We propose precise write-time compensation for nonlinear transition shift in magnetic tape recording using d=1 runlength-limited (RLL) code as a channel modulation. In this write-time compensation approach, the write current transitions having a transition within 3 bits earlier are shifted so as to minimize the transition shift of the readback signal. First, we precisely measured the nonlinear transition shift using a VCR. Next, based on this measurement, we simulated the effects of the write-time compensation, verifying them in recording experiments with a VCR. The results show that when the optimum read equalization is applied to the readback signal, this write-time compensation approach increases the eye height and eye width while improving the byte error rate by about two orders.