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Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC)
Last Update: March 4, 2026
Ontario, Canada
Tax credit for book publishing in Ontario
Tax Credits
Overview
Ontario book publishers may apply for a refundable 30% tax credit, with a maximum of $30,000 per book title, for pre-press, printing and marketing expenditures.
At a glance
Funding available
Financing goals
- Reduce the ecological footprint
- Marketing a product
Eligible Funding
- Up to 30% of project cost
Timeline
- Open continuously
Eligible candidates
Eligible Industries
- Information and cultural industries
Location
- Ontario
Legal structures
- For-profit business
Annual revenue
- All revenue ranges
Organisation size
- All organization sizes
Audience
- Canadians
Activities funded
- Publishing eligible literary works, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, biography, and children’s books.
- Producing new editions of eligible literary works in print or digital (electronic) formats.
- Preparing and distributing digital or electronic versions of eligible books.
Examples of admissible projects:
$ 30,000
Publishing a historical novel with extensive digital marketing campaign
$ 30,000
Publishing a collection of poetry with live reading events
$ 30,000
Publishing a fantasy novel series with targeted social media marketing
$ 30,000
Releasing a cookbook with high-quality images and online promotions
$ 30,000
Printing and marketing a graphic novel series
$ 30,000
Publishing an educational children's book with in-school promotions
Eligibility
- The applicant must be a Canadian-controlled corporation.
- The corporation must operate a book publishing business primarily through a permanent establishment in Ontario.
- The applicant must file an Ontario corporate tax return and allocate more than 50% of its taxable income to Ontario for the taxation year in which the credit is claimed.
- The corporation must have published at least two books in the previous year (with exceptions in cases of business transfer, amalgamation, or winding-up).
- The project must involve eligible book publishing activities, and the literary work must meet criteria such as being written by eligible Canadian authors and containing at least 90% new unpublished material.
Who is eligible?
- Canadian-controlled corporations engaged in book publishing
- Companies operating primarily through a permanent establishment in Ontario
Who is not eligible
- Corporations that are not Canadian-controlled as defined under sections 26 to 28 of the Investment Canada Act.
- Businesses that do not primarily operate a book publishing business through a permanent establishment in Ontario.
- Companies that have not published at least two books in the previous year (except in cases of business transfer, amalgamation, or wind-up).
- Corporations whose literary works are translations of previously published works.
- Businesses seeking tax credits for publications that are considered prescribed ineligible publications.
Eligible expenses
- Preparation costs for publishing a literary work in print and digital or electronic formats (covered at 100%).
- Production costs related to the printing of the book (covered at 50%).
- Costs associated with transferring a prepared digital or electronic version of a literary work into a format suitable for distribution.
- Marketing expenditures incurred in Ontario for eligible book publishing activities.
Eligible geographic areas
- Ontario
Selection criteria
There are evaluation and selection criteria for the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC) grant. The assessment is based on the eligibility of Ontario pre-press, printing, and marketing expenditures, as well as the publishing of electronic or digital versions of eligible literary works.
- Eligible expenditures must be incurred by a qualifying corporation primarily operating in Ontario.
- The literary work must be written by eligible Canadian authors, contain new material, and belong to eligible categories of writing.
- The book publishing company must meet specific requirements, including publishing at least two books in the previous year and having more than 50% of taxable income allocated to Ontario.
- Additional criteria include the length and format of the literary work, as well as the exclusion of certain ineligible publications.
How to apply
1
Obtain Certificate of Eligibility
- Contact Ontario Creates to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility for each book title.
- Ensure all necessary documents and declarations, such as the Author Citizenship & Residency Declaration, are accurately completed and submitted.
2
Prepare Tax Documentation
- Ensure all relevant financial records related to eligible expenditures are properly documented.
- Prepare the T2 Corporation Income Tax return and the completed Schedule 564 (T2SCH564) for each eligible literary work.
3
Submit Application to CRA
- File your T2 Corporation Income Tax return electronically or by mail to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
- Include the Ontario Creates certificate of eligibility and a completed T2SCH564 with your T2 Corporation Income Tax return.
4
Upload Supporting Documents
- Use the "T2 attach-a-doc" feature in your CRA-approved tax software to submit your certificate of eligibility and other documentation electronically.
- If not filed within 24 hours of the original submission, register for My Business Account and upload the documents through the MyBA portal.
5
Confirmation and Follow-up
- Receive confirmation of submission from the CRA, ensuring that your application is complete and under review.
- Contact Ontario Creates or CRA in case of queries or issues that arise during review.
Additional information
- The OBPTC administration fee is 0.15% of eligible expenditures, with a minimum fee of $50 and a maximum of $200 per application.
- Late applications for Certificates of Eligibility incur an additional $100 filing fee if received more than 24 months after the first year-end of the claim.
- Amended Certificates require a separate fee of $100 per amendment.
- Applicants can appeal the tax credit amount determined by CRA, but decisions on ineligibility are not subject to the Ministry of Finance or CRA objections process and may require judicial review.
