Canadian Business Tax Credits 2026: The Full Federal & Provincial Directory
Canada runs 63 active business tax credits right now, and this page lists all of them: 10 federal, 52 provincial, and 1 territorial. 40 of the 63 active records state a refundable character, meaning the CRA or the province pays you back even when you owe no tax. Every credit below is filterable by province, category, and refundable status, with its stated amount and any sunset date.
The Credit Ledger: all 64 business tax credits
Folio GC-TC-64 · September 2026The only page aggregating every business tax credit in the GrantCompass catalogue. Amounts are each record's own stated figure; where a program summary does not state refundable or non-refundable character, the badge says so rather than guessing.
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Updated September 11, 2026. Every figure on this page is drawn from the GrantCompass catalogue (973 programs, 678 active) and quoted as "GrantCompass catalogue, September 2026" where aggregated.
How are tax credits different from grants?
That structural difference changes how you pursue them. Grants are discretionary: a committee ranks applications and a fixed envelope funds the best of them. Tax credits are entitlement-based: if your expenditure meets the statute, the credit is yours, and the only real competition is the calendar. Several credits carry hard claim deadlines, and a missed SR&ED reporting deadline forfeits the claim for that year with no extensions. The trade-off is timing: a credit almost always arrives after year-end, when the return is filed and processed, so treat it as a recovery on costs you were willing to bear yourself.
Fig. 1 · Grant vs refundable credit vs non-refundable credit
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| Question | Grant | Refundable tax credit | Non-refundable tax credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you repay it? | No | No | No |
| Who decides? | Program committee, competitive or tiered | The tax statute; entitlement-based | The tax statute; entitlement-based |
| Cash if you owe no tax? | Yes, funds are paid regardless | Yes, the excess is refunded | No; it reduces tax owing only, though carry-forward rules often apply |
The refundable character is the most valuable property a credit can have, and the most misreported. In this directory 41 records state refundable character, 14 state non-refundable, and 9 do not state either in the program summary. Some straddle both: the Atlantic Investment Tax Credit is fully refundable for Canadian-controlled private corporations and only partially refundable for other taxable corporations, and the Saskatchewan R&D credit is refundable at 10% for CCPCs on the first $2 million of qualifying expenditures but non-refundable for other corporations. British Columbia's SR&ED credit is refundable at 10% up to the $6 million expenditure base and non-refundable above it, and Manitoba's manufacturing credit is 7% refundable plus 1% non-refundable. Read the record, not the headline.
Fig. 2 · Stated refundable character: 41 of all 64 records tracked (40 of the 63 active ones)
Source: GrantCompass catalogue, September 2026 (keyword scan of each record's public summary; non-refundable checked first).If you owe little or no corporate tax, prioritize the 40 refundable active records over the 14 non-refundable ones: only the refundable kind pays cash. With a healthy tax bill, the distinction matters far less.
Which Canadian provinces offer the most business tax credits?
Manitoba's lead is wide rather than deep: film and video production (up to a 65% rate), interactive digital media (up to a 40% rate), book publishing and printing, manufacturing, R&D, green energy equipment, co-op hiring, and two equity-style programs. Saskatchewan's 10 tell a different story, leaning toward large processing and resource investments, with the Saskatchewan Value-Added Agriculture Incentive stated at up to $250 million per project and the Alberta Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit at up to $175 million per project. Ontario's 10 are the most balanced portfolio, spanning R&D, manufacturing, film, digital media, animation, publishing, hiring, and mineral exploration.
Fig. 3 · Directory records by province (federal credits shown separately; the Atlantic Investment Tax Credit counts in each Atlantic province it serves)
Source: GrantCompass catalogue, September 2026. Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have no business tax credits in this directory.If you are in Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, or BCStart with the ledger above, filtered to your province, and check both a category credit and a hiring or investment credit
These four provinces each run 7 or more credits, and a single business can often claim two or three in one year: an R&D or manufacturing credit on capital, plus a hiring credit on payroll, plus an equity credit if you raise capital.
