TD1 2026: How to Fill Out the TD1 Form and TD1BC, Line by Line

Every employee in Canada must complete a federal TD1 form (Personal Tax Credits Return) when they start a new job. If you work in British Columbia, you also need to fill out a TD1BC form. These forms tell your employer how much income tax to withhold from each paycheque based on the personal tax credits you are entitled to claim.

This guide walks through every line of both the federal TD1 and the BC TD1BC for 2026, with the amounts printed on the forms the CRA released for pay received on or after January 1, 2026. Every figure below was read on the 2026 forms and the CRA indexation page on September 20, 2026. Most readers here are employees handing the form in; if you are the one hiring, the employer section covers what to do with the form once you have it.

What is the TD1 2026 and where do you get it?

The TD1 2026 is the CRA's Personal Tax Credits Return for pay received on or after January 1, 2026. It is a one-page declaration you give your employer (not the CRA) so they can work out how much income tax to take off each pay; the CRA reissues it every year with indexed amounts, and the 2026 forms page went up on December 8, 2025. There is one federal TD1 plus one form for each province and territory (TD1AB, TD1BC, TD1MB, TD1NB, TD1NL, TD1NS, TD1NT, TD1NU, TD1ON, TD1PE, TD1SK, TD1YT), each with a worksheet (TD1-WS, TD1BC-WS) for partial claims. Quebec is the exception: Quebec employees fill out the federal TD1 for the CRA and Revenu Québec's TP-1015.3-V, Source Deductions Return, for provincial tax, where the 2026 basic amount is $18,952.

Where to get it: download the fillable PDF from the CRA's TD1 forms for 2026 page, ask your employer for a copy, or complete the electronic TD1 your employer's payroll system provides. The CRA now asks employers to point employees at the online form or an electronic TD1 rather than hand out paper. Employees use the form for the province where they work; pensioners use the province where they live.

When must you fill out a TD1 form?

You are required to complete a new TD1 (and the applicable provincial TD1) when any of the following apply:

• You start a new job or begin receiving pension income.
• Your personal situation changes in a way that affects your tax credits, for example, you get married or separated, a dependant is born, a dependant turns 18, you or a family member becomes eligible for the disability tax credit, or you begin attending post-secondary education.
• You want to increase or decrease the amount of tax withheld from your paycheque.
• You have a second concurrent employer or payer.

If none of these apply and you filed a TD1 with your current employer in a previous year, you do not need to submit a new one. Your employer will automatically index the basic personal amount and other credit amounts for 2026.

Pro tip from our CPA team: If you had a major life change in 2025 (marriage, new child, separation) and did not update your TD1 at the time, you should submit a new one now. Waiting until year-end means you will have been over- or under-taxed on your paycheques for months. Need help with your tax situation? Our tax compliance team can review your credits and filing status.

How do you fill out the federal TD1 line by line?

Fill in your name, date of birth, address and social insurance number, enter $16,452 on line 1, add any of lines 2 to 12 that apply, total them on line 13, then sign and date page 2. For most single-income employees that is line 1, line 13 and a signature. The 2026 form has 13 numbered lines plus, on page 2, the boxes for a second employer, for income below your total claim, and for additional tax to be deducted. Here is what each line asks for.

Line 1, Basic Personal Amount

Every Canadian resident can claim $16,452. Enter this amount on Line 1.

However, if your net income from all sources will exceed $181,440 in 2026, the basic personal amount is gradually reduced (or "clawed back"). If your income will be above $181,440 but below $258,482, you should use the TD1-WS worksheet to calculate a partial claim. If your income will exceed $258,482, your basic personal amount is reduced to $14,829.

For most employees with a single job earning under $181,440, simply enter $16,452.

Line 2, Canada Caregiver Amount for Infirm Children Under 18

If you have a child born in 2009 or later who has a physical or mental impairment and who lives with you, you can claim $2,740 per eligible child. Only one parent can claim this amount per child. If both parents live with the child, decide between yourselves who will claim it. If the child does not live with both parents, the parent claiming the "eligible dependant" amount on Line 8 can also claim this amount.

Line 3, Age Amount

If you will be 65 or older on December 31, 2026, and your net income for the year from all sources will be $46,432 or less, enter $9,208. If your net income will be between $46,432 and $107,819, use the TD1-WS worksheet to calculate a partial amount. If your income exceeds $107,819, you cannot claim the age amount.

