Where do I find GIFI codes for a T2 or a T2125?
GIFI codes are listed in Appendix A of the CRA's guide RC4088 (2023 edition): four digit items from 1000 to 3849 for the balance sheet (Schedule 100) and 7000 to 9999 for the income statement (Schedule 125). A T2125 doesn't take GIFI codes separately, because its line numbers, like 8810 office expenses, are GIFI items.
Where is the official GIFI code list?
The full list is Appendix A of Guide RC4088, General Index of Financial Information (GIFI). The current edition is the 2023 one, as of October 2026, available in HTML and PDF canada.ca. Your T2 software carries the same list, so in practice you map each account in the client's chart of accounts to one code and the software builds Schedules 100 and 125. For each item you report only the code and the dollar amount
canada.ca.
The codes are grouped in ranges, and the range tells you where a line lands before you look up the exact item.
| Range | What it covers | Total item |
|---|---|---|
| 1000 to 1599 | Current assets | 1599 Total current assets |
| 1600 to 2009 | Tangible capital assets and their accumulated amortization | 2009 Total accumulated amortization |
| 1000 to 2599 | All assets | 2599 Total assets |
| 2600 to 3139 | Current liabilities | 3139 Total current liabilities |
| 2600 to 3499 | All liabilities | 3499 Total liabilities |
| 3500 to 3640 | Shareholder equity | 3620 Total shareholder equity |
| 3660 to 3849 | Retained earnings schedule | 3849 Retained earnings, end |
| 8000 to 8299 | Revenue | 8299 Total revenue |
| 8300 to 8519 | Cost of sales | 8518 Cost of sales, 8519 Gross profit |
| 8520 to 9367 | Operating expenses | 9367 Total operating expenses |
| 9370 to 9899 | Farming revenue and expenses | 9659 Total farm revenue, 9898 Total farm expenses |
| 9975 to 9999 | Extraordinary items and income taxes | 9999 Net income after taxes and extraordinary items |
The balance sheet runs from 1000 to 3849, the income statement for a business that doesn't farm runs from 7000 to 9970 (7000 to 7020 is other comprehensive income), and farming has its own block from 9370 to 9899 canada.ca.
Which GIFI codes do you map most often?
These are the items most small corporation trial balances hit. Names are as Appendix A prints them canada.ca.
| GIFI item | Name in RC4088 | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1001 | Cash | Bank accounts and cash on hand |
| 1060 | Accounts receivable | 1061 is the allowance for doubtful accounts |
| 1066 | Taxes receivable | GST/HST and income tax refunds receivable |
| 1120 | Inventories | |
| 1484 | Prepaid expenses | |
| 1742 / 1743 | Motor vehicles / accumulated amortization | |
| 2620 | Amounts payable and accrued liabilities | There is no separate accounts payable item |
| 2680 | Taxes payable | GST/HST payable goes here |
| 2780 | Due to shareholder(s)/director(s) | 2781 individual shareholders, 2783 directors |
| 3500 | Common shares | |
| 3700 | Dividends declared | |
| 8000 | Trade sales of goods and services | |
| 8090 | Investment revenue | Interest sits at 8091 to 8094, dividends at 8095 |
| 8521 | Advertising | |
| 8523 | Meals and entertainment | |
| 8670 | Amortization of tangible assets | Book amortization, not CCA |
| 8690 | Insurance | |
| 8710 | Interest and bank charges | |
| 8760 | Business taxes, licences, and memberships | |
| 8810 | Office expenses | |
| 8861 / 8862 / 8863 | Legal fees / Accounting fees / Consulting fees | 8860 is the generic professional fees item |
| 8871 | Management and administration fees | |
| 8910 | Rental | |
| 8960 | Repairs and maintenance | |
| 9060 | Salaries and wages | |
| 9200 | Travel expenses | |
| 9220 | Utilities | 9221 electricity, 9222 water, 9223 heat |
| 9225 | Telephone and telecommunications | |
| 9270 | Other expenses | |
| 9281 | Vehicle expenses | |
| 9990 | Current income taxes | Corporations only |
When the client's account has no exact match, use the most appropriate item. If nothing fits, use the generic item that opens the block, such as 8760. That generic item isn't a subtotal of the block, so don't report it alongside the detailed items as if it were canada.ca.
How does a trial balance map to Schedule 125? A worked example
Say your client is a service corporation with $250,000 of sales, no cost of sales and no farming. Its income statement maps like this.
| Client account | Amount | GIFI item |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting revenue | $250,000 | 8000 Trade sales of goods and services |
| Advertising | $4,200 | 8521 |
| Office supplies and software | $3,180 | 8810 |
| Year end accounting fee | $6,500 | 8862 |
| Office rent | $18,000 | 8910 |
| Wages | $120,000 | 9060 |
| Phone and internet | $2,400 | 9225 |
| Vehicle costs | $5,720 | 9281 |
| Total expenses | $160,000 | 9367 and 9368 |
| Net income before taxes | $90,000 | 9369, then 9970 |
Revenue at 8299 is $250,000. The expenses add up to $160,000 ($4,200 + $3,180 + $6,500 + $18,000 + $120,000 + $2,400 + $5,720), and with no cost of sales 9367 and 9368 are the same figure. 8299 minus 9368 gives $90,000 at 9369. If the books show a current tax provision of $11,000 at 9990, item 9999 is $79,000.