If you are in Atlantic CanadaStart with the Atlantic Investment Tax Credit, then layer your province's R&D or equity credit
The AITC covers new buildings, machinery, and equipment in NL, NS, NB, PE, and the Gaspé Peninsula at a 10% rate, fully refundable for CCPCs. New Brunswick adds a 15% refundable R&D credit with no cap; Nova Scotia adds R&D, digital media, animation, and the CEDIF equity mechanism.
If you are in QuebecPlan around Revenu Quebec attestation deadlines, not just CRA ones
Quebec claims run through the CO-17 return with Revenu Quebec, and the CRIC (which replaced the legacy Quebec SR&ED credit for taxation years beginning after March 25, 2025), the multimedia titles credit, and the new AI adoption credit each carry their own certificate or attestation step.
If you are in Alberta, PEI, or YukonCheck the one or two provincial credits, then default to the federal layer
Alberta pairs its film and television credit with the Innovation Employment Grant for R&D; PEI and Yukon each run one credit but residents still qualify for all 9 federal credits in this directory.
Creative-industry tax credits: film, TV, animation, and digital media
Film and screen credits share one architecture everywhere in Canada: a certification step through a cultural agency, then the claim on the tax return. Federally, CAVCO administers both the CPTC and the PSTC. The CPTC demands Canadian control and a Canadian-content point score, with excluded genres (news, sports, reality TV, game shows, advertising). The PSTC is the opposite: open to foreign-owned service corporations, no content test, but the production must clear a $1,000,000 total cost threshold, or $100,000 to $200,000 per episode for series.
Fig. 4 · The three federal screen credits
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| Credit | Stated rate | Core condition |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC) | 25% rate | Canadian-controlled corporation; Canadian content on a 10-point scale |
| Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit (PSTC) | 16% rate | Service productions; no content requirement; $1M+ total cost |
| Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects (OCASE) | 18% rate | Ontario animation or VFX work; $25,000 minimum Ontario labour per production |
Provincially, the headline rates are competitive enough that production location is often a credit decision. Manitoba's credit states up to a 65% rate under its Cost-of-Salaries model. British Columbia raised its BC Film Incentive base to 40% for productions starting principal photography after December 31, 2024, and its Production Services Tax Credit to 36%. Alberta reaches a 30% rate where Alberta ownership, producer, and copyright tests are met; Newfoundland and Labrador states 40% of NL labour capped at $5 million per production; Quebec pairs the CDTIM multimedia credit (stated at up to a 37.5% rate, capped at $11 million) with a SODEC-administered production services credit.
Film and television credits (11 records)
BC Film Incentive (40% base plus bonuses), BC Production Services (36%+ of BC labour), Alberta FTTC, Manitoba Film and Video (up to 65%), Ontario OFTTC and OPSTC, Quebec film production services, Newfoundland and Labrador (40% of NL labour, $5M cap), plus the two federal CAVCO credits. Nearly all accept applications year-round; the binding constraints are sequencing rules, like Alberta's 120-day initial-application window from the start of principal photography, or Ontario's 24-month application window after the taxation year in which photography began.
Interactive digital media and animation credits (6 records)
BC's Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit is a permanent 25% credit with a registration step in eTaxBC each tax year and a $2,000,000 eligible BC salary threshold, or $100,000 to $2,000,000 with principal-business tests. Ontario's OIDMTC, Manitoba's MIDMTC (stated up to 40%, extended to December 31, 2030), Quebec's CDTIM, and Nova Scotia's Digital Media Tax Credit (stated up to $100,000) certify products first and claim later. Nova Scotia's separate animation credit adds a 25% rate with a 17.5% bonus for primarily animated productions.
Publishing and printing credits (2 records)
Ontario's Book Publishing Tax Credit is stated at up to $30,000 per qualifying Canadian-authored book, with eligibility certificates issued per book by Ontario Creates. Manitoba pairs a Book Publishing Tax Credit (up to $100,000) with a Cultural Industries Printing Tax Credit stated at up to $1.1 million a year at a 35% rate, made permanent by Manitoba Budget 2025.
