Digital News Subscription Tax Credit in Canada (Ended After 2024)

This credit has ended. It applied only to the 2020 through 2024 tax years and cannot be claimed on a 2025 or later tax return. This page describes how the credit worked, what qualified and how to claim it on a 2020-2024 return you already filed. It is listed among the ended credits in our guide to Canadian tax deductions and credits; for subscriptions you pay for today, which subscriptions you can deduct covers the current rules.

Credit at a Glance (2020-2024, No Longer Available)

Feature	Detail
Status	Ended. Applied only to 2020-2024 tax years
Type	Non-refundable federal tax credit
Maximum qualifying amount	$500 per year
Credit rate	15% (the lowest federal tax rate for every year the credit was available, 2020-2024)
Maximum tax savings	$75/year (15% x $500)
Claimed on	Line 31350 of the federal tax return for that year
What qualified	Digital news subscriptions from QCJOs
What did NOT qualify	Print-only subscriptions, TV/radio, podcasts, magazines
Who could claim	Any Canadian individual taxpayer, for 2020-2024 tax years only

How the Credit Worked

Step	Detail
1	You paid for a digital news subscription from an eligible organization
2	Only the digital access portion counted (not print delivery)
3	You kept your receipt or credit card statement as proof
4	At tax time, you entered the amount on Line 31350 (up to $500)
5	The credit reduced federal tax owing by 15% of the amount claimed

(All of this applied only to 2020-2024 tax returns; there is no Line 31350 credit to claim for 2025 or later.)

Credit Calculation Examples (2020-2024, Historical)

Annual Subscription Cost	Qualifying Amount	Tax Credit (15%)
$100	$100	$15
$200	$200	$30
$350	$350	$53
$500	$500	$75
$700	$500 (capped)	$75

What Qualified

Qualified	Did NOT Qualify
Digital subscription to QCJO newspaper	Print-only newspaper subscription
Online-only access to QCJO publication	Magazine subscriptions
Digital portion of a print + digital bundle	TV news subscriptions (CBC Gem, etc.)
Multiple qualifying subscriptions (up to $500 total)	Radio subscriptions / podcasts
Gifts of qualifying subscriptions (if you paid)	Foreign news subscriptions (NYT, WSJ, etc.)
	Social media or aggregator services
	Streaming services (Netflix, Spotify, etc.)

Canadian Journalism Organizations That Were Eligible (Examples)

National Publications

Publication	Eligible?	Type
The Globe and Mail	✅ QCJO	National newspaper
Toronto Star / thestar.com	✅ QCJO	National/Ontario newspaper
National Post / Financial Post	✅ QCJO	National newspaper
La Presse	✅ QCJO	Quebec national newspaper
Le Devoir	✅ QCJO	Quebec national newspaper

Regional / Local Publications (Selection)

Publication	Province	Eligible?
Vancouver Sun	BC	✅ QCJO
Calgary Herald	AB	✅ QCJO
Edmonton Journal	AB	✅ QCJO
Winnipeg Free Press	MB	✅ QCJO
Ottawa Citizen	ON	✅ QCJO
Hamilton Spectator	ON	✅ QCJO
Halifax Chronicle Herald	NS	✅ QCJO
Telegraph-Journal	NB	✅ QCJO

NOT Eligible (Common Misconceptions)

Publication/Service	Why Not Eligible
CBC News	Public broadcaster, not a QCJO
CTV News	Broadcast media, not a QCJO
Global News	Broadcast media, not a QCJO
BNN Bloomberg	Broadcast/digital media
Maclean’s	Magazine, not a newspaper
The New York Times	Foreign publication
The Washington Post	Foreign publication
The Economist	Foreign publication
Substack newsletters	Not designated QCJOs
The Walrus	Magazine

How to Check Whether a Past Subscription Qualified

Step	Action
1	Check the CRA’s list of designated QCJOs at canada.ca
2	Search for your publication name
3	If listed, your digital subscription qualified
4	If not listed, the credit cannot be claimed
5	Contact the publication directly, since they may know their QCJO status

Print + Digital Bundle Rules

Scenario	What You Could Claim
Digital-only subscription	Full amount (up to $500)
Print + digital bundle	Only the digital access portion
How to determine digital portion	Publication should indicate the digital-only price; if not, CRA accepts a reasonable allocation
Publication provides a breakdown	Use that breakdown
No breakdown available	Use the standalone digital subscription price as the qualifying amount

Amending a Prior-Year Return (2020-2024 Only)

If you paid for a qualifying digital news subscription in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, or 2024 and never claimed the credit, you can still request an adjustment to that specific year’s return; CRA generally allows adjustments going back up to 10 years. The ways to change a filed return (Change my return, ReFILE or Form T1-ADJ) are explained in how to fix a mistake on your tax return. You cannot add this credit to a 2025 or later return, since it did not exist for those years.

Tax Software	Where It Appeared (Historical)
TurboTax	“Digital news subscription” in deductions/credits
Wealthsimple Tax	Under “Provincial and Federal Credits”
H&R Block	Line 31350 in credits section
Paper return	Line 31350, Schedule 1

What to Keep for Your Records
Subscription receipt or invoice
Credit card or bank statement showing payment
Name of the publication
Confirmation it’s a QCJO (from CRA list)
Amount paid for digital access

Was the Credit Worth It?

Consideration	Detail
Maximum savings	$75/year (15% × $500, for any year 2020-2024)
If you already subscribed	A credit on a cost you were paying anyway
If you would not otherwise have subscribed	$500 cost for a $75 credit meant a net cost of $425
Combine subscriptions	Multiple qualifying subscriptions could be combined up to $500

Where the credit appeared in each program is listed in the table above; for current-year filing, the best tax software in Canada compares the options, and the Canadian tax guide walks through a return from start to finish.