How to Fill Out the TD1ON: Ontario Personal Tax Credits Return

To fill out the TD1ON, enter your personal details at the top of the form, work through lines 1 through 9 and claim only the Ontario tax credits you actually qualify for, add them up on line 10, sign and date the certification, and give the completed form to your employer’s payroll or human resources department. The current version of the Ontario Personal Tax Credits Return is available from the Canada Revenue Agency website, or your employer can give you a copy.¹ The total on line 10 is what your employer plugs into their payroll calculation to decide how much Ontario tax to take off each paycheque, so getting the lines right is what keeps you from either owing at tax time or lending Ontario money all year.

Do You Even Need to File One

If you’re starting a new job in Ontario, or if your personal situation has changed since the last time you filed one, yes. If you only qualify for the basic personal amount and nothing else on the form applies to you, you can skip it. Your employer will withhold Ontario tax as if you were an unmarried person with no dependants claiming only the basic amount.² The trade-off: if you actually qualify for more credits and don’t file, you over-pay through the year and wait for the refund.

The Information at the Top

The header asks for your last name, first name and initial, date of birth, Social Insurance Number, employee number if your employer uses one, mailing address, and postal code.³ Your date of birth is used to confirm eligibility for the age amount on line 2, and your SIN links the form to your CRA account. Make sure the name and SIN match what payroll already has for you.

Working Through Lines 1 Through 10

Each of the first nine lines is a specific Ontario credit. You enter an amount only on the lines that apply to you; leave the others blank. The figures below are for the 2026 tax year.

Line 1: Basic Personal Amount

Everyone employed in Ontario, and every pensioner living in Ontario, claims this. The amount is pre-printed on the form, so just copy it onto the line.³

Line 2: Age Amount

If you will be 65 or older on December 31, 2026, and your net income for the year will be $47,210 or less, enter $6,342. If your net income will fall between $47,210 and $89,490, you qualify for a partial amount and should use the TD1ON-WS worksheet that comes with the form to calculate it. If your net income will be more than $89,490, you can’t claim this credit.³

Line 3: Pension Income Amount

If you receive regular pension payments, enter the lesser of $1,796 or your estimated annual pension income. Only private or employer pensions count. CPP, QPP, Old Age Security, and the Guaranteed Income Supplement do not qualify for this line.³

Line 4: Disability Amount

Enter $10,494 only if you have an approved Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate, on file with the CRA.³⁴ A medical practitioner completes part of the T2201, and the CRA has to approve it before you can claim the amount. If your T2201 hasn’t been approved yet, leave the line blank. Claiming it prematurely leads to under-withholding and a balance owing next spring.

Line 5: Spouse or Common-Law Partner Amount

Your spouse or common-law partner has to live with you to claim this. If their net income for the year will be $1,103 or less, enter $11,029. If their income will be between $1,103 and $12,132, claim a partial amount by subtracting their net income from $12,132. If their income will be more than $12,132, leave the line blank.³

Line 6: Amount for an Eligible Dependant

This is for people without a supporting spouse or common-law partner living with them. The dependant must be related to you and live with you. The income thresholds and amounts work the same as line 5: $11,029 if the dependant’s net income will be $1,103 or less, a partial amount for income between $1,103 and $12,132, nothing above $12,132. You cannot claim both line 5 and line 6 for the same person.³

Line 7: Ontario Caregiver Amount

You can claim this if you support an infirm dependant aged 18 or older. Eligible relationships include your child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew, or a relative of your spouse or common-law partner, as long as the person lives in Canada. The amount depends on the dependant’s net income, and you calculate it using the TD1ON-WS worksheet that comes with the form.³

Line 8: Amounts Transferred From Your Spouse or Common-Law Partner

If your spouse or common-law partner won’t use all of their age amount, pension income amount, or disability amount on their own return, the unused portion can come across to you. Add those unused amounts and enter the total on this line.

Line 9: Amounts Transferred From a Dependant

If a dependant won’t use all of their disability amount on their own return, enter the unused portion here.³

Line 10: Total Claim Amount

Add lines 1 through 9. That total is what payroll uses to set your Ontario withholding. A higher total means less tax taken off each cheque; a lower total means more.

If Your Total Income Will Be Less Than Your Total Claim

The form has a checkbox for the situation where you expect your total income from all sources during the year to be less than the amount on line 10. Tick it and your employer will stop withholding Ontario provincial tax for the rest of the calendar year, since your credits will fully absorb it. This often fits part-time workers and students. If your hours or pay change later and push your expected income back above the line 10 total, file a fresh TD1ON right away so you aren’t under-withheld.

What the TD1ON Does Not Cover

Two things people often look for and don’t find. There is no tuition line, because Ontario eliminated its provincial education and textbook tax credits; tuition only appears on the federal TD1. There is also no box for requesting extra tax to be withheld on top of the calculation. That request also goes on the back of the federal TD1, not this form.

Signing and Handing It In

Sign and date the certification at the bottom. That signature confirms the information is correct and complete. The form goes to your employer’s payroll or HR department, not to the CRA.²

Many employers now take the TD1ON through an internal HR portal. The CRA accepts electronic TD1 forms where the system verifies your identity through a password or secure login, the electronic version mirrors the official paper form, you confirm the information with something like an “I agree” button tied to the certification statement, and the submission is timestamped and stored in a form that can’t be altered after the fact.⁵ Keep your own copy either way. The new withholding shows up on your next paycheque after payroll processes it, and it stays in effect until you file a revised TD1ON or until a new version of the form comes out for the next calendar year.

When to File a New TD1ON

You have seven days to give your employer a new TD1ON after any change that would reasonably reduce the credits you previously claimed.² The deadline only applies when credits go down. Typical triggers:

A separation or divorce that removes the spouse or common-law partner amount.
A dependant’s income climbing past $12,132, a dependant moving out, or no longer caring for an infirm adult relative.
A T2201 that expires or is revoked by the CRA, which means removing the disability amount.
Ticking the “total income less than total claim” box earlier in the year and then realizing you’ll earn more than you thought.

You can also file a new form voluntarily when your credits go up, such as turning 65 partway through the year, gaining a spouse amount, or getting a T2201 approved. No deadline applies to increases, but the sooner you file, the sooner less tax comes off your pay.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Knowingly making a false statement or omission on the form carries a penalty under the Income Tax Act of the greater of $100 or 50 percent of the resulting tax shortfall, on top of the unpaid tax and any interest.⁶ If an employer suspects a TD1ON contains false information, they are required to withhold using only the basic personal amount and ignore the rest of the form.⁷ Honest estimates about future income are not false statements; the penalty targets claims you know you aren’t entitled to.

1
Canada Revenue Agency. TD1ON 2026 Ontario Personal Tax Credits Return
2
Canada Revenue Agency. Get the Completed TD1 Forms From the Individual
3
Canada Revenue Agency. TD1ON 2026 Ontario Personal Tax Credits Return
4
Canada Revenue Agency. Disability Tax Credit
5
Canada Revenue Agency. Using Electronic Signatures
6
Justice Laws Website. Income Tax Act – Section 163
7
Justice Laws Website. Income Tax Act – Section 227