For a Canadian-controlled feature, the strongest single stack is CPTC (25% federal) plus BC FIBC (40% base) or Manitoba's credit (up to 65%): three times the federal rate alone. For a foreign service production, the answer flips to PSTC (16%) plus BC's production services credit (36%+), because content tests disqualify the first pair.
R&D and innovation credits: SR&ED and its provincial counterparts
The provincial layer adds 10 to 30 percentage points on top of the federal credit, and every R&D record in this directory states its refundable or non-refundable character explicitly. The pattern to notice: refundable treatment for CCPCs, non-refundable for larger corporations. Ontario runs two credits, the Ontario Innovation Tax Credit at 8% (stated at up to $240,000, phasing out as associated taxable capital passes $50 million) and the non-refundable Ontario Research and Development Tax Credit at 3.5%. Alberta's Innovation Employment Grant is a refundable grant-style credit phased out between $10 million and $50 million of taxable capital, requiring the federal T661 within 18 months as a prerequisite.
Fig. 5 · Stated provincial R&D credit rates (federal SR&ED excluded; see its directory row and our SR&ED guide)
Source: individual program records, GrantCompass catalogue, September 2026. Manitoba's R&D credit states refundable treatment for contracted research and 50% refundable in-house treatment but no single headline rate; the Alberta Innovation Employment Grant states no headline rate in its summary.Quebec deserves attention in 2026: the legacy Quebec SR&ED credit is replaced by the CRIC (Tax Credit for Research, Innovation and Commercialization) for taxation years beginning after March 25, 2025, claimed annually on the CO-17 with form RD-1029.8.CR-T. Saskatchewan's R&D credit doubled its CCPC refundable ceiling from $1 million to $2 million effective December 16, 2024, with a $1 million annual credit cap. BC's credit was made permanent by Budget 2026, removing its sunset.
Fig. 6 · Ontario's three-layer R&D stack for a CCPC
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| Layer | Stated rate | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Federal SR&ED (enhanced, first $6M of expenditures) | 35% | Refundable for CCPCs; up to $2.1M/yr |
| Ontario Innovation Tax Credit | 8% | Refundable; stated at up to $240K |
| Ontario Research and Development Tax Credit | 3.5% | Non-refundable; stated at up to $500K |
Manufacturing and processing investment tax credits (ITCs)
The general credits share a design: a percentage of qualifying capital, claimed on the T2 with a provincial schedule, often with a CCPC gate. British Columbia's credit is stated as a 15% refundable credit capped at $300,000 per property on up to $2 million of eligible investment, applying only to property acquired and available for use after March 31, 2026 (effective April 1, 2026), but the full rate holds only through March 31, 2031 before declining 2.5 percentage points a year to zero by 2036. Ontario's OMMITC gives CCPCs 10%, enhanced to 15% where property becomes available for use on or after May 15, 2025, and is repealed effective January 1, 2030 with expenditures required by December 31, 2029. Manitoba's credit applies to new or used buildings, machinery, and equipment used at least 90% in qualifying activities, with unused credits carrying forward 10 years or back 3.
Fig. 7 · The three general manufacturing credits
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| Credit | Stated rate / cap | Watch-out |
|---|---|---|
| BC Manufacturing and Processing ITC | 15% refundable; $300K cap per property | Full rate only through March 31, 2031; phases to zero by 2036 |
| Ontario Made Manufacturing ITC (OMMITC) | 10%; 15% enhanced rate | Repealed effective January 1, 2030; expenditures must be incurred by December 31, 2029 |
| Manitoba Manufacturing ITC | Not stated in the program summary | 90% in-use test on qualifying activities; 10-yr carryforward |
The mega-project family works on pre-approval, not tax forms: apply for conditional approval before investing, then claim against corporate income tax over 3 to 10 years. Saskatchewan's Value-Added Agriculture Incentive requires a minimum $10 million in new qualifying capital expenditures that physically transform raw agricultural products, stated at up to $250 million per project. Alberta's Agri-Processing ITC sets the same $10 million floor, stated at 12% up to $175 million per project with third-party engineering cost certification. Saskatchewan's Critical Minerals Processing incentive (stated at up to $75 million; credits claimed 20% in year one, 30% in year two, 50% in year three) and its Oil and Gas Processing counterpart complete the family, with the Chemical Fertilizer Incentive sunsetting its application window on December 31, 2026.
