The Canada Revenue Agency suggests employees review their tax exemption elections each year to ensure they are being taxed at the correct rate and (hopefully) avoid paying too much or too little. However, many individuals only submit tax exemption declarations (TD1 forms) when they begin a new job, and never make changes from that point onwards.

With the recent change to a new pay system, now may be an excellent time for you to review your current personal tax exemption elections to determine if any changes are required. The year-to-date amounts showing on your pay statement will give you a good indication of your income tax withholdings so far this year.

2014 TD1 form:            http://www.workingatmcmaster.ca/med/document/td1-14e-1-49.pdf

2014 TD1-ON form:     http://www.workingatmcmaster.ca/med/document/td1-14e-1-49.pdf

Here are some typical changes which should prompt an individual to review their TD1 elections:

• Change in marital status
• Children added to the family or progressing into adulthood
• Changing from a full-time student with part-time employment to full-time employment
• Income expected from multiple employers, or changing from multiple employers to a single employer
• Adding, changing, or removing additional bi-weekly tax withholding requests

If you have questions about your personal income tax, your best source for answers is always to consult a personal income tax specialist.

Completed, dated, and signed TD1 and TD1-ON forms should be submitted to the HR office for your area:

• HR Service Centre, CSB 202
• Faculty of Health Sciences HR Office, HSC-2J1A
• School of Graduate Studies, GH-212 (for teaching assistants and research assistants)