Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit (PSTC)
Tax credit16% of qualified Canadian labour
The federal service credit for foreign and non-certified domestic productions. No Canadian content test — the only requirement is that the work and the labour are Canadian.
Eligibility
- Eligible production corporation with a permanent establishment in Canada
- Corporation owns the copyright, or contracts directly with the copyright owner
- No Canadian content point requirement
Qualifying spend
- Salaries and wages to Canadian residents
- Eligible service contract remuneration to Canadian individuals and corporations
Caps and limits
- No per-project or annual cap
Excluded
- Non-resident cast and crew
- Equipment, travel and other non-labour costs
- Productions that claim the CPTC
Minimum spend
CAD $1M total cost for a feature or single episode over 30 minutes; $200,000 per episode of 30 minutes or less
Stacking
Stacks with provincial service credits such as BC PSTC, Ontario OPSTC and Québec's service credit.
How to apply
CAVCO (accreditation certificate) and CRA — Accreditation certificate, then claim with the corporate return
Loan-out and service-contract structures need to be mapped early to preserve eligibility.