Digital News Subscription Tax Credit | Page 3 | Income tax filing | Discussion forum

I think Bill may have a point here.
If The Star can't or won't provide a breakdown and also fails to provide a suitable tax receipt, then I think it's probabaly not worth trying to claim it. As far as I know, we don't even know if they applied or were approved for this tax credit.

OK. So, it qualifies, which I would have expected.

If anyone receives a tax receipt form The Toronto Star, or any other paper, please let us know.

My local newspaper responded to an email I sent last week asking them it they were a QCJO (so I could be eligible for the digital tax credit). Their email response is me is as follows:

"xxxxxxx has applied for the Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization (QCJO) status which would make digital subscriptions or a portion of the all-access subscription eligible for the Digital News Subscription Tax Credit.

The Government of Canada has not yet granted any organization the QCJO status as of yet and, while we expect to qualify, we await their response to our application.

If determined eligible and once we understand the receipting requirements required, we will communicate this to subscribers."

So it looks like CRA has perhaps not yet processed the applications, nor granted any organization the QCJO status. I would certainly not claim the Tax Credit until my newspaper advises that they are a QCJO etc. I would think the Govt really does not want to give such Tax Credits to eligible taxpayers at this time (deficit and debt levels are huge), so to give a new Tax Credit is low priority - looks like most taxpayers won't even be aware of this Tax Credit before filing their T-1 for 2020, unless the newspapers get approved by CRA very soon and advise their subscribers accordingly.

Still isn't very clear what happens if the subscription is "complimentary" to a hard copy sub but it does show that they have been approved as suitable purveyor.

As I said earlier, a tax receipt is your best guide. If you get one, then use it. If not, forget it. It's just not worth the hassle otherwise.

Bill said
It doesn't say to carve out the value of something, it says "A qualifying subscription expense is the AMOUNT A SUBSCRIBER PAID in the year for a digital news subscription.........."

It will vary for different subscribers for the same paper, but if for you it was complimentary, it was tacked on to your home delivery for free, then in your case you paid zero for it. No credit. That's my view of it.

CRA clearly says to carve it out. If one has a subscription to the hard copy, one can claim the cost of an equivalent digital access. Doesn't matter if the hard copy subscription actually includes digital access or not. Consequently, it doesn't matter if digital access is included at no extra charge to the hard copy subscription:

If the qualifying subscription is eligible and provides access to content in non-digital form or content other than content of the QCJO:

• only the cost of a stand-alone digital subscription to the content of the QCJO will be an eligible expense; and
• if there is no stand-alone subscription, the amount is limited to the cost of a comparable stand-alone digital subscription that provides access to content of a QCJO. If there is no comparable digital news subscription then only one half of the amount paid is an eligible expense.

Don't get too fixated on the "complimentary" adjective. That's just a marketing trick. If I lose $20,000 at the blackjack table and the casino makes my hotel room complimentary afterwards, was my hotel room free? No, the room and the time in the casino cost me $20,000!

"A qualifying subscription expense is the amount a subscriber paid in the year for a digital news subscription....."

A subscription expense for home delivery, whether or not any other freebies are included, is not payment for a digital news subscription, does not qualify.

If it was a subscription for digital news which included free home delivery, that would be different.

Just fun trying to figure out what is allowed. If I subscribed to a newspaper (which I don't) that also provided me with digital access I'd just claim based on documents/direction (tax receipt) the paper gave me, otherwise I'd just claim the full credit. On the very remote chance CRA checks up & says I'm wrong I'd just give them the money back.

A list is forthcoming in March - CBC source - last section - Digital tax credit

Twenty entries now found on list of qualifying digital news subscriptions for DNSTC (modified 2021-03-22)

... on 2nd thought, is this list meant for tax year 2021 and going forward ?

Some of the listed subscriptions have a ""Date on which subscription began to qualify" of January 1, 2020. So, one could claim such subscriptions for the 2020 tax year.