What a blogger or website owner in Canada reports and deducts: display ads, affiliate commissions, sponsored posts and digital products, the cost of building and running the site, and the GST/HST, with every rule linked to its government source. The seventh post in our content creator series, after YouTube creators, Instagram creators, TikTok creators, podcasters, Twitch streamers and fan subscription creators.
For most Canadian bloggers and website owners, the site’s income is business income: display ad revenue, affiliate commissions, sponsored posts, digital products such as e-books and courses, and the fair market value of free products all go on Form T2125, including money paid from outside Canada, and the form asks for the web addresses that earn it. You can deduct reasonable costs you incur to earn it, business part only: hosting, your domain, themes and plugins, stock photos, email tools, writers and editors you pay, and a share of your home if it qualifies. Building the site can be a current expense or a capital cost; the CRA says it is a question of fact. Register for the GST/HST once your taxable revenue passes $30,000. As a reference point, Statistics Canada data built from tax returns shows the middle half of businesses in the group that holds Internet publishing spending 23% to 53% of revenue on expenses.
What Blog and Website Income Do You Have to Report?
The CRA’s page for social media influencers names independent blogs among the platforms it covers, and lists advertising for other businesses, sponsorships, partnerships and referral codes as income. For a blog or website that usually means:
- Display ad revenue from an ad network that places ads on your pages and pays you for views or clicks.
- Affiliate commissions when a reader buys through your link or code.
- Sponsored posts and paid placements, where a brand pays you to write about it or link to it.
- Digital products you sell, such as e-books, courses, templates and printables.
- Free products and trips from brands, at fair market value.
As a creator resident in Canada you report all of it, monetary and non-monetary, earned in and outside Canada. A sole proprietor reports it as self-employment income on Form T2125; an incorporated creator reports it on the corporation’s T2 return with Schedule 125. Its platform economy page adds that you contribute to the Canada Pension Plan if you are over 18 and earn more than $3,500 a year. Our general guide for content creators covers the basics for every platform.
Guide T4002, Chapter 2 has a part for Internet business activities. It names income from advertising, income programs or the traffic your site generates, including static ads for other businesses, affiliate programs and advertising programs (the guide gives Google AdSense and Microsoft Advertising as examples). You enter how many pages and sites earn income, their web addresses (the top five if you have more), and the share of your income that comes from the Internet, as an estimate if you do not know it exactly. The CRA’s e-commerce page adds that a corporation reports the same information on Schedule 88.
Which Industry Code Does a Blogger Use?
Form T2125 asks for an industry code for your main business activity. The CRA points you to Statistics Canada’s NAICS list, or to the codes in your tax software if you file electronically. We searched that list for blogs and websites on 12 November 2026. Two codes come up for a blogger:
- 516219, Other media content providers. Its examples start with blog sites, Internet, the only place the list names a blog. It fits a site run as a media business, earning from ads, affiliates and sponsors.
- 711513, Independent writers and authors, for freelancers who create literary works, technical writing or copywriting. It fits a writer whose income comes mainly from writing for others, with the blog as a portfolio.
One detail matters: the 516219 entry sends publishing and distributing your own content to the publishing industries, and independent writing to 711513. In our reading, most bloggers whose site is the business fit 516219, and a writer paid mainly by clients fits 711513. The CRA asks for the code that most closely describes your main activity, so we pick the code with you, based on where your money actually comes from.
Blogger and Website Expenses at a Glance
The CRA’s rule from Guide T4002 is that you can deduct a reasonable expense you incur to earn income, only the business part of it, and never a personal expense. This table applies that rule to the costs of running a blog or website. The GST/HST row applies only if you are registered for the GST/HST.
| Cost | What a sole proprietor can claim |
|---|---|
| Web hosting and domain renewals | Deductible as a cost of the year, in our reading |
| Themes and plugins | Yearly licences as a cost of the year; software bought to last, Class 12, in our reading |
| Building or redesigning the site | Current or capital, a question of fact (CRA); if capital, Class 10(f) or 12(o) |
| Computer you write and publish from | CCA, Class 50 at 55%, business part |
| Stock photos and images | Deductible for licences used on the site, in our reading |
| Email newsletter and other online tools | The business part, as a yearly cost, in our reading |
| Freelance writers, editors and designers | Reasonable fees |
| Ads you buy, including on foreign websites | Deductible; the Canadian content rules do not apply to foreign websites |
| A room in your home used to work | The workspace share, if it meets the CRA conditions |
| Internet and cellphone airtime | The business percentage |
| Accounting and tax return fees | Deductible |
| GST/HST you pay (registrants) | Input tax credit for the business part |
The CCA classes and rates and the website rule are the CRA’s; which class a cost falls in and the rows marked as our reading are our interpretation, explained in the next sections.
