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Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC)

Refundable tax relief for Ontario book publishers

Offered by
Ontario Creates
Official source: ontariocreates.ca

Source change captured

Funding available
$ 30,000
Up to 30% of project cost
Deadline
Open continuously
Location
Ontario, Canada
Who can apply
Qualifying corporations
See full eligibility

Overview

Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC) is a refundable tax credit for qualifying Ontario book publishing corporations. It equals 30% of eligible expenditures, up to $30,000 per book title, and supports pre-press, printing, marketing, and digital or electronic publication work.

At a glance

Funding available

Maximum funding
$30,000
Maximum share of project costs
30%
Financing goals
  • Launch or market a product/service

Eligible candidates

Location
  • Ontario
Eligible Industries
All industries
Annual revenue
All revenue ranges
Organisation size
All organization sizes
Audience
All groups
Legal structures
For-profit business

Start applying for this program

Take a practical assessment to gain a clear understanding of how well this program aligns with your specific needs and long-term goals.

Availability timeline

2026
Periods: 1

Latest changes

OBPTC legal text updated

The OBPTC legislation now shows a new section link and updated tax-credit note for later years, while the guidelines received only minor wording cleanup.

See more

The OBPTC legal reference on Ontario.ca now shows a new section link, 151.1, and Section 19.1 includes a new 2026 note with amended tax-credit rates for later years. This points to a real legal update affecting the credit’s terms, while the OBPTC Guidelines only show minor wording and formatting cleanup in Section 3.01 without visible changes to eligibility, contacts, or submission steps.

Official source: ontario.ca
June 28, 2026

Eligibility

Who is eligible?

  • Qualifying corporations

Who is not eligible

  • Corporations that publish the literary work on consignment or at the expense of another person
  • Corporations controlled by the author of the literary work, or by a person not dealing at arm’s length with the author
  • Corporations that published fewer than two books in the 12-month period immediately before the taxation year for which the credit is claimed

Eligible expenses

  • Pre-press costs, including non-refundable monetary advances to the eligible Canadian author, salaries or wages for editing, freelance editing, design, research, art work, prototypes, set-up, and typesetting.
  • Costs of preparing a literary work for publication in print or digital or electronic formats, including scanning, editing, formatting, indexing, encryption, and digital rights management or other technological protection measures.
  • One-half of the costs of printing, assembling, and binding the literary work, when carried out primarily in Ontario.
  • One-half of the costs of transferring a prepared digital or electronic version into or onto a form suitable for distribution, when carried out primarily in Ontario.
  • Marketing costs incurred from 12 months before to 12 months after publication, including promotional tours, meals and entertainment at 50%, staff marketing salaries, and advertising.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

  • Publishing the literary work on consignment or at the expense of another person
  • Having the author, a related person, or a person related to the subject of the literary work directly or indirectly fund or guarantee any part of the cost of publishing or marketing the literary work
  • Publishing the literary work other than as a bound hardback, paperback or trade paperback book or as a digital or electronic version of the literary work
  • Publishing the literary work in an edition of less than 500 copies of a bound book if it is published in a year before 2020, or publishing a work that is not assigned an ISBN or not offered for sale through an established distributor
  • Translations of previously published literary works and other ineligible publications, including calendars, agendas, almanacs, colouring books, comics, instructional books or manuals, publications primarily containing maps, publications used primarily as learning material, reference books, musical notation, publications with unknown authorship, typewritten, individually photocopied, mimeographed or handwritten pages, publications capable of inciting hatred, publications whose dominant characteristic is the undue exploitation of sex or of sex and one or more of crime, horror, cruelty or violence, and publications for which public financial support would be contrary to public policy

Eligible geographic areas

  • Ontario

Activities funded

  • Publishing eligible literary works
  • Preparing a literary work for publication in print and digital or electronic formats
  • Printing, assembling, and binding the literary work
  • Transferring a prepared digital or electronic version into or onto a form suitable for distribution
  • Marketing copies of the published literary work

How to apply

  • Submit a completed OBPTC Application via the Online Application Portal (OAP).
  • The qualifying corporation may appoint an agent to apply on its behalf.

Documents Needed

  • T2 Corporation Income Tax return
  • Completed Schedule 564 (T2SCH564) for each literary work
  • Ontario Creates certificate of eligibility, or a copy, for each literary work

Processing and Agreement

  • Ontario Creates reviews the application, determines the eligibility of the submitted books and authors, and issues Certificates of Eligibility.
  • If an ineligibility issue arises during review, Ontario Creates may ask questions and request additional documentation, and the applicant may provide additional information or documentation.
  • If the issue remains unresolved, Ontario Creates may recommend withdrawal or issue a Letter of Ineligibility.
  • If a Letter of Ineligibility is issued, the product or production cannot be resubmitted for a tax credit.
  • If you have received a Certificate of Eligibility but wish to appeal the amount of the tax credit determined by the CRA, use the CRA objections and appeals process.

Additional information

  • The OBPTC is jointly administered by Ontario Creates and the Canada Revenue Agency.
  • Ontario Creates may exchange taxpayer information with the CRA for the purpose of administering the OBPTC.
  • The OBPTC Legislation and Ontario Regulation 37/09 take precedence over the guidelines.

Contacts

taxcredits@ontariocreates.ca
1 833 446-0934

Official sources

Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC)

Program guide

FrançaisO. Reg. 37/09 GENERALO. Reg. 37/09: GENERAL

Application form

OBPTC Declaration english updated 2025 08 01T2SCH564 Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit

Supporting document

for Ontario Creates Staff ONLY
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Frequently Asked Questions about the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC) Program

What is the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC)?

Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC) is a refundable tax credit for qualifying Ontario book publishing corporations. It equals 30% of eligible expenditures, up to $30,000 per book title, and supports pre-press, printing, marketing, and digital or electronic publication work.

How much funding can be received?

Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC) Funds up to 30% of admissible expenses, capped at $30,000 per project.

What is the deadline to apply?

The program is accepting continuous intake

Who is eligible for the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC) program?

To be eligible for the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC) program, you must: The applicant must be a Canadian-controlled corporation and a book publishing company. The corporation must carry on business primarily through a permanent establishment in Ontario. The eligible literary work must meet the OBPTC literary and format rules.

What expenses are eligible under Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC)?

Pre-press costs, including non-refundable monetary advances to the eligible Canadian author, salaries or wages for editing, freelance editing, design, research, art work, prototypes, set-up, and typesetting. Costs of preparing a literary work for publication in print or digital or electronic formats, including scanning, editing, formatting, indexing, encryption, and digital rights management or other technological protection measures. One-half of the costs of printing, assembling, and binding the literary work, when carried out primarily in Ontario. One-half of the costs of transferring a prepared digital or electronic version into or onto a form suitable for distribution, when carried out primarily in Ontario. Marketing costs incurred from 12 months before to 12 months after publication, including promotional tours, meals and entertainment at 50%, staff marketing salaries, and advertising.

Who can I contact for more information about the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC)?

You can contact Ontario Creates by email at taxcredits@ontariocreates.ca or by phone at 1 833 446-0934.

Where is the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC) available?

The Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit (OBPTC) program is available the province of Ontario.