Canada Revenue Agency
www.cra.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
How to claim your Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC)
How do taxpayers apply?
To apply for the CPTC, a qualified corporation must complete Form T1131, Claiming a Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. The Canadian film or video production certificate "A" issued by CAVCO, or a copy thereof, must be attached to the T2 Corporation Income Tax Return for the year along with Form T1131 (attach these documents to the top of the T2 return for early identification by the CRA).
Filing your claim
As a qualified corporation, you have to submit a completed Form T1131, Claiming a Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, to claim your credit. You also have to attach the certificate issued by CAVCO, or a copy, to your T2 Corporation Income Tax Return for the year. For each production for which you are claiming a CPTC, you have to file a separate Form T1131. We consider each episode in a series to be a production. However, we will accept one form for episodes in a series that are certified Canadian film or video productions (CFVPs).
Note
If you are filing electronically, do not send us any papers to support your electronic return. If we need to verify your information, we will contact you.
You must keep your CAVCO certificates (Part A and Part B), information slips, documentation, and records relating to your income tax return for at least six years.
Processing your claim
A properly completed form is important to limit the delays in processing your claim. If Form T1131 and the CAVCO certificate are attached to your corporation's income tax return, your claim is considered complete and the tax centre will immediately forward it to the appropriate Film Services Unit to be selected for review or audit. If Form T1131 is incomplete or the CAVCO certificate is missing, your claim will be considered incomplete and processing will be delayed. We will write to you to obtain the missing documents and you will have 30 days to send the information to the tax services office. If we do not receive the requested information within 30 days, we may process the return without the CPTC.
Our objective is to refund the CPTC claimed to qualified corporations within a reasonable time once the claim is complete. Generally, we process your claim within 60 days where no audit is performed or within 120 days in cases where we do perform an audit.
Speeding up the processing of your claim
To help us process your claim as quickly as possible, here are a few tips:
- Use the latest version of Form T1131.
- File a complete claim. If your claim is not complete, the processing of your return will be delayed and your claim may be disallowed:
- Each Form T1131 has to be completed to facilitate the review of your claim. The "cost of production" and the "labour expenditure" shown on Form T1131 should only include the reasonable amounts that you have paid for the production. Furthermore, any assistance received, receivable, or expected to be received for the production (such as provincial tax credit, forgivable loans) reduces your cost of production.
- It is also important to indicate as "labour expenditure" on Form T1131 only your corporation's share of the salary or wages as well as your corporation's share of each category of remuneration paid to individuals, taxable Canadian corporations (multi-owned and solely owned), and partnerships. If this information is not provided, we will have to request it from you. This may delay the processing of your claim.
- Place the completed Form T1131, along with the original or a copy of the Canadian film or video production certificate (Part A) issued by CAVCO, on top of your T2 tax return for quick identification.
- If CAVCO has issued a Canadian film or video production completion certificate (Part B) for your production, place the completed Form T1131 and the original or a copy of the completion certificate, as well as a copy of the audited statement of production costs and notes submitted to CAVCO, on top of the T2 return.
- Keep all financial documents to support your claim:
- Ensure that invoices you receive from third parties indicate separately the labour component and the other charges such as rental fees, goods provided, travel or administrative expenses, administrative fees, mark-up, etc. Ask your suppliers to make sure that this breakdown is shown on the invoice.
- File your claim with your tax centre. Filing it with a tax services office could cause processing delays.
- Respond to our request for more information in a timely manner.
If you file a copy of the Part A or Part B certificate instead of the original, you must keep the original document that was issued by CAVCO for future reference. We may request the original document when your claim is audited.
