How to Fill Out the TD1BC: British Columbia Personal Tax Credits Return

To fill out the TD1BC, the British Columbia Personal Tax Credits Return, work down page one and enter a dollar amount on each numbered line that applies to your situation, add them up on line 11, sign the form, and hand it to your employer’s payroll department. The form tells your employer how much B.C. provincial tax to withhold from each paycheque. For 2026, the basic personal amount everyone claims on line 1 is $13,216.¹

When You Need to Complete One

You fill out a TD1BC when you start a new job with a B.C. employer or begin receiving a pension from a B.C. payer. You do not need to submit a fresh copy every January if nothing has changed. You do need to file a new one within seven days of any change that affects your credits, such as a marriage or common-law relationship, a new dependent child, or a newly certified disability.²

The 2026 form is a fillable PDF on the CRA website under the provincial TD1 forms page.³ Your payroll or HR office may also hand you a printed copy. You will complete a federal TD1 at the same time; the two forms operate independently, one setting your federal withholding and the other your B.C. withholding.²

One boundary worth noting: if you earn commission income and want your employer to factor commission expenses into your withholdings, that goes on a separate form, the TD1X, filed alongside your TD1BC.⁴

Working Through Page One

Page one is a list of numbered credit lines. You enter a dollar amount on each line that applies, skip the rest, and total everything at the bottom. All amounts below are for 2026.

Line 1 — Basic Personal Amount

Enter $13,216. Every employee working in B.C. and every pensioner residing in the province claims it, regardless of income.¹ If you are completing this form for a second simultaneous employer, do not enter the basic personal amount here — see the page-two guidance further down.

Line 2 — Age Amount

If you will be 65 or older by December 31, the base figure is $5,927. The credit starts to shrink once your net income exceeds $44,119, and at high enough incomes it phases out entirely, in which case you leave the line blank.¹

Line 3 — Pension Income Amount

If you receive eligible pension income, such as payments from a registered pension plan or an annuity, enter the amount of qualifying pension income you expect this year, up to a maximum of $1,000.¹

Line 4 — Spouse or Common-Law Partner Amount

Claim this if your spouse or common-law partner’s net income for the year will be below the basic personal amount. The credit equals $13,216 minus your partner’s estimated net income. If your partner will earn $5,000, your entry is $8,216. If your partner will earn more than $13,216, leave the line blank.

Line 5 — Eligible Dependant Amount

This applies if you are single, separated, divorced, or widowed and support a dependent relative, typically a child under 18 or a parent or grandparent, who lives with you. The maximum is $11,317, reduced by the dependant’s net income.¹

Line 6 — Disability Amount

Enter $9,913 if you have a severe and prolonged impairment and the CRA has already approved your Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate.¹ The T2201 is completed by a medical practitioner and submitted to the CRA separately; do not attach it to your TD1BC.⁵

Line 8 — Caregiver Amount

Claim this if you support an infirm spouse, common-law partner, or an infirm eligible dependant aged 18 or older. Qualifying dependants include your child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, sibling, uncle, aunt, niece, or nephew, including those of your spouse or common-law partner, who resides in Canada at any time during the year. The base amount is $5,784 and is reduced when the dependant’s net income exceeds $19,572.¹

The dependant must have a physical or mental impairment that makes them dependent on you for basic necessities like food, shelter, and clothing. If they have already been approved for the disability tax credit through Form T2201, no extra medical documentation is required. If they have not, keep a signed note from a medical practitioner on file confirming the nature and expected duration of the impairment.

Line 9 — Tuition

If you are a student enrolled at a qualifying post-secondary institution, enter the tuition fees you expect to pay during the year. The credit is applied at B.C.’s lowest provincial tax rate.

Line 11 — Total Claim Amount

Add up every line you completed and enter the sum on line 11. This is the figure your employer feeds into the CRA payroll tables to work out your B.C. withholding each pay period. Getting the total right matters in both directions: claim too little and too much tax comes off your cheques, claim too much and you will owe at filing time.

Page Two: Two Situations to Watch

A Second Job at the Same Time

If you already claimed your personal tax credits on a TD1BC with another employer, you cannot claim them again on the second one. Tick the box for “More than one employer or payer at the same time,” enter zero on line 11, and leave lines 2 through 10 blank.² Your second employer will then withhold on every dollar with no credit offset, keeping you from being under-withheld across the two jobs.

Asking for Extra Tax to Be Withheld

If you have other income no employer is withholding on, such as rental income, investment gains, or freelance earnings, you may want extra tax taken off each cheque to avoid a lump-sum bill in April. The TD1BC itself directs you to the federal TD1 for this: complete the “Additional tax to be deducted” section on the federal form, and your employer will raise the total withheld from each pay.

Handing the Form In

Give the completed TD1BC to your employer’s payroll or HR department. Do not mail it to the CRA. Once payroll has the updated form, your provincial withholding adjusts starting with the next pay period.

The CRA accepts electronic signatures on certain forms, but the TD1BC is not currently on that list.⁶ Ask your employer how they want it delivered. Some accept scanned or digitally completed PDFs as a practical matter; others want a wet signature.

What Mistakes and Late Filings Cost

Getting the numbers wrong by accident is different from lying on the form. If you knowingly provide false information on the TD1BC to reduce your withholdings, the CRA can impose a penalty equal to the greater of $100 or 50% of the tax that was understated because of the false claim.⁷ If you catch a genuine error before the CRA does, the Voluntary Disclosures Program may allow you to correct it with reduced or waived penalties.

Missing the seven-day rule for reporting a change also carries a price. Employees required to file a new TD1 who fail to do so can be penalized $25 per day the form is late, with a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $2,500.⁸

1
Government of British Columbia. B.C. Basic Personal Income Tax Credits
2
Canada.ca. Get the Completed TD1 Forms From the Individual
3
Canada.ca. TD1BC 2026 British Columbia Personal Tax Credits Return
4
Canada Revenue Agency. TD1X Statement of Commission Income and Expenses for Payroll Tax Deductions
5
Canada Revenue Agency. T2201 Disability Tax Credit Certificate
6
Canada Revenue Agency. Using Electronic Signatures
7
Canada Revenue Agency. False Reporting or Repeated Failure to Report Income
8
Canada.ca. Employers’ Guide – Payroll Deductions and Remittances