Individual Statistics by Tax Filing Method (ISTFM) – 2017 Edition (2014 tax year)

The 2017 edition of the ISTFM tables summarizes data from initially assessed individual income tax and benefit returns for the 2014 tax year processed up to August 17, 2015.

Explanatory notes

The 2017 edition of the ISTFM tables summarizes data based on 2014 tax year returns. This represents about 97% of the number of returns filed for the 2014 tax year. The initial assessment values are used to produce the tables. They do not include changes to the data resulting from an Agency or a tax filer initiated reassessment.

Table of contents

• Individual Statistics by Tax Filing Method
  • Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) and Census Agglomeration (CA)
  • Filing Method
  • Major Source of Income
  • Income Range
  • Complexity of the T1 Return
  • Marital Status
  • Children or no Children Status
  • Age Range
  • CSV format (data raw, with single row header)

Individual Statistics by Tax Filing Method

The Individual Statistics by Tax Filing Method (ISTFM) tables present statistics on the filing method of tax filers grouped by their demographic and economic characteristics. The information is presented at the Census Metropolitan Area and Census Agglomeration (CMA/CA) level as defined by the 2011 Census metropolitan categories by Statistics Canada.

Census metropolitan area and census agglomeration

Census metropolitan areas (CMA) and census agglomerations (CA) are the main labour market areas, formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centered on a large urban area (known as the urban core). A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more live in the urban core. A CA must have an urban core population of at least 10,000. To be included in the CMA or CA, other adjacent municipalities must have a high degree of integration with the central urban area, as measured by commuting flows derived from census place of work data.

Data source

Data were taken from income tax returns and related schedules filed by individuals for the 2014 tax year, for the following type of returns:

• T1 Income Tax and Benefit Return

Confidentiality procedures

To ensure the protection of tax filer information, the data have been suppressed where warranted. As well, the counts have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 10. For example, 104 would be rounded to 100 and 105 would be rounded to 110.Totals may not add up due to rounding or suppression.

Classification variables

The following variables are used in one or more of the tables in this publication:

• Filing Method
• Major Source of Income
• Total Income Range
• Complexity of T1 Return
• Marital Status
• Children or no Children Status
• Age Range

Filing method

The filing method is determined by the information on record at the CRA. Individual tax filers submit tax returns by one of the three available filing methods:

• EFILE,
• NETFILE, and
• Paper (includes 2D barcode)

Major source of income

The major sources of income presented in the tables are based on the total income assessed. This corresponds to line 150 of the T1 Return and includes:

• employment income
• pension income
• investment income
• self-employment income
• other income

Employment income includes:

• Employment income (box 14 on all T4 slips) ─ line 101 of the return

  This is the amount, including commission income from line 102 of the return, from T4 slips and is reported on line 101 of the T1 General Income Tax and Benefit Return.

• Other employment income reported on line 104 of the return

Pension income includes:

• Old Age Security pension ─ line 113 of the return

  This amount is a monthly benefit paid to people 65 years of age or over (box 18 of the T4A(OAS) slip).

• Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan benefits ─ line 114 of the return

  This includes death and disability benefits, survivor benefits, and children’s benefits received by a child of a deceased or disabled contributor (box 20 on the T4A(P) slip).

• Other pensions and superannuation ─ line 115 of the return

  This includes income from registered pension plans, registered retirement income funds, deferred profit-sharing plans, foreign pensions, etc.

• Elected split-pension amount ─ line 116 of the return

  This is the amount from line G of Form T1032, Joint Election to Split Pension Income.

Investment income includes:

• Taxable amount of dividends (eligible and other than eligible) from taxable Canadian corporations ─ line 120 of the return

  This is the total dividend value, plus a 38% gross-up for the eligible dividends and a 25% gross-up for other than eligible dividends.

• Interest and other investment income ─ line 121 of the return

  This includes interest, foreign interest, dividend income, etc.

• Net partnership income: limited or non-active partners only ─ line 122 of the return

  This is the share of the net business income or loss from limited partnerships.

