FORMS AND SCHEDULES

The T1 return is the core form, but most of the detailed calculations happen on schedules (numbered attachments) and supporting forms. Tax software fills them in automatically from answers and slips, but understanding them shows where each number on the return comes from. Since 2019, the T1 has been an eight-page return, and the CRA has continued to remove low-use schedules and merge calculations into worksheets.

HOW THE PIECES FIT

• T1 return: identification, income, deductions, refund or balance owing.

• Schedules: detailed calculations that feed a line on the T1 (for example Schedule 3 feeds line 12700).

• Provincial forms: the 428 form for provincial tax, plus benefit and credit forms such as ON479 and ON-BEN in Ontario.

• Federal Worksheet (5000-D1): calculations that do not need to be filed, such as the line 34990 Top-Up Tax Credit chart.

• Supporting forms: elections and claims such as T2125, T776, T777, T778 and T1032, filed with the return or kept on file.

FILING VERSUS KEEPING

When filing electronically, schedules and forms are transmitted as data, and receipts and slips are not sent. They must be kept for six years in case the CRA asks for them during a review. Some forms, such as T1135 and certain elections, must be filed even when the return is filed electronically.

PAGES IN THIS SECTION

• T1 Income Tax and Benefit Return

• Schedule 1 Federal Tax

• Schedule 3 Capital Gains

• Schedule 7 RRSP Contributions

• Schedule 8 CPP Contributions

• Schedule 9 Donations

• Schedule 11 Tuition

• Schedule 15 FHSA

• Ontario Forms: ON428, ON479 and ON-BEN

• T1135 Foreign Income Verification

• TD1 and T1213

• T1-ADJ Adjustment Request

OTHER FREQUENTLY USED FORMS

• T2125: business or professional activities. T776: real estate rentals.

• T777: employment expenses. T2200: conditions of employment (signed by employer).

• T778: child care expenses. T1-M: moving expenses.

• T1032: pension income splitting. T2201: disability tax credit certificate.

• T2091(IND): principal residence designation. T657: capital gains deduction.

• T691: alternative minimum tax. T1206: tax on split income.

• T2209: federal foreign tax credits. T2222: northern residents deductions.

• Schedule 2: amounts transferred from a spouse. Schedule 5: amounts for a spouse or eligible dependant. Schedule 6: Canada Workers Benefit.