Fig. 8 · Sunset calendar: manufacturing-linked credits with fixed end dates
- Saskatchewan Chemical Fertilizer Incentive stops accepting conditional-approval applications (existing approved projects continue through later certificate and claim milestones).
- Saskatchewan Commercial Innovation Incentive sunset; the program record advises submitting by December 31, 2026 to leave processing buffer.
- Saskatchewan SMEITC pilot ends, subject to a $7 million yearly credit envelope allocated first-come, first-served.
- Ontario OMMITC: last day to incur eligible expenditures; credit repealed effective January 1, 2030. Saskatchewan CMPII and OGPII accept applications until March 31, 2029.
- BC Manufacturing and Processing ITC begins its rate decline from 15%.
If you run a steel fabricator in Hamilton or a food processor in Brandon, the decision is timing, not existence: OMMITC and the BC credit both carry legislated rate declines, so property that becomes available for use earlier claims a higher rate. Budget 2026 conversations belong on this year's calendar, not next year's.
Hiring and training tax credits: the smallest, easiest layer
These credits reward a hiring decision you may already be making. The AJCTC is available to corporations, sole proprietors, and partnerships, one of the few credits here a non-incorporated business can claim; the one trap is the related-employer rule, where related companies employing the same apprentice must agree in writing that only one claims, or the claim is nil for everyone. Unused credit carries back 3 years and forward 20, but the ITC must be identified no later than 12 months after the return's due date.
Fig. 9 · The hiring credits side by side
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| Credit | Stated amount | Who it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit (federal) | Up to $2K/yr per apprentice | Any employer in a prescribed Red Seal trade; apprentices in first 2 years |
| Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit | Up to $3,000 | Ontario employers hiring approved post-secondary co-op students; placements of 10+ consecutive weeks |
| Manitoba COG-HI / COS-HI pair | Up to $5K each | Manitoba employers hiring co-op graduates (after year one, with certification) or students (per work term) |
If you hire an apprentice in a Red Seal tradeClaim the federal AJCTC on your annual return, and check the related-employer rule first
Valid apprenticeship contract, first two years of the program, and a written agreement among related employers. Identify the credit within 12 months of the return's due date or the year closes.
If you run a Manitoba shop that takes co-op studentsLayer COS-HI per work term, then COG-HI if the graduate stays on permanently
COS-HI claims per year wages were paid during placements, with a lifetime maximum of 5 eligible placements per student. COG-HI requires the Tax Assistance Office certification after the first full year of employment, so the two credits claim in sequence, not together.
If you hire Ontario co-op students at scaleClaim the OCELC and keep the certification letter 7 years
CRA instructs you not to file the institution's certification letter with the return but to produce it if asked; the record states to keep it for at least 7 years.
Investment and equity tax credits: funding raised, not work performed
For a founder, these programs are fundraising tools before they are tax tools. A company that completes EBC registration in BC, eligible corporation designation in Yukon, or CEDIF registration in Nova Scotia converts its next equity round into a 25%-to-35%-off proposition for resident investors. The disciplines run both ways: investors must hold shares 4 years in New Brunswick and at least 5 years in BC or repay the credit, and companies carry size gates (Manitoba's SBVCTC requires under $15 million in revenue or fewer than 100 FTEs, at least 25% of them in Manitoba; the investor minimum dropped to $5,000 effective April 15, 2026).