• Net rental income ─ line 126 of the return

  This is rental income after expenses.

• Taxable capital gains ─ line 127 of the return

  This amount represents 50% of the capital gains realized in 2014.

Self-employment income corresponds to net income. It is the gross income, less any adjustments and expenses incurred. It includes the following:

• Net business income ─ line 135 of the return

  This is the income from businesses and partnerships. A business is an activity carried on with the intention to make a profit.

• Net professional income ─ line 137 of the return

  This is income only from an independent practice, such as earnings by self-employed accountants, doctors, dentists and lawyers. However, when a professionally qualified person is employed by a company, government or institution, the individual’s income is included in employment income.

• Net commission income ─ line 139 of the return

  This is net commission income for self-employed people, such as real estate agents, who are working in sales and earning commissions.

• Net farming income ─ line 141 of the return

  Self-employed farmers, including beekeepers and tree farmers, report their income on this line.

• Net fishing income ─ line 143 of the return

  This is net income from self-employed people fishing as boat owners or crew members, or fishing from shore.

Other income includes:

• Universal child care benefit (UCCB) ─ line 117 of the return

  An eligible individual responsible for the care of a child under 6 years of age, is eligible to receive $100 per month for each qualified dependant.

• Employment insurance and other benefits ─ line 119 of the return

  This is the amount of benefits from the Employment Insurance Plan (box 14 on the T4E slip).

• Registered disability savings plan income ─ line 125 of the return

  This is income from a registered disability savings plan and is shown in box 28 of the T4A slip.

• Support payments received ─ line 128 of the return

  This is the taxable part of support payments received.

• RRSP income ─ line 129 of the return

  This is income from a registered retirement savings plan.

• Other income ─ line 130 of the return

  This includes the income reported on line 130 of the return:

  • scholarships, fellowships, bursaries and artists' project grants
  • apprenticeship incentive grant
  • apprenticeship completion grant
  • lump-sum payments from pensions and deferred profit-sharing plans when leaving a plan
  • retiring allowances (severance pay)
  • death benefits (other than Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan death benefits)
  • other kinds of income (see the General Income Tax and Benefit Guide - 2014 for more details)
• Workers' compensation benefits ─ line 144 of the return

  This is the amount of compensation paid in respect to an injury, disability, or death to an employee, or surviving spouse/common-law partner, under the law of Canada or a province or territory. These amounts are shown on a T5007, Statement of Benefits slip.

• Social assistance payments ─ line 145 of the return

  This item shows the social assistance payments made to beneficiaries or third parties as reported on a T5007, Statement of Benefits slip.

• Net federal supplements ─ line 146 of the return

  This is the net amount of any Allowance, Allowance for the survivor, or Guaranteed Income Supplement received in the tax year, box 21 on the T4A(OAS) slip.

Income range

The income range classification is determined by the ‘total income assessed’ reported on line 150 of the T1 General Income Tax and Benefit Return in the 2014 tax year.

Complexity of T1 return

A T1 Return is considered complex if at least one of the following applies: positive gross self-employment income or positive net partnership income, positive taxable amounts of dividends or capital gains, the tax filer has declared bankruptcy or is deceased. All other T1 returns are considered simple.

Marital status

The marital status of the tax filer is as reported on page 1 of the T1 Return.

Children or no children status

The children or no children status is based on the number of children that are less than 18 years old in 2014, as declared on line 366 and line 352 of Schedule 1 of the T1 Return.

Age range

The age of the tax filer is determined using the reported year of birth on page 1 of the T1 General Income Tax and Benefit Return. Individuals with no reported date of birth are included in the total.

Description of ISTFM tables

Each table presents the number of tax filers. All tables include statistics for all returns. These tables are available in comma-separated values (CSV) format.

CSV format (raw data, with single row header)

• Table 1 – ISTFM for All Returns Filed – Economic Characteristics – 2014 tax year
• Table 2 – ISTFM for All Returns Filed – Demographic Characteristics – 2014 tax year

Date modified: 2017-03-15