What is line 15000? Total income on your Canadian tax return

What is line 15000 on a tax return in Canada

Line 15000 is the subtotal at the end of the income step of the T1 return. The CRA builds it by adding every income line, from employment income on line 10100 through to the net federal supplements total on line 14700. Nothing has been subtracted yet: no RRSP deduction, no union dues, no child care costs.

Line numbers became five digits for the 2019 tax year, so anyone comparing older paperwork will see the same figure called line 150. The meaning did not change.

One quirk: a few amounts count in total income even though no tax is paid on them in the end. Social assistance and workers' compensation benefits are added on line 14700 and then deducted again on line 25000, which is why line 15000 can be higher than you might expect.

What line 15000 includes

The table lists the income lines that most people use and the slip each usually comes from. Your return will only use the lines that apply to you.

Our tax slips overview explains each slip. Self-employment lines carry net income, after business expenses, so gross sales never appear on line 15000.

What is line 15000 on a T4? Line 15000 vs T4 box 14

A T4 does not have a line 15000. Slips use boxes; the return uses lines. People who search for line 15000 on a T4 are usually looking for box 14, which is gross employment income from one employer.

The two numbers match only when a single T4 is your only income. They drift apart when any of these apply:

• You had more than one employer, so line 10100 adds several box 14 amounts.
• You also received EI, a pension, interest, dividends or a taxable scholarship.
• You had side income from self-employment, rent or capital gains.
• You received social assistance or workers' compensation, which is added on line 14700.

Worked example

A 2026 filer has two slips: a T4 with $48,000 in box 14 and a T4E showing $6,200 of EI benefits. A T5 adds $350 of bank interest. Line 15000 is $48,000 plus $6,200 plus $350, which is $54,550, even though no single slip shows that figure. The T4 box guide lists the rest of the T4 boxes.

What is line 15000 on a notice of assessment

Your notice of assessment repeats the key lines the CRA accepted, and total income on line 15000 is one of them. It sits in the tax assessment summary, above net income and taxable income. If the CRA changed your income, the figure on the notice is the one that counts, not the one you filed.

1. Sign in to CRA My Account; since February 2026, digital notices of assessment can only be viewed there.
2. Open the notice for the year you need, or the return summary for that year.
3. Find line 15000 in the tax assessment summary.
4. If you are looking at a paper return instead, line 15000 is at the end of Step 2, Total income.

Our notice of assessment guide walks through the rest of the notice.

Who asks for line 15000 and why

Mortgage lenders, landlords and some student aid and subsidy programs commonly ask for line 15000 because it is a verified, before-deductions picture of your income, and the CRA has already checked it. A self-employed person without a T4 often has no better proof of earnings. Application forms often word the request as line 15000 "from your 2025 income tax and benefit return". Until you file your 2026 return in spring 2027, the 2025 notice of assessment is usually the latest one you can give.

Read the request carefully. Many government benefit programs, including those the CRA runs, use net income on line 23600 or family net income instead. Sending line 15000 when line 23600 was asked for can lead to a wrong result or a delay.

Line 15000 vs net income on line 23600

Line 15000 is the top of the funnel. Step 3 of the return subtracts deductions such as registered pension plan contributions (line 20700), RRSP contributions (line 20800), union dues (line 21200) and the enhanced CPP deduction (line 22215) to reach net income on line 23600. Step 4 subtracts a few more to reach taxable income on line 26000.

Continuing the example above: if the filer's only deductions are a $4,000 RRSP contribution and $600 of union dues, line 23600 is $54,550 minus $4,600, or $49,950. The line 23600 page explains why benefits are tied to that lower figure.