Two details trip people up here. Amounts go in whole dollars, so an office supplies balance of $3,179.60 is reported as 3180, never in thousands. And an invoice that mixes legal and accounting work goes to the item for the larger share canada.ca.
Item 9999 is where the tax side starts. Schedule 1 begins with net income after income tax and extraordinary items and reconciles it to net income for tax purposes, and CCA from Schedule 8 is deducted on line 403 of Schedule 1 canada.ca. So 8670 carries the book amortization, and CCA never appears in the GIFI. See the Schedule 1 adjustments page for the reconciliation.
Which totals does the CRA require?
Some items are required on every GIFI return, and the CRA checks that they balance canada.ca:
| Required item | Name | Check it must pass |
|---|---|---|
| 2599 | Total assets | 2599 equals 3499 plus 3620 |
| 3499 | Total liabilities | Part of the balance sheet check |
| 3620 | Total shareholder equity (3575 for partnerships) | Part of the balance sheet check |
| 8299 | Total revenue | 8299 minus 9368 equals 9369 |
| 9368 | Total expenses | Part of the income check |
| 9659 / 9898 | Total farm revenue / total farm expenses | Farm revenue minus farm expenses equals 9899 |
| 3849 | Retained earnings, end | Required if you report the retained earnings schedule |
| 9999 | Net income/loss after taxes and extraordinary items | Always required |
A required item can be nil, and then you enter 0. Negative amounts take brackets or a minus sign, whichever your software uses canada.ca.
The CRA also wants the same level of detail you'd show on a traditional financial statement canada.ca. Dumping everything into 9270 Other expenses passes the arithmetic but doesn't meet that standard.
Which GIFI schedules go with the T2?
Schedule 100 is the balance sheet at the end of the tax year, Schedule 125 is the income statement, and Schedule 101 is the opening balance sheet for a new corporation's first return canada.ca. Schedule 141, GIFI Additional Information, asks who prepared the financial information and at what level of involvement
canada.ca. The CRA says to complete it even when the statements have no notes
canada.ca.
A corporation with more than one line of business can file a supplementary income statement for each one. The main statement is sequence 01 and the others start at 02, each runs down to item 9970, and items 9975 to 9999 go only on the summary. Fill in the Schedule 140 summary when you do this canada.ca.
Insurance corporations can't use the GIFI and still send their financial statements with the return. A corporation not resident in Canada can use it when reporting in unconsolidated Canadian funds, but not when it files under section 115 only because it disposed of taxable Canadian property or is a treaty based exempt corporation canada.ca.
Filing matters too. Every corporation except insurance corporations, corporations not resident in Canada, corporations reporting in a functional currency and corporations exempt under section 149 has to file the T2 electronically, and filing on paper instead costs $1,000 under subsection 162(7.2) canada.ca. The penalty details are on the T2 late filing penalty page.
Do T2125 line numbers match the GIFI?
Yes, mostly. The CRA's business income guide says each T2125 line number is a standardized financial statement item and sends you to Appendix A of RC4088 for them canada.ca. A sole proprietor doesn't file Schedules 100 or 125, but the numbers on the form are GIFI numbers.
| T2125 line | T2125 name | Matching GIFI item | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8299 | Gross business or professional income | 8299 Total revenue | None |
| 8521 | Advertising | 8521 Advertising | None |
| 8523 | Meals and entertainment | 8523 Meals and entertainment | None |
| 8810 | Office expenses | 8810 Office expenses | None |
| 8860 | Professional fees (includes legal and accounting fees) | 8861, 8862, 8863 | The GIFI splits legal, accounting and consulting |
| 8910 | Rent | 8910 Rental | None |
| 9060 | Salaries, wages, and benefits | 9060 Salaries and wages | None |
| 9220 | Utilities | 9220 Utilities and 9225 Telephone | The T2125 puts telephone in utilities |
| 9281 | Motor vehicle expenses (not including CCA) | 9281 Vehicle expenses | None |
| 9936 | Capital cost allowance | 8670 is book amortization | CCA has no GIFI item |
The T2125 lines come from Part 3C and the expense chapter of Guide T4002 canada.ca
canada.ca. Line 9220 on the T2125 covers telephone along with gas, oil, electricity, water and cable, which is why a corporate client's phone bill moves to 9225 while a sole proprietor's stays on 9220
canada.ca. For the rest of the form, see the T2125 walkthrough.
Sources
Does an inactive corporation still file GIFI schedules?
No, not if it was inactive all year and has no balance sheet or income statement information to report. It no longer has to attach Schedules 100, 125 and 141, though the CRA accepts them if filed canada.ca.
Can a small corporation use the short GIFI form, T1178?
Only on paper, when the corporation doesn't use tax preparation software and its gross revenue and assets are both under $1 million canada.ca. Since almost every corporation has to file electronically, T1178 rarely applies to your clients.
Do I still attach the financial statements when I file the T2 electronically?
No. You don't file paper financial statements or notes for a year you file electronically, because the GIFI schedules replace them. The notes travel inside the electronic return as plain text, so they can't include tables or graphs canada.ca.
Do partnerships use GIFI codes too?
Yes. The GIFI is used for T5013 partnership returns as well as T2 returns, with item 3575 Total partners' capital in place of 3620 canada.ca. See the T5013 page for the filing rules.
General information for the tax year shown, not advice for a specific client. Confirm the facts before you file or remit.