Our packages
Not sure where to start?
- Led by a licensed CPA
- Fixed fees quoted up front
- Bookkeeping, tax and payroll
- Sign up online in minutes
Is Building Your Website an Expense or a Capital Cost?
The CRA answers this on its e-commerce page: computer software and website development costs are either current, and deductible in the year you incur them, or capital, and deductible through capital cost allowance (CCA). There are no specific rules in the Income Tax Act for website development costs, and whether a cost is current or capital is always a question of fact. If it is capital, it may be for general-purpose electronic data processing equipment, Class 10(f), or for computer software, Class 12(o). Software is generally depreciable when its useful life is expected to go beyond one year.
In our reading, a site built or rebuilt to last several years is usually capital, while keeping it running, such as updates, fixes and new posts, is a cost of the year. Other gear follows the CRA’s classes of depreciable property:
- Class 50, 55%: general-purpose computer equipment, such as the computer you write and publish from. Under proposed changes, new Class 50 property acquired after April 15, 2024 and available for use before 2027 is eligible for a 100% first-year deduction.
- Class 12, 100%: computer software that is not systems software. The CRA’s class list says it is subject to the half-year rule.
- Class 8, 20%: furniture, such as your desk and chair, and other equipment.
Under the accelerated investment incentive, the half-year rule effectively remains suspended for property that becomes available for use from 2024 to 2027, so the class rate applies in the first year. Only the business part counts. Our guide to buying equipment before December 31 covers timing.
- In 2026 you pay a developer $2,000 to design and build a new site you expect to use for years, and you buy a computer for $1,600 used 80% for the blog. Hosting and your domain renew for $325.
- Hosting and domain: a cost of the year, $325.
- The site build, as software in Class 12, in our reading: $2,000 in the first year, because the half-year rule is suspended.
- Computer, Class 50 at 55%: business part $1,280, CCA $704, or $1,280 if the proposed 100% first-year deduction applies.
- First-year CCA: $2,704, or $3,280 with the proposed rule.
The numbers and the class for each item are our example; the rates and the website rule are the CRA’s.
Can You Claim the Room You Write In?
A room at home you write and run the site from can give you a share of home costs, if the space meets one of the CRA’s two business-use-of-home conditions: it is your principal place of business, or you use it only for the business and regularly meet clients or customers there. For most bloggers it is the first condition that matters. You claim a reasonable share, such as the area of the room over the area of your home, of costs like heat, electricity, insurance and rent or mortgage interest. If the room is also a guest room or a family room, the share is smaller. The claim cannot create or increase a business loss. Our home office guide has the calculation.
What Else Can a Blogger Deduct?
- Hosting, domain and site tools. In our reading, hosting, domain renewals, yearly theme and plugin licences, security and backup services are costs of the year, business part only. Software you buy outright to use for years is Class 12 on the CRA’s class list.
- Stock photos and images. In our reading, licences for photos and graphics you use on the site are business costs.
- Email and online tools. In our reading, your newsletter service, keyword and analytics tools and design apps you pay monthly or yearly are a cost of that year, business part only.
- Writers, editors and designers. Reasonable fees you pay a freelance writer, an editor or a designer are business costs. If you hire employees, their pay goes on line 9060 with payroll deductions. Amounts you pay yourself are not deductible.
- Advertising. Ads you buy to grow the site go on line 8521. Guide T4002 sets Canadian content or ownership requirements for some advertising, and says those requirements do not apply if you advertise on foreign websites.
- Internet and phone. Line 9220 lets you deduct the percentage of cellphone airtime you use to earn business income, and the CRA’s own streamer example deducts the non-personal part of the internet connection. Our cell phone and internet guide covers the business percentage.
- Payment and platform fees. Guide T4002 lets you deduct management and administration fees, including bank charges, incurred to run your business (line 8871). In our reading, the fee a payment processor or course platform keeps from a sale is a business cost when you report the full sale.
- Accounting. Fees for accounting and preparing your tax and GST/HST returns are deductible on line 8860.