Fig. 10 · Three provincial equity credits
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| Credit | Stated amount | Holding rule |
|---|---|---|
| BC Small Business Venture Capital Tax Credit | Up to $300,000 per investor | 5-year hold per investor from their own investment date |
| Manitoba Small Business Venture Capital Tax Credit | Up to $10M raised; max $500K credit per company | Program extended to December 31, 2028 |
| NB Small Business Investor Tax Credit | Up to $125K | 4-year holding period; business must register with NB Finance first |
The best option for a prairie or BC raise depends on where your investors live: these credits pay the investor, not the company, so a Saskatchewan raise through STSI (a $7 million annual cap, allocated first-come, first-served) can exhaust mid-year. Register early in the fiscal year.
Can you stack provincial credits with SR&ED?
Here is what the records state, with nothing inferred. Ontario's Innovation Tax Credit requires federal ITA s.127-qualified SR&ED and a T661 filed within 18 months of fiscal year-end; its deadline note is blunt: missing it permanently forfeits the credit for that year. Alberta's Innovation Employment Grant requires the federal T661 within 18 months as a prerequisite and files via AT1 Schedule 29 within 21 months. Manitoba's R&D credit names the T661 as the gateway, and Saskatchewan's mirrors the CRA definition with the same 18-month federal window.
The second rule is assistance reduction. The BC Manufacturing and Processing ITC record states that eligible expenditures must be reduced by any government or non-government assistance received, and its eligibility bar also excludes expenditures claimed under the BC SR&ED credit in any tax year. That one sentence decides a common planning question: you cannot put the same dollar of BC equipment spend under both credits.
Fig. 11 · Stacking rules as the records state them
| Combination | Stacks? | Stated condition |
|---|---|---|
| Federal SR&ED + Ontario Innovation Tax Credit | Yes | Ontario credit requires federal s.127-qualified SR&ED; T661 filed within 18 months of fiscal year-end |
| Federal SR&ED + Alberta Innovation Employment Grant | Yes | Federal T661 within 18 months is a prerequisite; AT1 Schedule 29 within 21 months |
| Federal SR&ED + Manitoba R&D credit | Yes | T661 named as the gateway form for the Manitoba credit |
| BC SR&ED credit + BC Manufacturing and Processing ITC | No (same expenditure) | M&P credit excludes expenditures claimed under the BC SR&ED credit in any tax year |
| Any credit + other government assistance on the same cost | Reduced | M&P credit record: eligible expenditures must be reduced by assistance received |
How do you actually claim a business tax credit?
The generic cycle has five steps, and the record-level details below are examples of how specific credits instantiate them. Nothing here is tax advice; it is what the program summaries themselves state.
- Confirm incorporation, permanent establishment, and pre-approval requirements. Film credits need CAVCO certification or a provincial equivalent; equity programs need company registration before investors buy; Saskatchewan's processing incentives need conditional approval before capital is committed.
- Incur and document eligible costs: invoices for capital credits, payroll records showing resident employees for labour credits, apprenticeship contracts, co-op certification letters. Keep contemporaneous technical documentation for anything touching SR&ED.
- Obtain certificates: Ontario Creates, Creative BC, Investissement Quebec, SODEC, CAVCO, or the provincial finance ministry, depending on the credit. Several are rolling, but a few bind you to windows, like Alberta film's 120-day initial application rule.
- Claim on the return with the named schedule: T2 with Schedule 31 for federal ITCs, T661 for SR&ED, Schedule 508 for Ontario R&D, Schedule 380 for Manitoba manufacturing, Schedule 403 for Saskatchewan, Form T666 for BC, or CO-17 with RD-1029.8.CR-T for Quebec's CRIC.
- Respect the claim windows: 18 months from fiscal year-end for SR&ED and most provincial R&D, 12 months after the due date for identifying apprenticeship ITCs, and fixed sunsets where they exist. Unused non-refundable credits typically carry back 3 years and forward 10 to 20.