Line 4, Pension Income Amount

If you receive regular pension payments from a registered pension plan or fund (not including CPP, QPP, OAS, or GIS), enter the lesser of your annual pension income or $2,000.

Line 5, Tuition

If you are a full-time or part-time student at a qualifying post-secondary institution and will pay more than $100 in tuition fees in 2026, enter the total tuition fees you expect to pay. This includes tuition for the current year only, carry-forward amounts from previous years are claimed on your annual tax return, not on the TD1.

Line 6, Disability Amount

If you have an approved T2201 (Disability Tax Credit Certificate) on file with the CRA, enter $10,341. Do not claim this amount unless the CRA has approved your T2201, submitting the TD1 with a disability claim that has not been approved can result in under-withholding and a balance owing at year-end.

Line 7, Spouse or Common-Law Partner Amount

If you are supporting a spouse or common-law partner whose net income for the year will be less than $16,452, you can claim the difference. For example, if your spouse's income will be $5,000, your claim is $16,452 - $5,000 = $11,452. If your spouse has a physical or mental impairment, you may be able to claim an additional caregiver amount, use the TD1-WS worksheet to calculate.

Line 8, Amount for an Eligible Dependant

If you do not have a spouse or common-law partner (or you have one who does not live with you and whom you neither support nor are supported by) and you support a dependant who is related to you and lives with you, enter the difference between line 1 and the dependant's estimated net income for the year, as long as that income will be less than the line 1 amount. On your tax return the eligible dependant is a parent or grandparent, or a child, grandchild, brother or sister who is under 18 or infirm; the same person qualifies here. If the dependant is 18 or older, infirm, and will have net income of $29,374 or less, go to line 9 as well.

Lines 9 to 12, Caregiver Amounts and Transfers

Line 9 is the Canada caregiver amount for an infirm spouse, common-law partner or eligible dependant aged 18 or older whose net income will be $29,374 or less; the amount comes from the line 9 section of the TD1-WS worksheet. Line 10 is the Canada caregiver amount for other infirm dependants aged 18 or older: enter $8,773 if their net income will be $20,601 or less, or a partial amount from the worksheet if it will be between $20,601 and $29,374. Line 11 is for amounts your spouse or common-law partner will not use on their own return (age, pension income, tuition or disability amounts). Line 12 is for a dependant's unused disability amount, or a child's or grandchild's unused tuition amount. The northern residents deduction is not a numbered line; it has its own box on page 2 ($11.00 a day, or $22.00 a day if you maintain the dwelling and are the only person in it claiming the deduction).

Line 13, Total Claim Amount

Add up all the amounts from Lines 1 through 12. This is the total that your employer will use, along with the CRA's payroll deduction tables, to determine how much federal tax to withhold from each pay. If you run payroll, payroll software like Wagepoint applies these credits automatically once employees submit their TD1, and new businesses can claim our Wagepoint offer when setting up payroll. For the options we recommend, see our comparison of the best payroll software in Canada.

Important: If you have more than one employer at the same time, you can only claim personal credits on one TD1. On the TD1 for your second (and any additional) employer, check the box indicating multiple employers and enter $0 on Line 13. This ensures you are not under-withheld.

How do you fill out the TD1BC?

You only need to hand in a TD1BC if you are claiming more than the basic personal amount. If your federal line 13 is exactly $16,452, skip the TD1BC: your employer applies the BC basic personal amount of $13,216 automatically. If you do fill it out, enter $13,216 on line 1 (or $0 if you already claimed it with another employer), add the BC-specific lines that apply, and total them on line 11.

The TD1BC has 11 lines rather than 13, and the amounts differ from the federal form:

• Line 1, basic personal amount: $13,216 for everyone employed in British Columbia.
• Line 2, age amount: $5,927 if you will be 65 or older on December 31, 2026 and your net income will be $44,119 or less; a partial amount from the TD1BC-WS worksheet between $44,119 and $83,633.
• Line 3, pension income amount: the lesser of $1,000 or your annual pension income (CPP, QPP, OAS and GIS do not count).
• Line 4, tuition: the tuition you will pay in 2026 if it is more than $100 per institution, less your Canada training credit.
• Line 5, disability amount: $9,913 if you will claim the disability amount with an approved T2201.
• Lines 6 and 7, spouse or common-law partner amount and eligible dependant amount: $11,317 if the person's net income will be $1,132 or less; a partial amount from the worksheet between $1,132 and $12,449.
• Line 8, BC caregiver amount: for an infirm spouse, partner or eligible dependant aged 18 or older with net income under $25,356; calculated on the worksheet.
• Lines 9 and 10: amounts transferred from your spouse or common-law partner, and from a dependant.
• Line 11, total claim amount: add lines 1 to 10.

