Ontario apprenticeship training tax credit

You can claim this refundable tax credit if you are a corporation that provided a qualifying apprenticeship at a permanent establishment in Ontario for a student enrolled in a qualifying skilled trade.

A list of qualifying skilled trades is available in the Ontario Ministry of Finance’s publication called Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit.

The credit is equal to a specified percentage of the eligible expenditures incurred by the corporation for a qualifying apprenticeship.

Change in the rates and maximums of the Ontario apprenticeship training tax credit

Start of qualifying apprenticeship	General rate	Small business rate	Maximum yearly credit	Maximum number of months	Maximum lifetime credit
After April 23, 2015	25%	30%	$5,000	36	$15,000
Before April 24, 2015	35%	45%	$10,000	48	$40,000

For eligible expenditures incurred for a qualifying apprenticeship starting after April 23, 2015, the general rate of this credit is 25%. The rate for small businesses (with salaries or wages of $400,000 or less per year) is 30%. The maximum credit for a qualifying apprenticeship is $5,000 per year to a maximum of $15,000 over the first 36 months of the qualifying apprenticeship.

Previously, the general rate was 35% and the rate for small businesses was 45%. The maximum credit for a qualifying apprenticeship was $10,000 per year to a maximum of $40,000 over the first 48 months of the apprenticeship program.

Eligibility

To be a qualifying apprenticeship, the apprenticeship must meet the following conditions:

• the apprenticeship must be in a qualifying skilled trade approved by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (Ontario) as well as designated by the Ontario minister of Finance;
• the corporation and the apprentice must be participating in an apprenticeship program in which
  • the training agreement has been registered under one of the two:
    • the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009,
    • the Apprenticeship and Certification Act, 1998; or
  • the contract of apprenticeship has been registered under the Trades Qualification and Apprenticeship Act.

Eligible expenditures are:

• salaries and wages (including taxable benefits) paid to an apprentice in a qualifying apprenticeship
• fees paid to an employment agency for the provision of services performed by an apprentice in a qualifying apprenticeship

Claiming the credit

File a completed Schedule 552, Ontario Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit, with your return.

Keep a copy of the training agreement or contract of apprenticeship to support your claim. If you have lost or misplaced this document, please request a copy from the apprentice or the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) if you are an original party to the contract.

If you are employing an apprentice who previously registered a contract with the MTCU, you must obtain a copy of the original contract of apprenticeship or training agreement from the apprentice, or obtain written consent from the apprentice before contacting the MTCU.

For more information on the credit, see the schedule and section 89 of the Taxation Act, 2007 (Ontario).

On line 454 of Schedule 5, Tax Calculation Supplementary – Corporations, enter the amount of the refundable credit you are claiming.

Forms and publications

• Schedule 5, Tax Calculation Supplementary – Corporations
• Schedule 552, Ontario Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit

Government partners

• Ontario Ministry of Finance
• Ontario e-Laws

Date modified:

2017-04-20