Revenue deficit is defined as the excess of

1. The revenue account covers the government's current income and spending. 2. A deficit arises when that spending exceeds that income. 3. So revenue deficit = **revenue expenditure - revenue receipts**. 4. Total expenditure over total receipts is the budget deficit, a different measure, which makes the third option the common trap. _Source: syllabus Introductory Macroeconomics, Ch 5 "Government Budget and the Economy", section 5.2.1 Measures of Government Deficit_