Lastly, we will assume that personal information is located in memory, or in readily available documents such as a driver’s licence or cheque book. In most cases, we assume that such information does not really have to be located or searched for. Even though it is evident that locating, gathering or calculating some information may be complex, we will generally consider these efforts to be ‘off-form’ tasks.

During analysis of forms, you will need to generate questions based on specific personal information, so it is necessary to either look at the form as though you were filling it out yourself, or to have a detailed case-study prepared. At some points in the analysis, you might also want to test several situations to see how different citizens in different circumstances will experience the complexity of the form. When we look at claiming the ‘age amount’ on the Tax Credits Return, we will consider what happens to claimants with differing incomes. Personal information is also part of the ‘given’ information which form-fillers use to create specific questions to ask while carrying out form-filling tasks.

Overview of the TD1 (00)

The first page of the TD1 for the 2000 tax year is shown on the page opposite. We will be looking at sections of the other three pages of this document during the course of the following discussion. A complete TD1 form is included at the end of the section.

The first two pages of the form gather the information needed by the employer to determine the amount of tax that will be deducted from the employee’s pay cheque. The last two pages are used for calculations and are retained by the person filling in the TD1 form. For the 2001 tax year, the detailed calculations have been placed on a separate ‘worksheet’ and the TD1 has been reduced to 2 pages. You can compare the two versions and decide which is easier to use.

During the discussion of the TD1 that follows, we will be looking at all sections of the form. Few Canadians will have to complete all the sections (unless they are disabled pensioners with interest income, still caring for infirm dependants). Many taxpayers will merely enter the basic personal amount and sign the form, leaving the payroll clerk to find the appropriate claim code. Others will struggle to match personal circumstances with available tax credit categories to complete the calculations.