What is a T1 General?

The T1 General is the standard personal income tax return Canadian residents file every year with the Canada Revenue Agency. It reports your income, deductions, and credits for the calendar year and calculates whether you owe tax or receive a refund. Each adult files their own T1: Canada has no joint return for couples.

When is the T1 deadline?

For most individuals, the T1 filing and payment deadlines are both April 30 of the year following the tax year (so the 2024 T1 is due April 30, 2025). Self-employed taxpayers and their spouses have until June 15 to file, but any tax owing is still due April 30; interest starts accruing May 1 on unpaid balances.

How is the T1 organized?

The T1 is organized into seven numbered steps: identification, total income, net income, taxable income, federal tax, refund or balance owing, and signature. The federal tax calculation runs through Schedule 1. Provincial tax sits on a separate Form 428 that varies by province. Up to a dozen numbered schedules can attach for capital gains, donations, RRSPs, tuition, CPP, and other items.

Where does the OAS clawback appear on a T1?

The OAS clawback is on Line 23500 Social benefits repayment (deducted from Net income) and Line 42200 Social benefits repayment (added back into Total payable). For 2024, the OAS recovery threshold is $90,997 of net income; the clawback is 15% of net income above that, capped at the full OAS amount received.

Can I see my whole household's tax picture from two T1s?

Not directly. The T1 is a per-individual form: every spouse files their own. Combining them into a household view (combined marginal rate, joint clawbacks, spousal credit transfers, income-splitting opportunities) requires reconciling both returns side by side. Tax Return Insights is built to do exactly that.

What is the difference between Line 34000 and Line 34900?

Line 34000 is the amount of donations claimed; Line 34900 is the donation credit you receive after the tiered formula (15% federal on the first $200, 29% above). The two numbers look similar on the form but are computed differently: Line 34900 is always smaller than Line 34000.

How do I find missed tax credits on a T1?

Comparing what was actually claimed against what each spouse was eligible for is the hard part: the T1 only shows what was claimed. Common misses: the spousal amount (Line 30300) on lower-income spouses, the Canada caregiver amount (Line 30425) when one spouse meets the criteria, the disability tax credit transfer (Line 31800) from a dependant, and Ontario's Trillium components for renters and seniors. Tax Return Insights lists every credit with the line number it ties to and the household dollar miss.

Where do RRSP and TFSA room show up on the T1?

They do not. RRSP deduction room and TFSA contribution room appear on your CRA Notice of Assessment, not on the T1 itself. Tax software pulls them into the T1 Summary "Carryforwards" block, but the main return does not show them. This is one of the most common reasons advisors miss planning room: the most useful numbers are not on the form.

Do I need an advisor or accountant to read a T1?

For filing, no: millions of Canadians self-file using NETFILE software. For planning, the picture changes. The T1 was built to calculate tax for one person; using it to plan a couple's retirement, optimize income splitting, recover OAS clawback, or surface carryforwards across both spouses requires combining several documents and running scenarios the form does not produce on its own.

Tax Return Insights

The T1 General, explained · Tax Return Insights

The T1 General is Canada's personal income tax return. A guide for advisors and taxpayers: sections, key lines, deadlines, and household planning gaps.

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