Ontario

Be a Canadian or foreign-owned corporation, taxable in Canada; have a permanent establishment in Ontario; be primarily in the business of film/video production or production services; and on or after the production’s first day of principal photography in any location (OPSTC) and at the end of the corporation’s taxation year for OCASE, submit an application for a Certificate of Eligibility online, along with the applicable administrative fee of 0.15% of eligible expenditures (minimum fee of CAD 500 and CAD 5,000 for OCASE and OPSTC, respectively, and maximum fee of CAD 10,000 (approximately USD 7,400) for OCASE and OPSTC). For the OPSTC credit, own the production’s copyright during the production period or have a direct contract with the copyright owner to provide production services to the eligible production; and see that at least 25% of the qualifying production expenditures claimed relate to salary and wages (including labor paid under an eligible service contract) paid to Ontario-based individuals. The company claiming the OCASE credit must have performed the qualified activities for an eligible project and the production must have received an OPSTC or OFTTC certificate.

Qualified spend for the OPSTC includes eligible wages, eligible service contracts, and expenditures for eligible tangible property used in Ontario. For the OPSTC credit, eligible expenditures must have been incurred from the period after the final script stage to the end of postproduction. For the OCASE credit, eligible labor expenditures include 100% of salaries, wages, and remuneration paid to Ontario residents. For both programs, the expenses must be: reasonable in the circumstances; directly related to the production or to the eligible computer animation and special effects activities; paid within 60 days after the applicable tax year end; and paid to Ontario residents or companies (for OCASE only arm’s length personal services corporations) for services provided in Ontario.

This program is administered on a first-come, first-served basis. OPSTC is a refundable tax credit equal to 21.5% of all qualifying production expenditures incurred in Ontario. The OCASE credit is equal to 18% of eligible Ontario labor expenditures that are attributable to eligible computer animation and special effects activities performed in Ontario. A producer can claim the OCASE tax credit and the OPSTC credit for a combined rate of 39.5% on the portion of qualifying labor directly involved in a filmed scene that involves visual effects (e.g. blue or green screen shooting, plate shots, digital scanning or motion capture). OCASE is generally claimed on its own by a supplier/vendor if the production company contracted the supplier/vendor to perform the computer animation and special effects services. Neither program has an annual funding cap or per project cap.