CANADA FILMING INCENTIVES

The Ontario Production Services Tax Credit (OPSTC)

Overview

Type of incentivePayroll Tax Rebate
Qualifying formats
  • - Feature film - fiction (theatrical)
  • - Feature film - documentary (theatrical)
  • - TV Film or TV series - fiction
  • - TV Film or TV series - documentary
Qualifying productions
  • - National productions
  • - Foreign productions
  • - Co-productions

Specifics

Benefit as a % of spend25.00
Financial cap per production-
Do I have to register/set up a company?Yes
Does foreign cast/crew paid in their home country/region qualify as expenditure? No
Do foreign cast/crew have to pay tax in the host country/state/region? Yes
Does travel to/from country/region qualify as expenditure? Yes
Can a production qualify for other national incentives such as cultural programmes if it qualifies for this incentive? Yes
Criteria to access the benefit
  • - Minimum total value of production 1000000 (in local currency)
  • - Use Local cast & Crew
When will the benefit/incentive be received?
  • - On commencement of principal photography
Additional incentives or advantages
  • - VAT / GST /Sales Tax recoverable
  • - Rece tour assistance, location finding service
  • - Regarding Regional Sales Tax, you must contact the Film Service Units (FSUs), who administer or provide access to all Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) programmes dealing with film production in Canada and foreign location filming in Canada. Behind the scenes personnel, ie crew, are taxed at 15% of gross (23% for cast and in-front-of-camera personnel). Under the legislation, 23% tax must be withheld on the gross income earned from acting in a film or video production, including residuals and contingent compensation, with no deductions permitted. Non-resident actors can either: Have 23% of their gross acting income withheld and not have to file a return; Or have 23% of their gross acting income withheld, file an elective return, and pay tax at marginal rates on their net income instead of 23% on the gross amount. If the non-resident tax withheld by the payer is more than the amount of tax payable calculated on the return, the excess will be refunded. The legislation applies to non-resident actors in film or video production, such as feature films, movies of the week, television series, documentaries, video productions, and commercials. The legislation applies only to acting income earned by non-resident actors providing services in Canada. If a non-resident person earns other income in Canada (for services as a producer or director, or income from stage acting, for example), this income is subject to withholding at the rate of 15% and the person is required to file a tax return.

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