What is Line 15000 on Tax Return – Formerly Line 150?

Are you wondering what is line 15000 on tax return? Simply put, line 15000 tax return is your total income before any deductions, commonly called gross income. Each line of your tax return has different numbers and is used for different purposes. This post will cover everything you need about line 15000 on your tax return.

What is line 15000 on tax return?

Line 15000 is a line on your Personal T1 tax return that indicates total income (or gross income). This line used to be referred to as line 150 prior to the 2019 tax year. This is a summation of all of your different forms of income to get to a total income line.

It is important to note that while this is your total income, this is different than your taxable income as there are many deductions that can be used to lower your total income. Total income is often used for setting up your Canada Revenue Agency account. By setting up your account with the CRA, you can quickly pull tax related information.

What income sources are included in your tax return in line 15000 (total income)?

Line 15000 is a summation of all of your forms of income under step 2 – Total income on your federal tax return. Here is a breakdown of all of the kinds of income that go into total income.

  • Employment income. Here is a complete breakdown of line 10100, employment income

  • Tax-exempt income

  • Commissions

  • Wage-loss replacement contributions

  • Other employment income

  • Old age security (OAS)

  • CPP or QPP benefits

  • Disability benefits

  • Other pensions and superannuation

  • Elected split-pension amount

  • Universal child care benefit (UCCB) or Canada Child benefit

  • Employment insurance and other benefits

  • Dividends (eligible and other then eligible)

  • Interest and other investment income

  • Net partnership income

  • Registered Disability Savings Plan income

  • Rental income

  • Taxable capital gains

  • Registered retirements savings plan (RRSP) income

  • Other income

  • Taxable scholarships

  • Self-employment income

  • Workers compensation benefits

  • Net federal supplements

  • Social assistance payments

What else is line 15000 (line 150) used for?

Line 15000 total income is often used for verification purposes with the Canada Revenue Agency. It is important to be able to pull up this information when setting up an account with the CRA. Click here to sign up for CRA my account.

Line 15000 is also used to determine if you meet the qualifications of an accredited investor. Accredited investors can qualify for different types of investment opportunities that are not available to the general population. To be an accredited investor, you need to earn over 200k for two years as an individual or over 300k over a 2 year period as a family.

Where to find line 15000 on tax return

Finding line 15000 can be challenging even if you have filed tax returns before. Sometimes you need this information to validate to pass security checks or open registered accounts, so it’s important to know where to find it.

Once you have filed your tax return and are trying to find line 15000, you will find it on page three of your T1 General Form on your federal tax return. If you are able to log in to your CRA account, simply pull up your T1 and go to the third page. You will find it under Step 2 on page 3, titled Income tax and benefit return. You will also find the same value for 15000 on your provincial or territorial income return forms under the “total income” section of your T1.

Line 15000 on tax return

Why was line 150 tax return changed to line 15000?

Line 150 was changed to line 15000 since since 2019’s tax year. This is one of several revisions rolled out as a change in 2019. This change was likely made to standardize the number of digits used for each tax line. Prior to 2019, several income tax lines had three or four digits. Now all tax codes have five digits.

What is the difference between total income and taxable income?

Total income (or gross income) is the total of all of your sources of income like employment income on T4’s, interest income & rental income. There are many tax deductions available in the income tax act that can be used to lower your total income such as:

  • RRSP contributions

  • Child care expenses

  • Moving expenses

  • and many more,

Your total income should be higher than your taxable income. You should take advantage of tax deducitons to lower your income taxes owing. To arrive at your taxable income, you start with total income (line 15000) and deduct EI, net federal supplements and a few more items to get to net income (line 23600). From Net income, you deduct non-capital losses of other years, net capital losses and capital gains deductions to arrive at taxable income line 26000.

How can I prepare line 15000 correctly on my tax return?

There are many ways to prepare a tax return correctly. Most commonly you can:

  • File your own tax return using income tax software

  • Work with a CPA to to complete your tax return

If you are filing your own tax return, you will need income tax software to speed up the process. I have broken done the best income tax software options for Canadians. However, using a CPA can assist and provide guidance on complex tax scenarios.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some of the common questions associated with line 15000 tax return.

What is the difference between line 15000 and Line 10100?

Line 10100 is employment income and is the total of all of your sources of employment income. Line 15000 includes line 10100 plus many other sources of income. It’s not only your wages that go into line 15000, it adds in things like the self employment income line and other employment income.

Is Line 15000 on T4?

No, line 15000 is not on your T4. Your T4 box will feed into line 10100, which rolls up with other income lines to get your line 15000 tax return total. Line 15000 includes more than just the forms of income recorded on your T4.

Do I need to complete line 15000 – Total income?

You will need to complete line 15000 on your income tax return if you have any income to report. This line is a total of other lines, so all you need to do it add the correct income tax lines to get the total for line 15000.

Conclusion – what is line 15000 on your tax return?

Line 15000 on an income tax return is that it is total income. It is commonly used to verify personal information with the Canada Revenue Agency, setting up registered accounts and qualifying to be an accredited investor. There are many lines on your tax return, and this is one of the most important ones.

If you are preparing you own tax return, be sure to use income tax software, or enlist the help of a CPA for more assistance. Be sure to learn all about personal finance here.

Nick Robert

About the Author

Nick Robert is the founder and creator of Nickrobert.com. I created this website to educate Canadians about everything related to personal finance. As a Chartered Professional Accountant & Chartered Accountant, I have worked with many Canadians to achieve their personal finance goals.

To contact me, you can visit my contact page to email me directly, or you can visit and participate in my subreddit. Let me know about any topics you would like me to cover. If you are interested in guest posting on this website, message me through the contact page.

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