What Are Typical Expense Ratios for a Blog or Website?
No one publishes an expense ratio for bloggers. The closest real figures are Statistics Canada’s Financial Performance Data, built from the T1 and T2 tax returns of small businesses with $30,000 to $5 million of revenue, as captured by the CRA. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada publishes them by industry group. It has no table for 516219 itself, so we show two groups: other information services (519, 1,876 businesses in 2024), which ISED defines on the 2017 code list as including Internet publishing and broadcasting, and independent artists, writers and performers (7115, which holds 711513, 15,938 businesses):
Other information services
- Middle half of businesses: 23% to 53% of revenue
- Whole group average: 77.1%, pulled up by the quarter running at a loss
- Labour and commissions: 29.8%, advertising: 4.2%
- Average net profit: 22.9%
Independent artists, writers and performers
- Total expenses: 53.6% of revenue on average
- Middle half of businesses: 32% to 54%
- Labour and commissions: 13.9%
- Average net profit: 46.4%
A blogger's year
- Paying writers and editors: the labour line
- A year you rebuild the site or buy a computer: more amortization
- Not a CRA limit: you claim what you actually spent
The middle half is the two middle quarters of businesses ranked by profit margin. ISED rates both total expenses figures as good, but most of the single lines for 519 as use with caution, and 519 also holds news syndicates, libraries and search portals, so we read it as a range, not a target. These are averages, not a CRA rule or a limit on what you can claim. We use them to sense-check a year: when a blogger’s costs sit far outside the range, we look at why before the return is filed.
Do Bloggers Charge GST/HST on Ads, Affiliates and Digital Products?
The CRA says that online content published by influencers on platforms is generally a taxable supply, and under its page on when to register for the GST/HST you have to register once your taxable revenue passes $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. That total is revenue before expenses from worldwide taxable supplies, including zero-rated ones, so ad networks, affiliate programs and readers outside Canada count toward it.
The CRA’s page on GST/HST and e-commerce sorts what a blogger sells. Web-banner advertising, promotional messages and external links for online sellers are services. A digital product a customer downloads, such as an e-book or a template, is intangible personal property. Once you are registered, you generally charge the GST/HST on all taxable supplies you make in Canada, other than zero-rated ones. In our reading:
- Ads and affiliate commissions from companies outside Canada: Guide RC4022 lists advertising services to a non-resident person that is not registered under the normal GST/HST regime among services that may be zero-rated. So the tax is often nil, but the revenue still counts toward the $30,000.
- Sponsored posts for Canadian brands: taxable at the rate where the supply is made, once you are registered.
- E-books and courses sold to readers in Canada from your own site: you charge the GST/HST once registered. The CRA’s digital economy rules make platforms collect the tax for sellers outside Canada, not for you. If you sell through a marketplace whose terms make it the seller, your sale is to the platform, so we read its terms first.
Once registered, you also claim input tax credits for the GST/HST you pay on business costs. See our guide to the $30,000 small supplier rule.
How Is Income From US Ad Networks and Brands Reported?
Many ad networks, affiliate programs and sponsors are US companies, and payouts often come in US dollars. The Canadian side is set by the CRA’s foreign tax credit page:
- Report it in Canadian dollars. Use the Bank of Canada exchange rate for the day the amount arose, or the average annual rate when you were paid at different times during the year.
- If foreign tax was withheld, report the full amount and claim the foreign tax credit on Form T2209 for the federal credit (line 40500) and Form T2036 for the provincial one. A tax treaty may affect whether you are eligible.
- Keep each payout statement and sponsor invoice, with the currency and any tax withheld.
What Records Should a Blogger Keep?
The CRA’s influencer page asks you to keep track of your income and expenses, including sales to buyers in Canada and other countries. For a blog or website, that means:
- Ad and affiliate statements: every monthly report and payout, with the currency and the company that paid you.
- Sponsored posts: contracts and invoices, and where each sponsor is based, for the GST/HST.
- Digital product sales: each sale with the buyer’s country and province, the price, the tax charged and the platform or payment fee.
- Free products: a list of products and trips with their fair market value.
- Site costs: hosting, domain, theme, plugin and tool invoices, and the developer’s invoice and scope for any build or redesign.
- Gear and home: receipts with purchase dates, and how you set the business share of your computer, internet and home.
- Your web addresses: the sites and pages that earn income, for Form T2125.
How Can We Help Bloggers and Website Owners?
