Small Business

General Index of Financial Information (GIFI)

A Necessity for Filing Corporate Tax in Canada

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Updated December 10, 2018

Definition:

GIFI stands for General Index of Financial Information.

Created by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in 1999, the GIFI is a system which assigns a unique code to a list of items commonly found on business's income statements, balance sheets, and statements of retained earnings.

What Is the GIFI Used For?

The purpose of the GIFI is to allow the CRA to collect and process financial information more efficiently; for instance, the GIFI lets the CRA validate tax information electronically rather than manually.

Information from financial statements is categorized under the appropriate GIFI code and entered on corporate income tax returns. If you file a T2 income tax return (the tax return for corporations), then you need to use the GIFI, choosing the GIFI codes that best matches the items that you report.

Examples of GIFI Codes for Current assets
CodeGIFI name
1000Cash and deposits
1001Cash -  bank drafts, bank notes, cheques, coins, currency, money orders, postal notes, and post-dated cheques
1002Deposits in Canadian banks and institutions – Canadian currency
1003Deposits in Canadian banks and institutions – Foreign currency
1006Credit union central deposits (credit unions only)
1060Accounts receivable (claims, dividends, royalties, and subsidies receivable)
1061Allowance for doubtful accounts
1066Taxes receivable (GST/HST, income tax refunds, and tax credits receivable)
1067Interest receivable
1068Holdbacks receivable
1120Inventories
1121Inventory of goods for sale (finished goods)
1122Inventory parts and supplies
1123Inventory properties (companies involved in real estate, development, or construction)
1124Inventory of aggregates
1125Work in progress (goods in process)
1126Raw materials
1180Short-term investments (short-term marketable securities)
1181Canadian term deposits
1182Canadian shares
1183Canadian bonds
1184Canadian treasury bills
1186Other short-term Canadian investments
1240Loans and notes receivable
1241Demand loans receivable (amounts such as call loans, day loans, and demand loans)
1242Other loans receivable
1243Notes receivable
1244Mortgages receivable
1300Due from shareholder(s)/director(s) (corporations only)
1301Due from individual shareholder(s) (corporations only)
1302Due from corporate shareholder(s) (corporations only) (due from parent company)
1303Due from director(s) (corporations only)
1310Due from member(s)/general partner(s) (partnerships only)
1311Due from limited partners (partnerships only)
1312Due from members that are partnerships (partnerships only)
1313Due from general partners (partnerships only)
1314Due from specified members who are not limited partners (partnerships only)
1360Investment in joint venture(s)/partnership(s) current investment or equity in joint venture(s), partnership(s), and syndicate(s)
1380Due from joint venture(s)/partnership(s) (current amounts due from joint venture(s)/partnership(s), or syndicate(s), such as advances, loans, and notes)
1400Due from/investment in related parties
1402Interest receivable from related parties
1403Loans/advances due from related parties
1480Other current assets
1481Future (deferred) income taxes (corporations only) (income taxes applicable to future years)
1482Accrued investment income
1483Taxes recoverable/refundable
1484Prepaid expenses
1599Total current assets
Examples of GIFI Codes for Current liabilities
CodeGIFI name
2600Bank overdraft
2620Amounts payable and accrued liabilities ( accrued liabilities, agreements payable, claims payable, rent payable, and utilities payable)
2621Trade payables
2622Trade payables to related parties
2623Holdbacks payable
2624Wages payable
2625Management fees payable
2626Bonuses payable
2627Employee deductions payable ( payroll deductions for employee benefits such as employment insurance, Canada Pension Plan, Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, group insurance, and pension plans)
2628Withholding taxes payable
2629Interest payable ( accrued interest payable)
2680Taxes payable ( capital taxes, foreign taxes, GST/HST, current income taxes, sales taxes, etc)
2700Short-term debt ( corporate loans, demand loans, etc.)
2701Loans from Canadian banks
2705Cheques and other items in transit
2706Lien notes
2707Credit card loans
2770Deferred income
2780Due to shareholder(s)/director(s) (corporations only)
2781Due to individual shareholder(s) (corporations only)
2782Due to corporate shareholder(s) (corporations only) ( due to parent company)
2783Due to director(s) (corporations only)
2790Due to member(s)/general partner(s) (partnerships only)
2791Due to limited partners (partnerships only)
2792Due to members that are partnerships (partnerships only)
2793Due to general partners (partnerships only)
2794Due to specified members who are not limited partners (partnerships only)
2840Due to joint venture(s)/partnership(s)
2860Due to related parties
2861Demand notes due to related parties
2862Interest payable to related parties
2863Advances due to related parties
2920Current portion of long-term liability
2960Other current liabilities
2961Deposits received ( bids, contract deposits, rental deposits, tenders, and security deposits)
2962Dividends payable
2963Future (deferred) income taxes (corporations only) ( income taxes applicable to future years and reserve for income taxes shown current)
2964Reserves for guarantees, warranties, or indemnities
2965General provisions/reserves ( contingent liabilities, provision for losses on loans, and pension reserves shown current)
3139Total current liabilities

The complete GIFI index is contained in the CRA's Guide to the General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) for Corporations which you can get in different formats, such as printed versions, if you like.

Using the GIFI lets you electronically file your T2 income tax return, and in turn means faster processing of your return.

Tax processing and accounting software programs designed for use by Canadian corporations include the GIFI.

If your corporation has both gross revenue and assets of less than one million dollars each, is not a life insurer, deposit insurer, or general (casualty and property) insurer, and you do not use tax preparation software, you will be able to use the GIFI Short Form.

For more information on corporate taxes, see:

Corporate Tax Canada Guide

Canadian Income Tax and Your Small Business

8 Small Business Tax Strategies to Reduce Income Tax in Canada