form for the province where they work, and pensioners use the form for the province where they live.
Ontario's form is a good example. It has its own basic personal amount line, then an age amount of $6,342, a pension income amount of up to $1,796, a disability amount of $10,494 and a spouse or common-law partner amount of $11,029, among others. The amounts differ from the federal form, so do not copy one onto the other.
Examples on $60,000 in Ontario
| What you claim | Income tax a year | Take home a year |
|---|---|---|
| Basic personal amount only | $8,320 | $47,340 |
| Spouse with no income (federal $16,452, Ontario $11,029) | $5,460 | $50,200 |
| Disability amount (federal $10,341, Ontario $10,494) | $6,343 | $49,317 |
| No claims at all | $11,280 | $44,381 |
The spouse row uses the form's rule that the claim is the basic amount less your partner's net income, so a partner with no income gives the full amount. The extra credit is worth about $110 on each biweekly cheque. The last row is the number an employer would use for a job where you claim nothing.
A second job
If you have more than one employer at the same time and have already claimed credits on another TD1, you cannot claim them again. On the second form, tick the box for more than one employer, enter 0 on line 13 and leave lines 2 to 12 blank. The Ontario form says the same, with 0 on its line 10. Quebec's form is similar. The TP-1015.3-V takes a 0 on line 10 so the credits are not counted a second time.
Entering 0 does not remove CPP and EI. Those are still taken from every cheque, and the credits for them still apply. The federal Canada employment amount of $1,501 is also still allowed in the calculation. See CPP and EI explained.
Quebec
In Quebec the provincial form is Revenu Québec's TP-1015.3-V, the Source Deductions Return. Revenu Québec says the annual indexation of its system does not change the deduction codes, so you do not have to fill the form in again each year. Quebec's basic personal amount for 2026 is $18,952. Quebec residents also get the 16.5% federal abatement, so a federal credit is worth 11.69% of the amount rather than 14%. See the Quebec guide.
What the form does not cover
The TD1 mostly holds personal credits. RRSP contributions, child care and employment expenses, charitable donations and carried forward tuition are not on it. To have less tax held back for those, you ask the CRA for a letter of authority using Form T1213. The form also has a box for people who expect total income below their claim amount, and the employer then deducts no tax. If you want more tax held back, there is a line on the federal form for an additional amount.
The calculator has boxes for extra federal and provincial claim amounts, and a second job tick box. Standard credits are still what the $60,000 page for Ontario shows. Try your own claim on the calculator.
Keep reading
How Canadian income tax worksCPP and EI explainedQuebec is differentHow provinces compare