Quebec book publishing tax credit

• Tax credit covers 35% of eligible labour expenses (for both preparatory and printing-related work) up to certain limits per book.
• Eligible preparatory expenses, including digital publishing costs, are capped at 65% of actual preparatory and digital edition costs.
• Tax credit for printing expenses is limited to 33.3% of admissible printing costs.
• Maximum tax credit is $437,500 per eligible book, to be shared proportionally among co-publishers according to their share of expenses.

• The applicant must be a company with an establishment in Quebec that operates a book publishing business.
• The company must be recognized by SODEC as a publishing house, with book publishing as its main activity and a focus on commercial viability.
• The company must edit and publish books, enter into publishing contracts with authors or rights holders (including digital editions), and commercially market the books it publishes.
• The company must have a catalogue of at least three works by Quebec authors who have no financial interest in the company.
• The project (book or group of books) must be intended for commercial exploitation, have a minimum initial print run, meet specific requirements regarding Quebec authorship, and comply with page count and format guidelines.

Who is eligible?

• Recognized book publishing companies (houses) whose principal activity is book publishing
• Companies operating a book publishing business in Quebec with an established place of business in Quebec

Who is not eligible

• Companies controlled, directly or indirectly, at any time during the year or in the previous 24 months, by one or more persons not residing in Quebec.
• Companies that would be controlled by a specific person if all shares owned by non-residents of Quebec belonged to that person.
• Companies exempt from tax for the year under Book VIII of the Quebec Taxation Act.
• Crown corporations or subsidiaries wholly controlled by such corporations.

Eligible expenses

• Preparatory expenses directly attributable to the production of the book, including non-refundable advances to authors, editing, design, research, illustration, mock-up development, page layout, composition, and prepress workshop costs.
• Reasonable management and administrative fees related to the book.
• Printing expenses directly attributable to the initial printing, binding, and assembly of the book.
• Labour costs for services directly related to preparation and printing of the book, including salaries of employees and payments to qualified Quebec-based contractors or companies.
• Labour costs for digital edition-related activities, including conversion, metadata production, indexing, digital storage, quality control, and deposit in a digital warehouse (when a digital version is eligible).
• Portion of the amortization of an asset used directly in the digital publishing process.

Eligible geographic areas

• Quebec

• Applications can be submitted at any time through the secure SOD@ccès electronic portal.
• If a submitted application is incomplete, applicants have 10 days from the notice date to provide missing details; otherwise, the request will be closed and the original deposit date will not be considered.
• The publication benefiting from the tax credit must display a specific mention indicating support from the Quebec government and SODEC, formatted according to guidelines.
• Fees for eligibility attestations range between a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $5,800 per eligible book or group of books, with additional non-refundable and amendment fees applicable in certain situations.