We prepare your personal return with Form T2125, including ad, affiliate and sponsor income paid in US dollars, reported in Canadian dollars, the Internet business activities part and your capital cost allowance. We sort each website cost into the year or into CCA, sort your sales for the GST/HST, keep your books through the year, register you when you need it and file the returns, and if you are incorporated, we prepare the corporation’s T2 return. Fees are fixed and quoted up front.
If you want your blog income set up the right way before tax season, see our packages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is blog income taxable in Canada?
Yes. If you live in Canada, display ad revenue, affiliate commissions, sponsored posts, digital product sales and the value of free products are all income, including money paid from outside Canada. Most bloggers report it as business income on Form T2125, with the web addresses that earn it.
Can I deduct the cost of building my website?
Yes, in one of two ways. The CRA says website development costs are either current and deductible in the year, or capital and claimed through capital cost allowance, and that it is always a question of fact. A capital cost may go in Class 10(f) or Class 12(o).
Are web hosting and domain fees deductible?
In our reading, yes. Hosting, domain renewals and yearly theme and plugin licences used for the business are a cost of the year, business part only. Software you buy outright to use for years goes in Class 12.
Which industry code does a blogger use?
There is no code named for bloggers. The NAICS list names blog sites under 516219, Other media content providers. A writer paid mainly by clients may fit 711513, Independent writers and authors. If you file electronically, use the codes in your tax software. We pick the code with you.
Do I charge GST/HST on ad revenue from a US ad network?
Once you are registered, advertising services to a non-resident that is not registered under the normal GST/HST regime may be zero-rated, so the tax is often nil. The revenue still counts toward the $30,000 registration threshold. Digital products you sell to readers in Canada are taxable once you are registered.
Reviewed on 12 November 2026. The income, expense, website development, capital cost allowance, GST/HST and foreign tax credit rules are from the Canada Revenue Agency, the industry codes from Statistics Canada, and the expense ratios from Statistics Canada data published by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, linked beside each fact and listed below. Points marked as our reading are our interpretation, not CRA wording.
Content Creators
Accounting for bloggers, influencers, YouTubers, streamers and podcasters: income from every platform, deductions and the GST/HST
T1 Personal Tax
Personal tax returns, including the business statement with your ad, affiliate and sponsor income and CCA
Bookkeeping
Monthly bookkeeping with ad and affiliate payouts, site costs, equipment and GST/HST input tax credits recorded the right way
Sources
- Canada Revenue Agency, Social media influencers (Taxes and the platform economy) (page dated 2025-01-31, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Understanding your tax obligations (Taxes and the platform economy) (page dated 2025-01-31, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Guide T4002, Chapter 2, Income (Part 2, Internet business activities) (page dated 2026-04-16, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, E-commerce (reporting Internet business activities, website development costs) (page dated 2026-05-05, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Industry codes (page dated 2026-08-31, checked 12 November 2026)
- Statistics Canada, NAICS Canada 2022 Version 1.0, 516219 Other media content providers (page dated 2024-10-23, checked 12 November 2026)
- Statistics Canada, NAICS Canada 2022 Version 1.0, 711513 Independent writers and authors (page dated 2024-10-23, checked 12 November 2026)
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Financial performance, Other information services (519), data year 2024 (page dated 2026-09-08, checked 12 November 2026)
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Summary, Other information services (519), definition (page dated 2026-09-08, checked 12 November 2026)
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Financial performance, Independent artists, writers and performers (7115), data year 2024 (page dated 2026-09-08, checked 12 November 2026)
- Statistics Canada, Financial Performance Data (FPD), survey description (page dated 2026-01-19, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Guide T4002, Chapter 3, Expenses (page dated 2026-04-16, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Other business expenses (page dated 2026-08-31, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Classes of depreciable property (page dated 2026-08-31, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Accelerated investment incentive (page dated 2025-07-21, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Business-use-of-home expenses (page dated 2026-08-31, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Line 9220, Utilities (page dated 2026-08-31, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, When to register for and start charging the GST/HST (page dated 2026-06-16, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST and e-commerce (page dated 2022-11-07, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Cross-border digital products and services (GST/HST for digital-economy businesses) (page dated 2025-10-16, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Guide RC4022, General Information for GST/HST Registrants (page dated 2026-01-07, checked 12 November 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Federal foreign tax credit, line 40500 (page dated 2026-08-14, checked 12 November 2026)
