Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit

The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC) provides eligible productions with a fully refundable tax credit, available at a rate of 25 per cent of the qualified labour expenditure.

Jointly administered by the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) and the Canada Revenue Agency, the CPTC encourages the creation of Canadian film and television programming and the development of an active domestic independent production sector.

Who can apply

To be eligible for the CPTC, a production must be a treaty coproduction or other film or video production that meets the requirements of the Income Tax Regulations. For more information on these requirements, see CAVCO’s CPTC Guidelines.

Application deadline

The CPTC accepts applications on an ongoing basis. Deadlines are based on specific production details. Please see section 1.09 of the guidelines for more information about program deadlines.

How to apply

Applicants are required to:

• Read the CPTC guidelines and recent public notices;
• Create a CAVCO Online account (if you do not already have one);
• Complete the online application, which requires the following information / documentation:
  • Corporate documentation (e.g. names of shareholders, officers and directors of the production company, as well as the corporate structures of any and all corporate shareholders of the production company, business numbers and incorporation numbers, and fiscal year ends);
  • Financing and exploitation documentation (information on financing structure, exhibition market, territorial market, two-year clause commitment, as well as all agreements from entities providing financing to the production, and distribution or broadcast agreements);
  • Personnel documentation (the names and remuneration for all key creative personnel and producer-related personnel, as well as CAVCO Personnel Numbers for all Canadian citizens or permanent residents occupying these positions);
  • Documentation for non-Canadian producer-related personnel, if applicable (Form 01F12 or 01F13 and contracts for non-Canadian producer-related personnel and showrunners);
  • Production details (synopsis, target markets, genre, duration, production form, principal photography and completion dates, and number of shooting days);
  • Episode titles, if production is a series;
  • CRA T2029 Waiver forms (for Part B applications submitted after the 24-month application deadline and before the 42-month application deadline. See more information on completing the T2029 Waiver form);
  • Copy of the production for Part A/B or Part B applications (file may be uploaded with the application, or submitted on a DVD, Blu-ray, or USB flash drive) (three episodes if series);
  • Expenditures documentation (locked budget, total labour expenditures);
  • Final cost information for Breakdown of Costs in Part A/B or Part B applications (to preview a Breakdown of Costs form before completing this section of the application, see Forms page) (not applicable for treaty coproductions);
  • Audit for Part A/B or Part B applications, for productions with budgets of $500,000 or more;
  • Treaty coproduction information (information on country, name of coproducing company or companies, percentages of ownership, amount of financing, coproduction agreement) (if applicable);
  • Chain-of-title documentation (may be requested during file analysis)
• Pay the application fee.

How long it will take to process your application

CAVCO's service standard for processing applications is 176 calendar days. The performance target for meeting this standard is 85%.

• CAVCO performance results

Apply

Contact us

Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office
Canadian Heritage
25 rue Eddy
Gatineau, QC  J8X 4B5

Email

bcpac-cavco@pch.gc.ca

Telephone

1-888-433-2200 (toll-free)

TTY

1-888-997-3123 (toll-free)

Agents are available to answer your questions, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm (EST).