Hey, if you’re an employer you most probably did not tell your bookkeeper or accountant about the Apprenticeship Tax Credit and you may have left over $5,000 or more in tax credits on the table and Revenue Canada is holding on to it for you if you ever decide to collect it.

If you hired an apprentice at any time since May 18, 2004, there is a nice bonus now attached to that apprentice. For years Employers, Labour & Apprentices have been requesting additional financial help during the apprenticeship training years. Well it has finally happened. After years of lobbying we finally have a tax credit that should help you, so use it or it will disappear again.

Were you aware that the Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit was approved by the Ontario government in December, 2004?  Under the legislation, corporated and unincorporated businesses may be eligible for a 25% refundable tax credit on salaries and wages paid or payable to eligible apprentices after May 18, 2004 and before January 1, 2011, up to a maximum tax credit of $5,000 per qualifying apprentice per taxation year. 

For corporations and unincorporated businesses having total salaries and wages for the previous taxation year of less than $400,000, the rate of the tax credit is increased to 30%.

Apprentices must be in their first 36 months of a qualifying skilled trade apprenticeship program.  The apprenticeship training tax credit applies to all motive power, construction, industrial as well as some service trades. 

Further information and a list of qualifying skilled trades is available on the Ministry of Finance website at: http://www.gov.on.ca/FIN/english/tax/2004/tb04e2.htm  for the English version and http://www.gov.on.ca/FIN/french/tax/2004/tb04f2.htm for the French version.”

The Eastern Ontario Training Board knows that it is important that we get the word out to you (students, workers, apprentices, employers & accountants) and make everyone aware of possibilities under this new tax credit legislation.  I would encourage you to share and/or promote this good news story with your associations, students, guidance counsellors, parents, workers, other employers and apprentices.

This really means that if you aspire to become an apprentice, you now have a new tool to help market yourself to an employer. Take this article and bring it to employers and show them that there is a way for them to hire and train you while receiving a major tax credit to offset part of your wages & salaries. This could make the difference between being hired or turned down once again.