Difference Between Income and Profit (With Table)

Income, as well as Profit, are commonly used in financial research. Many people are perplexed by these 2 terms, particularly when they are used together. Both these terms are different from each other in a variety of aspects based on equity and taxation.

Income vs Profit

The main difference between Income and Profit is that Income is defined as the entire intake of revenue over a given period. Salaries, taxes, rent, as well as earnings, are typically included. Profit is also known as the excess that remains after deducting entire costs from overall revenue.

Income refers to a corporation’s net earnings for a given fiscal year. It is computed by deducting the preferred shares dividend out from the company’s net profit. This is the remaining (favorable) sum left also with the corporation, and it can either be maintained by the business as retained profits or dispersed to equity owners as dividends. 

In accountancy, profit is defined as an income delivered to the proprietor as a result of a lucrative market manufacturing process (business). Profit is an indicator of profitability that is the prime concern of the proprietor in the earning context of market output. Various profit measurements are widely used.

Comparison Table Between Income and Profit

Parameters of Comparison

Income

Profit

Definition

Income is defined as the firm’s actual profits for a given fiscal year.

On the other hand, Profit is defined as the excess that remains after deducting all expenses from income.

Types

When it comes to the types of income, Earned Income and Unearned Income are the major ones.

Whereas, in case of Profit, Gross Profit and Net Profit are the two types.

Dependency

Revenue as well as profit determine the income. Also, the net income is always taxable.

Whereas, Revenue determines profit in almost cases. Not only this, the net profit is never taxable.

Manipulation

Income is highly prone to manipulation and can be done anytime.

On the other hand, manipulating the profit isn’t easy at all.

Uses

The idea of net income is is ideal for determining earnings growth. Also, the financial statement never occurs in case of the net income.

Whereas, net profit assists in demonstrating the profitability of the company organization. The financial statement in case of net profit appears on the income statement accounts.

What is Income?

Income refers to a corporation’s net earnings for a given fiscal year. It is computed by deducting the preferred shares dividend out from the company’s net profit. This is the remaining (favorable) sum left also with the corporation, and it can either be maintained by the business as retained profits or dispersed to equity owners as dividends. 

It is often known as the net increase in the equities stakeholder’s fund. Personal income is the sum of a person’s wage, rent, profits, interests, and profits from all sources. Within public economics, the phrase can refer to the buildup of both monetary as well as non-monetary consuming ability, also with former (monetary) serving as a substitute for overall income.

Gross income for one company is computed as the total of all revenues without the cost of items sold. Net income subtracts expenditures from revenues: net income= revenue minus costs of products sold, expenditures, depletion, interest, including taxation.

What is Profit?

In accountancy, profit is defined as an income delivered to the proprietor as a result of a lucrative market manufacturing process (business). Profit is an indicator of profitability that is the prime concern of the proprietor in the earning context of market output. Various profit measurements are widely used.

Gross profit= sales income subtracting the cost of goods sold (COGS), eliminating only expenditures that could be directly connected to the manufacture or acquisition of the items. Gross profit typically encompasses various (overhead) expenses such as R&D, S&M, and G&A, as well as interest costs, taxes, and unusual items. 

Economic profit, abbreviated as EP, is just a one-period indicator used by accountancy professionals to measure the value made by a company in a single period—typically a year. An uncertain cost of money is earnings post-tax less the equities charges. This notion is nearly equivalent to economists’ concept of economic profit. 

Optimum profit is a hypothetical term that reflects the “appropriate” degree of profit that a company can attain. This statistic is used in business to account for marketing plans, market presence, as well as other techniques of improving returns over the realistic price.

Main Differences Between Income and Profit

  1. Income is defined as the firm’s actual profits for a given fiscal year. On the other hand, Profit is defined as the excess that remains after deducting all expenses from income.
  2. When it comes to the types of income, Earned Income and Unearned Income are the major ones. Whereas, in case of Profit, Gross Profit and Net Profit are the two types.
  3. Revenue as well as profit determine the income. Also, the net income is always taxable. Whereas, Revenue determines profit in almost cases. Not only this, the net profit is never taxable.
  4. Income is highly prone to manipulation and can be done anytime. On the other hand, manipulating the profit isn’t easy at all.
  5. The idea of net income is is ideal for determining earnings growth. Also, the financial statement never occurs in case of the net income. Whereas, net profit assists in demonstrating the profitability of the company organization. The financial statement in case of net profit appears on the income statement accounts.

Conclusion

After examining these terms, it is evident that they really do not oppose one another, but rather appear sequentially. The never-ending commercial activity begins with revenues, out of which profit is realized in the way of monetary economic benefits. After calculating the profits, the preferential dividend is subtracted, yielding the company’s financial performance for the fiscal year. Income, as well as profit, are significant terms within economic operations, and they also have a place in the business vocabulary. Income and profit appear to be inextricably linked.

References

  1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00014788.1993.9729879
  2. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2226254