Ontario Production Services Tax Credit (OPSTC)

Insider Tip

Unlike the OFTTC (Canadian content only), the OPSTC has no Canadian content requirement — it is explicitly designed to attract foreign and US studio productions. If your production is foreign-owned or does not meet the 6 Canadian content points required for OFTTC, OPSTC is your primary Ontario incentive. The 25% Ontario labour rule is critical: if your Ontario labour falls below 25% of total Ontario expenditures, your total eligible expenditure base is capped at 4× your Ontario labour costs. Maximize your Ontario crew and service provider spend to avoid hitting this cap. The OPSTC administration fee (minimum $5,000, maximum $15,000) is higher than OFTTC's ($500-$10,000) — budget for this when planning smaller productions. A production cannot receive both OFTTC and OPSTC certification.

Rejection Pitfalls 7

• Production has already received OFTTC certification (OPSTC and OFTTC are mutually exclusive)
• Ontario labour falls below 25% of total qualifying Ontario expenditures and total base is consequently capped
• Production budget is below $1M CAD (or below per-episode minimums for series)

Success Profile

Production services companies — including international and US studio productions, large-budget co-productions, and major streaming platform content — that are filming in Ontario and have significant Ontario expenditures across labour, equipment, and studio rentals. Particularly attractive for foreign-owned productions that do not meet Canadian content requirements for OFTTC. Productions with Ontario budgets exceeding $10M benefit most from the significant credit amounts available.

Evaluation Criteria

Non-competitive entitlement. Ontario Creates reviews for statutory compliance: permanent establishment, copyright ownership or production services arrangement, minimum production budget, Ontario labour as 25% of Ontario expenditures, commercial exploitation intent, and excluded genre screening. No merit scoring — all eligible productions receive certification.

Application Steps

Required Documents 10

Eligible Expenses 5

• Salaries and wages paid to Ontario-based employees for services rendered in Ontario
• Service contracts paid to Ontario-based service providers (crew, facilities, post-production)
• Tangible property acquired or rented in Ontario for use in the production (equipment, props, costumes)
• Real property (studio, location) leasing costs in Ontario — capped at 5% of total qualifying production expenditures
• Post-production labour and services performed in Ontario

Ineligible Expenses 6

• Advertising, marketing, promotion, and market research costs
• Travel costs outside Ontario
• Meals, alcoholic beverages, and hotel expenses
• Story rights and script acquisition costs
• Financing costs and interest
• Costs incurred outside Ontario

Intake Periods

Continuous — applications accepted at any point during or after production through approximately 24 months after the end of the corporation's taxation year in which principal photography began.

Deadline Notes

No fixed application window — applications are submitted to Ontario Creates per production. Applications must generally be submitted within 24 months of the end of the corporation's tax year in which principal photography began. A late fee of $100 applies beyond 24 months.

Open Application Portal →

Ineligible Organizations

• Sole proprietors and partnerships
• Corporations without a permanent establishment in Ontario
• Productions already certified for Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit (OFTTC) — mutually exclusive

Compatible Programs

Clawback Risk

Low Risk

No clawback on the credit once issued. However, if CRA audits find discrepancies in reported Ontario expenditures or Ontario labour percentages, the T2 may be reassessed. Ontario Creates may also audit certificates and require amendments if cost reports change materially post-certification.