There are two of these, and most people only see one
Canada taxes at two levels and each sets its own credits, so there are two TD1s. The federal form handles federal amounts. A separate provincial or territorial TD1 handles the provincial ones, and the federal form is explicit that you have to fill it in once your line 13 claim exceeds the basic personal amount of $16,452.
Skip it and your employer applies the provincial basic personal amount and nothing else. Every other credit you are entitled to, the disability amount, the caregiver amounts, tuition, is simply absent from your deductions for the whole year. It comes back when you file, but you have lent it to the government in the meantime.
Which province, and this one runs against instinct
- An employee uses the form for their province or territory of employment.
- A pensioner uses the form for their province or territory of residence.
So somebody living in Gatineau and working in Ottawa files the Ontario form, not the Quebec one. Anybody who crosses a provincial line to get to work and reaches for "where I live" has the wrong form sitting in payroll, and it will not announce itself.
Two payers at once means zero, not a repeat
The form is blunt about this. If you have more than one employer or payer at the same time and you have already claimed personal tax credit amounts on another TD1 for the year, you cannot claim them again. You tick the box, enter 0 on line 13, and leave lines 2 to 12 blank.
Claim the same credits on both forms and both employers under-deduct, each behaving as though it were your only job. Nothing looks wrong on either payslip and the shortfall turns up as a balance owing at assessment. The same logic catches two parents both claiming the caregiver amount for the same infirm child: only one parent may claim it.
The lines that need the worksheet
Two amounts on this form cannot be read straight off it, and the form sends you to Form TD1-WS for both.
The basic personal amount tapers above $181,440 of net income. Entering the full $16,452 anyway is precisely what the form warns will produce "an amount owing on your income tax and benefit return at the end of the tax year".
The age amount is $9,208 in full at 65 or over while net income is $46,432 or less, nothing at all from $107,819, and a partial amount in between. This tool shows no total in either of those cases instead of guessing high, because an over-generous claim costs you more later.
Not filing one is not the disaster it would be in America
This is worth knowing because so much withholding advice online is written for the US and does not transfer. If you never fill in a TD1, the form says your deductions "will only include the basic personal amount, estimated by your employer or payer based on the income they pay you". You still get the basic amount automatically.
An American who hands in no Form W-4 is withheld as a single filer with no adjustments whatsoever, which is the harshest treatment available. And a British employee never fills anything in at all, because HMRC issues a tax code straight to the employer. Three countries, three completely different default positions, and only one of them punishes inaction hard.
Common questions
Why are there two TD1 forms?
Because Canada taxes at two levels and each sets its own credits. The federal TD1 covers federal amounts, and a separate provincial or territorial TD1 covers the provincial ones. The federal form says you have to fill the second one in whenever your line 13 claim comes to more than the basic personal amount of $16,452. Plenty of people only ever complete the federal one and quietly lose every credit beyond the provincial basic amount.
Which province’s form do I use if I live in one and work in another?
The province or territory of employment if you are an employee, so the one you work in rather than the one you live in. A pensioner uses their province of residence instead. Somebody living in Gatineau and working in Ottawa uses the Ontario form. Getting this backwards is common with anybody who crosses a provincial line to work.
What is the basic personal amount for 2026?
$16,452 federally. Every resident of Canada gets it, and it is the one line most people ever claim. Above $181,440 of net income it is reduced, and the form warns that entering the full amount anyway can leave you with tax owing at the end of the year. The partial figure comes off Form TD1-WS.
What do I do if I have two jobs at the same time?
Claim the credits on one TD1 only. On the second one you tick the "more than one employer" box, enter zero on line 13 and leave lines 2 to 12 blank. The form says outright that you cannot claim them again. Claiming on both means both employers under-deduct and you get a balance owing at assessment.
What happens if I never fill in a TD1 at all?
Your deductions include the basic personal amount only, estimated by your employer from what they pay you. That is not ideal but it is far from the worst outcome, and it is much gentler than the American equivalent: someone who hands in no W-4 is withheld as a single filer with no adjustments at all. Advice written for one country does not transfer to the other.
Does the pension income amount cover my CPP?
No. Line 4 is the lesser of $2,000 and your estimated annual pension, and it specifically excludes Canada Pension Plan, Quebec Pension Plan, old age security and the guaranteed income supplement. Anybody whose only pension income is exactly those gets nothing on that line, which is not obvious from the wording.
When should I fill in a new TD1?
When you start with a new employer or payer, when the amounts you previously claimed change, such as the number of eligible dependants, when you want to claim the deduction for living in a prescribed northern zone, and when you want more tax deducted at source. You do not need to submit one every year if nothing has changed.