Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit (OIDMTC)
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- Only 1 written answer, against a median of 5.
- 13 documents to attach, against a median of 5.
Can you claim this credit?
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Refundable tax credit of 40% of eligible Ontario labour expenditures for non-specified interactive digital media products (video games, educational software, e-learning), or 35% for fee-for-service work. No overall cap on credit amount. Marketing and distribution expenditures capped at $100,000 per product. One of Canada's most valuable gaming and digital media incentives.
Eligibility Requirements
- Canadian corporation (Canadian-controlled OR foreign-owned) with permanent establishment in Ontario
- Developing eligible interactive digital media products (video games, educational software, e-learning, informational products)
- Products must meet interactivity and digital media requirements
- Must have Ontario labour expenditures
- Fee-for-service work eligible at reduced 35% rate
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- 40% of eligible Ontario labour expenditures (35% fee-for-service); no overall cap; marketing/distribution capped $100K/product
- Type
- Tax Credit
- Level
- Provincial
- Credit rate
- Up to 40% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Apply to Ontario Creates for a Certificate of Eligibility within 18 months of the end of the taxation year in which the product was completed.
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Moderate — standard application process
Low competition — good odds of approval
Moderate — standard requirements
How to claim
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipNo cap makes this one of the most valuable gaming incentives in Canada.
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How Ontario Creates / CRA judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents on ontariocreates.ca, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-07.
6 of the sources
- OIDMTC Guidelines - Non-Specified and Specified Products
- OIDMTC Guidelines - Specialized and Qualifying Digital Game…
- Specified and Non-Specified Products Expenditure Breakdown
- Section 93.2 Specialized Digital Game Corporation Expenditure…
- Qualified Digital Game Expenditure Breakdown
- Combined Section 93 and 93.2 Expenditure Breakdown
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What Ontario Creates / CRA favours
Based on eligible Ontario labour, marketing, distribution for digital media◦
“The OIDMTC is based on eligible Ontario labour, marketing and distribution expenditures for the development of interactive digital media products.”
The form
Checklist documents
- 1Corporate identity and ownership documentslist
- 2Financial statementslist
- 3Chain of titlelist
- 4Description of product developmentlist
- 5Production schedule and timelinetable
- 6Financing plan and assistancelist
- 7Product descriptionwritten answer
A description of the product is required.
Expenditure schedules
- 8Section 93 product and claim identityspreadsheet
- 9Section 93 expenditure breakdownspreadsheet
- 10Section 93.2 labour thresholdspreadsheet
- 11Section 93.2 game-by-game expenditure breakdownspreadsheet
Supporting documents
- 12Supporting Documentslist
Ontario Creates / CRA states no length limits for these answers.
Judged against
- 1
Does the product meet the section 93 tests?
Show them Describe the product, its interactivity and its revenue-generating stream, and back the completed build with dated design and production records.◦
In the funder’s words · 2
- Product eligibility
- Development evidence
- 2
Do the labour numbers survive the 80/25 rule?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
Does the game company clear the labour threshold?
What to show, and the funder’s 3 criteria behind it in Premium
- 4
Is every dollar of assistance disclosed?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
3 questions the reviewer answers about you, in Premium.
Where applicants fail
“If you file an incomplete application, you will be notified about deficiencies with the filing.”
“Where significant delays are encountered in obtaining responses from applicants, Ontario Creates reserves the right to close the file after 30 days.”
“Once you have started the application on the OAP you have 90 days to submit it before the application expires.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 4 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
2 more rules that can reject you · 6 more criteria · 11 more prompts
Do you pass?
Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
Your business
Eligible applicant corporation
Applicant is a Canadian corporation with a permanent establishment in Ontario and is not directly or indirectly controlled by a tax-exempt corporation.
The project
Section 93 product tests
Section 93 products must satisfy the applicable 80/25 labour rule, primary-purpose, presentation, interactivity, individual-use, non-communication, non-system-software, non-promotional, revenue-generating-stream, completion and exclusion tests.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Credit rate40% non-specified; 35% specified
40% for eligible non-specified products; 35% for specified products and digital-game corporation claims.
Marketing ceilingup to $100,000 per product
For eligible section 93 non-specified products only, qualifying marketing and distribution expenditures up to $100,000 per product.
StackingAssistance may reduce eligible expenditures; SR&ED overlap ineligible.
Government and non-government assistance must be disclosed and may reduce eligible expenditures; overlapping SR&ED-claimed labour is not eligible for OIDMTC.
Costs before approvalStream-based period; 93 completion-based, 93.1/93.2 own tests.
The eligible expenditure period depends on stream; section 93 schedules include a product-completion-based claim period, while sections 93.1/93.2 use their own corporation tests.
FeesAdditional $100 fee after 18 months from year-end.
an additional $100 fee applies after 18 months from the relevant year-end
What it pays for · 2
- Eligible Ontario labour under the selected stream.
- For eligible section 93 non-specified products only, qualifying marketing and distribution expenditures up to $100,000 per product.
What it does not pay for · 2
- SR&ED-claimed labour is ineligible for OIDMTC, although the section 93 guide explains its treatment in the 80/25 calculation.
- Marketing and distribution expenditures are not eligible for specified products or specialized digital game corporation claims.
From application to money
- Start in OAPRegister in OAP; start application
- Submit applicationSubmit within 18 months of year-end
- Certification decisionOntario Creates reviews and certifies
- Claim through CRAFile certificate with T2 return
In the funder’s words · 4
- Start in OAP
- Register the user and company in the Ontario Creates Online Application Portal and start the relevant programme application.
- Submit application
- Complete the form, upload the applicable checklist documents and expenditure schedule, then validate and submit. (18 months after the end of the taxation year in which product development was completed)
- Certification decision
- Ontario Creates reviews the submission and issues the certificate for the claim.
- Claim through CRA
- After certification, the corporation files the certificate with Schedule T2SCH560 and its T2 return.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to claim OIDMTC
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 6-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 7-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 4-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what the program administrators check
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 6
Eligible Expenses 4
Ineligible Expenses 5
Claim timing
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Low RiskHow OIDMTC Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax... | 40% of eligible Ontario | Moderate | Tax Credit Offset | Apply to Ontario Creates... |
| Canada Media Fund | up to $250K | Hard | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing (multiple... |
| Canadian Film or Video Production Tax... | 25% | Moderate | Tax Credit Offset | Ongoing |
| Digital Technology Supercluster | Up to $5 million | Hard | Reimbursement | Open — Call for... |
| Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit | 25% of eligible BC | Moderate | Tax Credit Offset | Ongoing |
Related Programs
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about OIDMTC