Canadian Journalism Labour Tax Credit
The Canadian journalism labour tax credit is a refundable tax credit that is available to an organization that is a corporation, a trust, or a partnership.
The credit is calculated by applying a rate of 25% to the total qualifying labour expenditure incurred for a period in the tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2019, in respect of each eligible newsroom employee of a qualifying journalism organization (QJO), less any amount received from the Aid to Publishers component of the Canada Periodical Fund in the year.
Offered by Canada Revenue Agency
Amount
Refundable tax credit of 35% (January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2026; 25% after that period) of qualifying labour expenditure, capped at $85,000 per eligible newsroom employee per year
Quick eligibility check
Who can apply
The Canadian journalism labour tax credit is a refundable tax credit that is available to an organization that is a corporation, a trust, or a partnership.
To qualify for the Canadian journalism labour tax credit, an organization must be a QJO. To be a QJO, the organization must first be designated as a qualified Canadian journalism organization (QCJO). It must then meet both of the following additional criteria:
- it does not hold a licence, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act
- if it is a corporation with share capital, it meets specific ownership conditions of a Canadian newspaper as defined in the Income Tax Act
Eligible newsroom employee
An eligible newsroom employee of a QJO means an individual who:
- is employed by the QJO in the tax year
- at any time in the tax year, has been, or is reasonably expected to be, employed by the QJO for a minimum period of 40 consecutive weeks that includes that time
- works, on average, a minimum of 26 hours per week throughout the portion of the tax year in which the individual is employed by the QJO
- spends at least 75% of their time engaged in the production of original written news content, including researching, collecting information, verifying facts, photographing, writing, editing, designing and otherwise preparing content
- meets any other conditions that may be prescribed (currently there are no other prescribed conditions)
About the funding
The Canadian journalism labour tax credit is a refundable tax credit that is available to an organization that is a corporation, a trust, or a partnership.
The credit is calculated by applying a rate of 25% to the total qualifying labour expenditure incurred for a period in the tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2019, in respect of each eligible newsroom employee of a qualifying journalism organization (QJO), less any amount received from the Aid to Publishers component of the Canada Periodical Fund in the year. The rate increased to 35% for the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2026. After that period, the rate will return to 25%. Transitional rules apply to prorate these changes where the tax year does not follow a calendar year. Note that other types of assistance can also impact the calculation of the qualifying labour expenditure; additional information can be found below in the Qualifying labour expenditure section.
While there is no maximum amount of qualifying labour expenditure that can be incurred by an organization in a given tax year, qualifying labour expenditures are subject to an annual cap. The annual cap for these expenditures increased from $55,000 to $85,000 per eligible newsroom employee as of January 1, 2023 (prorated for the number of days in the tax year the organization is a QJO). For example, an organization that ceases to meet the criteria to qualify as a QJO halfway through the tax year would be subject to half the annual cap, per eligible newsroom employee. Transitional rules apply to prorate the annual cap if the tax year began before 2023 and ended after 2022.
A qualifying labour expenditure is generally the amount of salary or wages payable by a QJO to an eligible newsroom employee in respect of the portion of the tax year throughout which the organization is a QJO, less the amount of any assistance received or entitled to be received in the year regarding that employee. The credit does not apply to salaries or wages that are in respect of a period before January 1, 2019.
Generally, assistance includes amounts such as a refund, reimbursement, contribution, or allowance, whether as a grant, subsidy, forgivable loan, deduction from tax, or any other form of inducement. For details on how to calculate the labour tax credit with these types of assistance, go to Guidance on the income tax measures to support journalism.
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