If you’re filing your income tax in Canada, you would’ve heard of the Income Tax and Benefit Return Form—popularly referred to as the T1.
The T1 General Tax Form is the primary document used to file personal income tax returns in Canada and to determine your tax liability. This form neatly summarizes all your income and taxes withheld throughout the tax year.
- The T1 General Tax Form is a comprehensive summary of your financial activities and obligations for a specific tax year in Canada.
- To obtain your copy of the T1 Tax Form, visit the CRA website or log in to your TurboTax account if you filed through our platform.
- To fill out a T1 Form, provide personal details, document all income sources, and calculate net and taxable income.
Who should fill out a T1 Tax Form?
Whether you’re employed by a company, are self-employed, or earn taxable income from other sources like investments or pension, all Canadians need to file a T1 General Form.
If you own a sole proprietorship or partnership business, you have to fill out the T2125 Statement of Business or Professional Activities. Owners of corporations, however, must fill out the T2 Corporation Income Tax Return.
How to get a blank T1 General online
To get a blank version of the current year’s T1 General Form, visit the T1 income tax package page on the CRA site. Choose your province/territory to download the correct form. For manual filing, you can use the same link to order the copy by mail.
If you use TurboTax to file taxes, we’ll automatically provide and complete the form on your behalf.
How to find your T1 General copy from past years
The detailed record of your taxes is more than paperwork. You’ll need a copy of your T1 General Form when you apply for a range of financial products and benefits, such as:
- Mortgages
- Loans
- Canada child benefit (CCB)
- GST/HST tax credit
If you’re not sure how to you view your old tax returns online in Canada, here are the steps you need to take:
- Visit the CRA website and log in to your CRA My Account.
- Click on the tab “Go to Tax Returns Details.”
- Locate the “Related services” list on the right and choose “Proof of income statement.”
- Select the desired tax year from the dropdown menu.
- Access all the T1 General information in a user-friendly, printable format.
Your account will have a copy of your tax return for the current year as well as the past 11 years. You need to contact the CRA directly to request a copy of older records.
TurboTax users simply need to log in to the portal and click “View all tax returns” under “My Returns.” Then, click on “Access your filed tax returns” to view up to six years of prior returns.
How to get a blank T1 General Form for past tax years
If you missed filing a tax return, you might be looking for a blank T1 Form for past years. Each year has different tax rates and calculations, making it essential to use the form for that particular year.
On the CRA – tax packages for all years page, you can access T1 Form copies going back to 1985. You need to carefully select the correct tax year, as well as the province or territory you lived in at the time to download the relevant year’s tax package.
Alternatively, you can order physical copies of income tax packages to be mailed to you. For persons with disabilities, CRA offers accessible formats, such as digital audio (MP3), electronic text (e-text), braille, and large print.
TurboTax offers the following two options for filling past T1 Forms:
- TurboTax Online files returns for the current and two preceding tax years.
- With TurboTax Desktop, you can file returns for the past five years.
If you are more than a few years behind, you should directly contact the CRA for Voluntary Disclosure to get relief from prosecution, partial interest, and/or penalty.
How to fill out a T1 Form
We will show you how to manually fill out the five key sections of T1 Income Tax Return Form:
Section | Description |
Identification | In this section, you provide personal details, including your full name, social insurance number (SIN), address, and marital status. If you have a business, fill out the business identification section. |
Total income | Within this section, document all sources of income for the tax year, such as employment income, self-employment income, investment income, rental income, benefits received for your disability, etc. |
Net income | To calculate net income, subtract eligible deductions (for example, employment and business expenses, RRSP contributions) from the total income. |
Taxable income | Determine the taxable income by subtracting all allowed deductions (for example, security options deductions, net capital losses, capital gains deductions) from the net income. The CRA taxes the resulting income using current rates for the calendar year. |
Refund or balance owing | This section allows you to calculate whether you will receive a tax refund or have an outstanding balance to be paid. A positive number indicates you owe money to the CRA, while a negative number means you will receive a refund. |
After completing the T1 Form, you can download it and send it to your local CRA office. You can also send your T1 General Form to the CRA directly online, using the NETFILE option.
What if there’s a mistake on your T1 General Form?
Don’t worry! We all make mistakes. The CRA allows you to request a change to a tax return for the previous 10 calendar years.
If you notice a mistake after sending in your T1 Form, you have to wait until you get your notice of assessment (NOA). Once you receive the notice, you can file an adjustment or amendment request.
Here are the three primary ways to make changes to your T1 Income Tax Return:
- CRA My Account: Access the CRA My Account and go to the “Change My Return” service. Then select the relevant option to make the following edits:
- Add tax information slips
- Claim the disability tax credit
- Make requests for carrying back amounts
- Change certain non-resident returns
- ReFILE: ReFILE is an online service for submitting your adjustments, using the NETFILE software you used to file your tax return. While it is a quick and easy way to make changes, it allows only 9 reassessments for a particular tax year.
- Mail: To make changes by mail, you’ll have to complete a T1 Adjustment Form Request and send it to your local tax centre. Include all supporting documents for the change—even the original assessment papers, if you haven’t already sent them to the CRA.
Alternatively, you can fix errors by filing a Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) application. Not only does it allow you to pay the taxes owing (plus interest), but you also get:
- Prosecution relief
- Penalty relief
- Partial interest relief
If you are a Québec resident looking to amend your provincial return, visit Revenue Québec for detailed instructions.
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