Page 2 carries the same second-employer and low-income boxes as the federal form. If you want extra tax taken off, that request goes on the federal TD1, not the TD1BC. Every other province has the same structure with its own amounts: TD1ON for Ontario, TD1AB for Alberta, and so on.

Personal Tax Credits Return: what does it mean?

"Personal Tax Credits Return" is the official name printed at the top of the TD1. It is not a tax return in the April sense; it is a declaration to your employer of the non-refundable tax credits you expect to be entitled to this year, so the tax taken off each pay lines up with the tax you will actually owe. Your employer converts your line 13 total into a claim code and reads the tax to deduct from the CRA's payroll deductions tables (T4032) or the formulas built into payroll software. The form still counts as a return in one respect: you sign a certification that the information is correct and complete, and the form itself notes that it is a serious offence to make a false return.

What happens if you do not fill out a TD1?

Nothing is withheld at a punitive rate, but you get no credit beyond the basic personal amount. The form says it plainly: if you do not fill it out, your tax deductions will only include the basic personal amount, estimated by your employer from the income they pay you. That is fine for a single job with no other credits, and the extra tax withheld for any credit you could have claimed comes back as a refund when you file your return. If you are an existing employee who simply never handed in a 2026 form, the CRA tells employers to keep deducting under the claim code they used for you last year. The two cases where skipping the form hurts you are a second job (you must tick the box and enter $0 on line 13 there, or you will be under-withheld and owe in April) and a change that removes a credit you claimed earlier, such as a spouse returning to work.

Common Mistakes When Filling Out TD1 and TD1BC Forms

• Claiming credits on multiple TD1 forms when you have two jobs. If you work two jobs simultaneously, you can only claim the full personal tax credits on one TD1. The second employer's TD1 must show $0 on Line 13. Failing to do this results in under-withholding and a tax bill at year-end.
• Not updating the form after a life change. If you get married, have a child, or your spouse starts earning income, your credits change. Failing to update your TD1 can result in months of incorrect withholding.
• Claiming the disability amount without an approved T2201. The disability amount is only available if the CRA has approved your Disability Tax Credit Certificate. Claiming it prematurely will result in too little tax being withheld.
• Confusing the TD1 with your annual tax return. The TD1 only determines how much tax your employer withholds. It does not replace filing your annual T1 return. You may still owe additional tax or receive a refund at year-end regardless of what you claim on the TD1.
• Using last year's amounts on the current year's form. The basic personal amount and other credits are indexed annually. Always use the current year's form, available from Canada.ca.

When to Submit a TD1 Mid-Year

You can submit a new TD1 to your employer at any time during the year. There is no deadline, your employer must process the new form for the next pay period after receiving it. Common reasons for a mid-year update include getting married or entering a common-law relationship, birth or adoption of a child, separation or divorce, a dependant turning 18 or leaving your household, and receiving CRA approval for the Disability Tax Credit.

If your employer handles payroll through a professional service, the updated TD1 information is typically reflected in the very next pay cycle.

If you are the employer: what to do with a TD1

Collect a federal TD1 from every new employee when they start, and a provincial form (TD1BC, TD1ON, and so on) whenever their federal total claim is more than the basic personal amount; in Quebec the provincial form is Revenu Québec's TP-1015.3-V. The CRA also expects a new form within 7 days of a change in the employee's circumstances that would alter their credits. Keep the completed forms with the employee's payroll records and do not send copies to the CRA; the retention rule for payroll records is six years after the year they relate to. You may set up an electronic TD1 instead of paper as long as the employee's identity is authenticated and a submitted form cannot be altered.

Then enter the claim amounts in payroll: line 13 from the federal form and line 11 from the TD1BC (or the TP-1015.3-V total in Quebec). Payroll software maps those totals to the CRA's claim codes and calculates the tax each pay. If a new employee never hands in a form, deduct using the basic personal amount only, which is claim code 1. If an existing employee has not given you a 2026 form, keep using last year's claim code. If the employee ticked the box saying their total income will be less than their total claim amount, deduct no tax, unless you know the statement is false. Apply any updated form from the next pay period.

