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If you work in Québec, you hand your employer two forms: the federal TD1 and Revenu Québec’s TP-1015.3-V. Fill in both whenever you claim more than the basic personal amount. Skip them, and your employer withholds tax as if the basic amount were all you had.
Why does a Québec job need two forms?
Québec collects its own income tax, so your pay stub has two tax lines to get right. The federal form tells your employer which federal credits you claim. The Québec form does the same job for Revenu Québec. Your employer needs both to work out source deductions, and neither one replaces the other. The CRA’s page on getting TD1 forms from a new employee says individuals in Québec use the federal TD1 and also the provincial TP-1015.3-V, Source Deductions Return.
The forms don’t file your return. They only steer how much tax comes off each paycheque. Your real tax is settled when you file, so a wrong TD1 costs you a refund or a bill later, not a penalty on the spot.
| Form | Issued by | What it does | When you hand it in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal TD1 | CRA | Sets federal credits for withholding | New job, or when your credits change |
| TP-1015.3-V, Source Deductions Return | Revenu Québec | Sets Québec credits and deductions for withholding | Before your first pay, and within 15 days of a change that lowers your amounts |
When do you need to redo your TD1 in Québec?
Not every year. The CRA says you don’t have to fill out a new TD1 each year unless something changes. Revenu Québec says much the same about its form: yearly indexation doesn’t change your deduction code, so there’s nothing to redo.
A new form makes sense when something real shifts. A new baby, a partner who starts earning, a disability credit, a second job. On the Québec side there’s a clock: you give your employer a corrected copy within 15 days of an event that reduces your amounts. If a change would raise your claim, hand the new form in early as well, because your pay only follows the form your employer actually has on file.
Say Camille in Sherbrooke starts a job in March and her partner’s hours get cut in June. If that changes which amounts she can claim, a fresh pair of forms goes to payroll that week. Waiting until tax time just means a bigger surprise in April.
What if you have two jobs?
Claim your personal credits once. On the federal TD1 the CRA tells you to tick the box for more than one employer and put 0 on line 13, leaving the credit lines blank on the second form. Otherwise both employers apply the basic amount and you’d under-withhold all year.
The catch shows up in April. Two employers each withholding as if they were your only one can leave you short, because your combined pay lands in a higher bracket than either cheque suggests. If you want to see what your credits are worth, the tax credits calculator shows it (federal credits only).
What does working in Québec do to your paycheque?
Québec residents get a federal abatement, a 16.5% reduction of federal tax for 2026 according to the payroll tables, because Québec runs its own system. Québec also has QPP and QPIP instead of CPP and the standard EI rate. Those differences are built into the take-home pay calculator.
Here’s the ballpark on a $50,000 salary. In Québec the calculator gives about $6,915 of income tax and $3,795 of payroll contributions, which leaves $39,290. The same salary in Ontario comes to $6,273 of income tax and $3,582 of contributions, leaving $40,145. So the Québec worker takes home roughly $855 less, mostly because Québec’s own tax and contributions are higher. These are estimates on the 2026 data we hold, and your own deduction code may shift them.
To see the full picture for your income, run the income tax calculator with Québec selected. The payroll deductions calculator breaks out each deduction, which helps when your stub looks off.
What happens if you never hand the forms in?
Your employer falls back on the basic personal amount and nothing more. That’s not a disaster, but it means credits you’re entitled to, like the ones for a spouse or a dependant, don’t reduce your withholding. You’d get that money back as a refund after filing instead of seeing it in each cheque. Most employers hand out both forms on your first day, and if yours doesn’t, ask payroll for them in the first week.
What mistakes cause trouble with TD1 forms?
The common one is filling in only the federal form. Your employer then has nothing from Revenu Québec to go on. Another is claiming credits you don’t qualify for: an inflated claim means too little tax comes off, and you pay the gap later. A third is forgetting to update after a life change, then wondering why you owed in April.
Students and people with a small income sometimes ask whether they can avoid withholding altogether. Revenu Québec lets you ask for an exemption on its form if your total income for the year won’t pass the limit shown there. Only employment income qualifies. Read the lines on the form itself before you try it, because the limit changes and we haven’t confirmed the current figure.
Where this information comes from
Form rules come from the CRA‘s pages on Form TD1 and from Revenu Québec‘s pages on the Source Deductions Return. The 16.5% abatement and the contribution figures come from the 2026 payroll data we hold for Québec. Examples use our calculators and aren’t a payroll quote. We left out anything about penalties for a missing form because we couldn’t confirm it. This is an independent information site, not connected to the CRA or any government.
Frequently asked questions
Do I fill in a TD1 if I work in Quebec?
Yes. The CRA says Quebec residents complete the federal TD1 and the provincial TP-1015.3-V when they claim more than the basic personal amount.
Is there a separate Quebec TD1?
Not under that name. Revenu Québec's version is form TP-1015.3-V, the Source Deductions Return.
Do I redo my TD1 every year?
No, not unless your credit amounts change. Revenu Québec also says yearly indexation doesn't change your deduction code.
What happens if I don't give my employer a form?
Your employer deducts tax using only the basic amount, according to the CRA. You settle the difference when you file your return.
How fast must I report a change on the Quebec form?
Within 15 days of an event that reduces the amounts on your last copy and gives you a different deduction code.
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