Manitoba

Be incorporated in Canada; be a taxable corporation; have a permanent establishment in Manitoba during production; be primarily in the business of film or video production; submit a Certificate of Completion application with a flat fee of CAD 350 along with an additional 0.05% of the project’s final cost (up to CAD 5,000) if the production’s budget exceeds CAD 20,000; and pay a minimum of 25% of the production company’s total “T4’able” salaries and wages to eligible Manitoba employees for work performed in the province (for documentaries, the work does not need to be performed in Manitoba). There are no copyright ownership requirements to be eligible for the tax credit.

For the labor-based credit (Cost-of-Salaries Tax Credit), qualified labor includes salaries and wages paid to Manitoba residents (which may include services provided outside Manitoba). Certain nonresidents may be “deemed” eligible for the credit through the deeming provision. The salary of a “deemed” nonresident may qualify if there is at least one Manitoba resident being trained on the production per nonresident being deemed. Deemed salaries are capped at 30% of total eligible Manitoba salaries if there are at least two Manitoba trainees on the production per nonresident or at 10% if there is one Manitoba trainee per nonresident. The request for deeming should occur PRIOR to the start of principal photography. For the spend-based credit (Cost-of-Production Tax Credit), qualified spend includes eligible: Manitoba salaries; “deemed” nonresident salaries; parent-subsidiary amounts; Manitoba service contract expenditures; tangible property expenditures; and accommodation expenditures.

This program is administered on a first-come, first-served basis. Manitoba offers a choice between earning a refundable tax credit equal to 30% of eligible Manitoba expenditures, including eligible labor and eligible “deemed” nonresident labor, with the opportunity to increase the credit to 38% by co-producing with an eligible Manitoba production company or earning 45%–65% on eligible Manitoba labor. In addition to the 45% base labor credit, an additional 10% (Frequent Filming Bonus) may be earned by a production company filming its third eligible project in Manitoba within a 2-year period. For a series, the Frequent Filming Bonus may be earned after the first four hours of airtime. An additional 5% may be earned for each of the following: (1) filming at least 50% of Manitoba production days at least 22 miles (35 km) from Winnipeg’s center (Rural Bonus); (2) having a Manitoba resident with a screen credit of producer, co-producer, or executive producer (Manitoba Producer Bonus).