The tax you withhold from the TD1 amounts feeds the remittance you owe the CRA each period along with CPP and EI (regular remitters pay by the 15th of the following month; a new employer with under $1,000 of monthly withholding can qualify to remit quarterly) and the T4 slips you file by the last day of February. Quebec employees add a second stream: provincial tax, QPP and QPIP go to Revenu Québec, and each employee gets an RL-1 as well as a T4. Getting the claim amount wrong lands on the employee at tax time and on you at a payroll review, so the claim amount should be typed once and carried by the software through every pay, the remittance and the slip.

Our recommendation for that job is Wagepoint, built in Canada for small employers. It stores each employee's federal and provincial claim amounts, calculates CPP, EI and income tax from them, remits to the CRA and Revenu Québec on your assigned schedule once you turn on Taxes Remitted For You, files T4, T4A and RL-1 slips at year-end (the RL-1 summary is the one form Quebec employers still file themselves), submits ROEs and pays by direct deposit. Pricing is published: Solo is $20 a month plus $4 per employee for one pay run a month, Unlimited is $40 a month plus $6 per employee for unlimited runs, with a 14-day free trial and support from a payroll team Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 8:00 pm ET. It syncs to Xero, QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks. Through our link a new account also receives a $50 gift card. For the alternatives, our Canadian payroll software comparison prices the main providers side by side, and the guide to payroll taxes covers the remittance calendar.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the TD1 form?

The TD1, Personal Tax Credits Return, is the CRA form you give your employer so they can calculate the income tax to deduct from each pay. It lists the non-refundable credits you expect to claim for the year, starting with the basic personal amount, and your employer keeps it on file rather than sending it to the CRA. The CRA reissues it every year; the 2026 version applies to pay received on or after January 1, 2026.

What is the basic personal amount for 2026?

The 2026 federal basic personal amount is $16,452 for net income of $181,440 or less. It is reduced gradually above $181,440 and reaches $14,829 once net income is $258,482 or more. The 2026 British Columbia basic personal amount on the TD1BC is $13,216, and the Quebec basic amount on form TP-1015.3-V is $18,952.

Do I need to fill out a TD1 every year?

No. You file a new TD1 only when your personal tax credit situation changes: a new job, a dependant gained or lost, marriage or separation, or eligibility for the disability amount. Your employer applies the indexed basic personal amount each year automatically, and you can submit a new form at any time to correct your withholding.

Do I need to fill out the TD1BC as well as the federal TD1?

Only if you are claiming more than the basic personal amount. If your federal line 13 is exactly $16,452, your employer applies the BC basic personal amount of $13,216 without a TD1BC. If you claim any other credit, fill out the TD1BC too, since the BC amounts differ: the age amount is $5,927, the disability amount is $9,913 and the spouse or eligible dependant amount is $11,317.

What happens if I do not fill out a TD1 form?

Your employer deducts tax using only the basic personal amount, which is claim code 1, so you get no credit for a spouse amount, disability amount, tuition or other credits you could have claimed. If you are an existing employee who has not filed a 2026 form, your employer keeps using last year's claim code. Any tax over-withheld comes back as a refund when you file your return.

What does Personal Tax Credits Return mean?

It is the official title of the TD1. The word return here means a declaration to your employer, not a tax return: it declares the non-refundable credits you expect for the year so the right amount of tax is deducted at source. Your employer converts the line 13 total into a claim code and reads the deduction from the CRA payroll tables. You certify that the information is correct, and making a false return is an offence.

Can I claim the disability tax credit on my TD1?

Yes, if you have an approved Form T2201 on file with the CRA. The 2026 federal disability amount is $10,341, entered on line 6 of the federal TD1, and the BC disability amount of $9,913 goes on line 5 of the TD1BC.

What does an employer do with a completed TD1?

Keep it with the employee's payroll records (do not send it to the CRA), enter the line 13 total claim amount into payroll, and deduct income tax accordingly from the next pay. If no form is received from a new employee, use the basic personal amount only, claim code 1. Ask for a new form within 7 days of a change in the employee's circumstances, keep the forms for six years after the year they relate to, and remit the tax withheld to the CRA with CPP and EI, by the 15th of the following month for regular remitters.

How do I request reduced tax deductions at source?

For deductions not on the TD1, such as RRSP contributions, childcare expenses or support payments, file Form T1213 with the CRA to request a letter of authority, then give the approved letter to your employer, who reduces the tax withheld accordingly. You do not need a letter if your employer deducts RRSP contributions from your pay.