CTMM Tax Credit · Quebec
The complete schedule for the multimedia titles production tax credit, category by category and vintage by vintage, cross-checked against Investissement Québec and the Ministry of Finance. Then what no one writes: why your refundable share keeps falling while your rate doesn't move.
General stream · fiscal year starting in 2026
Sources: Investissement Québec — Fiche détaillée CTMM, volet général (Juin 2025) and Ministère des Finances du Québec — Dépenses fiscales 2025, tableau C.52.
The 2024 reform
Quebec's March 12, 2024 budget reformed CTMM for fiscal years starting after December 31, 2024. Read quickly, the reform looks neutral: the total stays at 37.5 %. Read correctly, it shifts 2.5 % from refundable to non-refundable every year — which is less cash for any studio that owes no tax.
Composition
In 2024, a title marketed in French paid out 37.5 % in cash. In 2026, it pays 32.5 %; in 2028, 27.5 %. The difference becomes a non-refundable credit, useful only against tax owed.
Carryover of unused non-refundable credit: 3 years back, 20 years forward — provided you remain eligible for CTMM in the carryover year.
Base
The annual eligible-salary limit per employee disappears. Your technical directors, leads, and seniors now enter the base in full, without the gymnastics of exempting the top-paid 20% of employees.
This is the only part of the reform that is plainly favorable, and it mostly benefits studios with high seniority.
Threshold
The basic personal amount for the calendar year in which the fiscal year begins — $18,952 in 2026 — is deducted from each eligible employee’s salary, prorated to their eligibility days.
The threshold can never exceed the employee's eligible salary. A large, lower-paid team loses more from it than a small senior team.
The schedule, to the tenth of a point
The rate depends on three questions: is the title intended for marketing, is it available in French, is it a professional-training title. The answers are worth up to 11.25 % of difference on the same payroll.
A title intended for marketing, available in French, other than a professional-training title.
| Nature of credit | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refundable credit | 37.5 % | 35 % | 32.5 % | 30 % | 27.5 % |
| Non-refundable credit | 0 % | 2.5 % | 5 % | 7.5 % | 10 % |
| Total | 37.5 % | 37.5 % | 37.5 % | 37.5 % | 37.5 % |
A title intended for marketing, not available in French, other than a professional-training title.
| Nature of credit | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refundable credit | 30 % | 27.5 % | 25 % | 22.5 % | 20 % |
| Non-refundable credit | 0 % | 2.5 % | 5 % | 7.5 % | 10 % |
| Total | 30 % | 30 % | 30 % | 30 % | 30 % |
Any other eligible multimedia title, including interactive-simulator-type professional-training titles.
| Nature of credit | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refundable credit | 26.25 % | 23.75 % | 21.25 % | 18.75 % | 16.25 % |
| Non-refundable credit | 0 % | 2.5 % | 5 % | 7.5 % | 10 % |
| Total | 26.25 % | 26.25 % | 26.25 % | 26.25 % | 26.25 % |
The applicable vintage is the calendar year in which the corporation's taxation year begins, not the year the work is done. 2028 rates carry forward for subsequent years. Consistent sources: Investissement Québec — Fiche détaillée CTMM, volet général (Juin 2025) and Ministère des Finances du Québec — Dépenses fiscales 2025, tableau C.52 (Décembre 2025).
The title
An eligible title includes an appreciable volume of three of the four information types — text, sound, still images, animated images —, is published on an electronic medium, and is governed by software enabling interactivity. A volume is considered appreciable when the element's absence would compromise the title's operation or significantly change its appeal.
Interactivity is assessed on three axes: feedback, user control, and the title's ability to adapt. A slideshow, a video presentation, or a page full of hyperlinks isn't enough.
01
Video games, edutainment titles, and simulators — driving simulators, for example. A subcontractor corporation can also apply for an initial certificate on part of a title, such as quality control, provided the title's producer has no establishment in Quebec.
02
Interpersonal communication services: videoconferencing, electronic bulletin boards, discussion forums. Transactional services: teleshopping, virtual malls, electronic ticketing, online payment. Titles intended to promote a for-profit corporation, present its activities, or promote its products. Titles that encourage violence, sexism, or discrimination. Titles containing scenes of explicit sexuality.
