Revenue is the total income a business earns from its normal activities, selling goods or services, before any expenses are deducted, also called the top line.
Revenue is the money earned from a business's core activities, sitting at the top of the income statement (hence "the top line"). Under accrual accounting, revenue is recognised when it is earned, when goods are delivered or services performed, not necessarily when cash is received.
Revenue is not profit: many expenses are subtracted before you reach net income. It also differs from cash flow, since credit sales boost revenue before any cash arrives. For GST/HST-registered businesses, revenue is the base on which sales tax is charged, and the $30,000 threshold is measured against it.
A business invoices $500,000 of services in a year. That $500,000 is its revenue, regardless of how much has been collected, and it is the figure from which all expenses are subtracted to find profit.
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A tax return is the annual filing that reports your income, deductions and credits to the CRA so the final tax for the year can be settled. Payers withhold tax during the year and the return reconciles that against what you actually owe, producing either a refund or a balance to pay. For 2025 returns filed in 2026, refunds usually arrive in about two weeks for an online return, while a paper return runs on a considerably longer standard because it is handled manually.
Filing is required once tax is owed, and also in several situations regardless of income, including selling property, repaying benefits, splitting pension income, or receiving a request to file from the CRA. Below the basic personal amount most people owe nothing, yet filing still pays: the Canada Child Benefit, the GST/HST credit and provincial credits are all calculated from a filed return. Check the basic personal amount for the year you are filing.
Taxation is the compulsory collection of money by government to pay for public services. In Canada it operates at three levels: federal and provincial income and sales taxes, and municipal property taxes. Income tax is self-assessed, meaning you report your own income and claim your own deductions, and the CRA verifies afterwards through assessment and review. Rates are progressive, so later slices of income are taxed more heavily while the earlier slices stay at lower rates.
No. Where you give your spouse funds and they contribute to their own TFSA, the income and growth inside that plan are tax free and nothing is attributed back to you. There is no spousal TFSA, so the contribution uses your spouse's own room and the account belongs to them. Attribution can still apply later: once the money is withdrawn and invested in a non-registered account, income earned on it may be attributed to you.
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Reviewed and fact-checked by Udit Gupta
Ex Big 4 — Ernst & Young, Deloitte · International & cross-border tax specialist · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program) · Chartered accountant, ICAI & MIA
Udit Gupta has over 15 years of experience helping corporations and business owners with corporate structuring, corporate tax filing, bookkeeping, payroll, GST/HST, cross-border tax and CRA representation. Big 4 trained at Ernst & Young and Deloitte, and qualified as a chartered accountant in India and again in Malaysia, he founded his accounting practice in 2014 to serve entrepreneurs, startups and non-resident business owners across Canada. View full member bio.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India — member 521458 · Malaysian Institute of Accountants — member CA 44667 · Ex Big 4: Ernst & Young, Deloitte · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program), completed 19 Dec 2023 · In-Depth GST/HST Part I, 12 Jul 2022 · Part II, 5 Jul 2023
Editorial policy. Every page is researched against primary sources — the Income Tax Act, CRA publications and CPA Canada guidance — and every rate or threshold is stated with the tax year it applies to.
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