Fig. 12 · Which form, for which credit (examples the records name)
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| Credit | Return / form the record names |
|---|---|
| SR&ED | Form T661 with the T2; T2SCH31 or T2038(IND) for the ITC |
| Ontario R&D (ORDTC) | T2 with Schedule 508; federal T661 also within 18 months |
| Manitoba Manufacturing ITC | T2 with Manitoba Schedule 380, within 18 months of fiscal year-end |
Two deadline shapes cover most of the directory. Rolling statutory credits (49 of 64 records) have no sunset; the only clock is your own filing. Fixed-window credits (14 records carry a stated end date) invert the risk: the Saskatchewan Chemical Fertilizer Incentive's application window closes December 31, 2026, and the 2027-to-2029 sunsets are in Fig. 8 above. One record, Manitoba Works Capital Incentive, states in its summary that applications are accepted year-round with no intake windows, so its ledger entry carries no fixed deadline or sunset.
If you are deciding where to start, the SR&ED claim guide walks the heaviest claim in the system and the SR&ED calculator estimates the refundable amount. For everything outside R&D, the ledger above is the map; each credit's own record, linked from its row, is the territory.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a refundable and a non-refundable tax credit?
A refundable credit pays you even when it exceeds the tax you owe: the balance comes back as cash. A non-refundable credit can only reduce tax owing to zero. Of the 64 credits here, 41 state refundable character, 14 non-refundable, and 9 state neither. Some are refundable only for certain corporation types: the Atlantic Investment Tax Credit is fully refundable for Canadian-controlled private corporations and partially refundable for other taxable corporations, and the Saskatchewan R&D credit is refundable at 10% for CCPCs on the first $2 million of qualifying expenditures but non-refundable for other corporations.
Can I claim SR&ED and a provincial R&D credit in the same year?
Yes. Every provincial R&D credit here is built on the federal SR&ED definition, and several require Form T661 as a prerequisite. Claim the federal ITC first, file the T661 within 18 months of fiscal year-end or the provincial claim can collapse with it, and reduce eligible expenditures by other government assistance received, as the BC manufacturing credit and several others explicitly require.
Which Canadian province has the most business tax credits?
Manitoba, with 12 credits tracked in the GrantCompass catalogue, followed by Ontario and Saskatchewan with 10 each, and British Columbia with 7. Manitoba's lead is broad rather than deep: it runs credits for film, interactive digital media, book publishing and printing, manufacturing, R&D, green energy equipment, co-op hiring, and two equity-style programs. Saskatchewan's 10 lean toward large processing and resource investments.
Do business tax credits expire?
Some do. The Saskatchewan Chemical Fertilizer Incentive stops accepting applications on December 31, 2026. The Saskatchewan Commercial Innovation Incentive sunsets June 30, 2027, the Saskatchewan SMEITC on June 30, 2028, the Manitoba SBVCTC on December 31, 2028, and the Ontario Made Manufacturing ITC is repealed effective January 1, 2030 with expenditures required by December 31, 2029. Others are permanent statutory entitlements, including SR&ED, the federal film credits, and most provincial R&D credits.
Is the BC Clean Buildings Tax Credit still open?
No. Its catalogue status is closed to new entrants: qualifying expenditures had to be paid before April 1, 2026 under an agreement entered into after February 22, 2022, and the retrofit must be completed before April 1, 2027. If your business already paid for a qualifying retrofit, certification applications are still accepted by the BC Ministry of Finance until September 30, 2028.
Do I apply to the CRA or to the province for a tax credit?
Usually both, in sequence. Provincial cultural and equity credits typically require a certificate, accreditation, or registration from a provincial agency first, such as Ontario Creates, Creative BC, Investissement Quebec, SODEC, or a provincial finance department. The credit itself is then claimed on the corporate tax return, filed either with the CRA, which administers most provincial corporation tax, or with Revenu Quebec on the CO-17.