03
An eligible corporation has an establishment in Quebec where it carries on an eligible business. Excluded: tax-exempt corporations, Crown corporations and their subsidiaries, and those under the specialized-corporation stream — reserved for corporations where at least 75 % of Quebec activities consist of producing eligible titles.
The base
CTMM covers only labour expenses: salaries and wages of eligible employees at a Quebec establishment, the portion of payments to a related subcontractor attributable to its salaries, and 50 % of payments to an arm's-length subcontractor.
Eligible work
Excluded work
An employee who spends at least 90 % of their hours on eligible production work is deemed to spend all of their hours on it. It's assessed employee by employee, never as a team average — the most common, and most costly, allocation mistake.
Our process
CTMM is claimed in two steps: an initial certificate per title, obtained once, and a production-work attestation to obtain for each taxation year claimed. The attestation request must be filed before the end of the 15th month following the fiscal year-end. Between the 15th and 18th month, Investissement Québec may accept it at its discretion. After that, it refuses.
01
We verify the appreciable volume of the three information types, the real degree of interactivity, and the applicable rate category. A miscategorized title costs 7.5 points.
02
We build the initial-certificate application for each title. It doesn't need renewing afterward — a one-time job, done right.
03
Roles, periods, hours spent, related and unrelated subcontractors. The 90% rule is applied employee by employee, not as a team average.
04
Filed well before the 15th month. We never rely on Investissement Québec's discretion between the 15th and 18th month.
05
Form CO-1029.8.36.TM attached to the return, then followed through to payment. Any clarification request from Revenu Québec is handled by us.
Note: minimum financing of $20,000 is available from Investissement Québec against the refundable credit receivable, if cash flow can't wait for payment. Investissement Québec also charges review fees on any eligibility request.
FAQ
Figures from the 2026 schedule, cross-checked against two government sources. The credit is claimed with form CO-1029.8.36.TM, attached to the tax return.
CTMM is Quebec's tax credit for multimedia titles production. It applies to eligible labour expenses incurred to produce a title recognized by Investissement Québec, and comes in a general stream and a specialized-corporation stream. The total rate ranges from 26.25% to 37.5% depending on the title's category. Since 2025 it's split into a refundable and a non-refundable portion.
For a title marketed and available in French that isn't a professional-training title: 32.5% refundable credit and 5% non-refundable, for 37.5% total. For the same title without a French version: 25% refundable and 5% non-refundable, for 30%. For other titles, including professional-training simulators: 21.25% refundable and 5% non-refundable, for 26.25%.
Quebec's March 12, 2024 budget shifts 2.5 percentage points a year from the refundable credit to a non-refundable credit, from 2025 to 2028. The total rate stays identical — 37.5%, 30%, or 26.25% — but the cash-in-hand portion shrinks accordingly. A corporation that pays tax loses nothing; a corporation in a loss position loses 2.5 points of cash flow per year and accumulates credits carryable 3 years back and 20 years forward.
No. For fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2024, the $100,000 annual eligible-salary limit per employee is abolished. It's replaced by an exclusion threshold: the basic personal amount for the calendar year the fiscal year begins — $18,952 in 2026 — is deducted from each eligible employee's salary, prorated to their eligibility days. This threshold can never exceed the employee's eligible salary.
An eligible title is produced by the corporation, includes an appreciable volume of three of the four information types — text, sound, still images, animated images —, is published on an electronic medium, and is governed by software enabling interactivity throughout, or nearly throughout, its course. Video games, edutainment titles, and simulators commonly qualify. A slideshow, video presentation, or hyperlink-driven site does not.
The production-work attestation request must be submitted to Investissement Québec before the end of the 15th month following the fiscal year-end. Between the 15th and 18th month, Investissement Québec may accept it at its discretion if the delay is judged reasonable. After 18 months, the request is refused with no recourse. The attestation must be obtained for each taxation year claimed; the title's initial certificate, however, doesn't need renewing.
Read next: SR&ED credit — which covers engine or tooling work carrying technological uncertainty — the CDAE AI credit for AI teams, and the stackable grant programs. A word of caution: the same labour expense can only carry one of these credits. Splitting them is a judgment call, not addition.