Effective March 3, 2010, a registered corporation may apply to register an employee as an IB specialist under the International Business Activity Act (the Act) if the corporation meets the following conditions:

• for a corporation that carries on an international financial business
  • an international financial business specialist
  • an administrative support services or back-up office services specialist
• for a corporation that carries on a designated international business
  • a designated international business specialist (Currently, only an international film distribution business is a designated international business.)
• for a corporation that carries on any type of international business
  • an executive specialist.

Please see the headings below for more details on each type of IB specialist and the related international business.

An employee can be an IB specialist for only five years from the date he or she is first registered.

NOTE: During the five year period, an IB specialist may change employers and/or change categories, such as an administrative support specialist becoming an executive specialist.

IFA Specialist

• An IB specialist also includes an IFA specialist. An IFA specialist means an individual who was first registered under the International Financial Activity Act before March 4, 2010. An individual who has not completed their five year term as an IFA specialist may be eligible to be an IB specialist for the remainder of their five year term, provided they meet all of the other requirements.

The earliest date an IB specialist can be registered under the Act is the later of:

• the date the corporation applies for registration of the individual
• the date the individual begins employment with the corporation
• the date the corporation becomes registered for the IBA program by the Ministry of Finance.

NOTE: An individual is registered as a specific type of IB specialist under section 14(5)(a), (b), (c) or (d) of the Act.

International Financial Business Specialists

Effective March 3, 2010, in order to register an IB specialist as an international financial business specialist, the registered corporation must carry on an international financial business*. In addition, the individual must meet all of the following qualifications under section 13 of the Act:

• the individual was either a non-resident of Canada immediately before entering into a written employment contract with the registered corporation, or was previously registered as an IB specialist
• the individual specializes in international financial activities other than administrative support services activities or back-up office services activities
• the terms of the written contract of employment require that at least 70% of the individual's working time is devoted to performing qualifying international financial activities in which the individual is a specialist for the corporation’s international financial business.

Administrative Support Services Specialists and Back–Up Office Services Specialists

Effective March 3, 2010, in order to register an IB specialist as an administrative support services specialist or back-up office services specialist, the registered corporation must carry on an international financial business* that includes the activities referred to in sections 2(2)(r) and (s) of the Act. In addition, the individual must meet all of the following qualifications under section 13.1 of the Act and section 7 of the International Business Activity Regulation:

• the individual was either a non-resident of Canada immediately before entering into a written employment contract with the registered corporation, or was previously registered as an IB specialist.
• the individual is a specialist in administrative support services or back-up office services (as contemplated by sections 2(2)(r) and (s) of the Act).
• the individual has entered into a written contract that requires the individual to work for the corporation in relation to the international financial business of the corporation.
• the individual must have been a non-resident of Canada at the end of the year before the year of application unless the individual was previously registered as an IB specialist.
• the individual must enter into the written employment contract on or after March 3, 2010.
• the individual, and any person related to the individual, must deal at arm’s length with the registered corporation.

There is no requirement for administrative support services or back-up office services specialists to devote a certain per cent of their time to the international financial business of the corporation. However, a corporation may only apply to register a combined total of four specialists in this category of specialists for the corporation, including all affiliated corporations.

* For more information, please see About international financial business.

Designated International Business Specialists

Effective March 3, 2010, in order to register an IB specialist as a designated international business specialist, the registered corporation must carry on a designated international business*. Currently, only an international film distribution business* is designated. In order to qualify as a designated international business specialist, the individual must meet all of the following qualifications under section 13.3 of the Act:

• the individual was either a non-resident of Canada immediately before entering into a written employment contract with the registered corporation, or was previously registered as an IB specialist.
• the individual is a specialist in the type of business conducted by the designated international business.
• the terms of the written contract of employment require that at least 70% of the individual's working time is devoted to performing activities in which the individual is a specialist for the corporation’s designated international business.

* The term “designated international business” only applies to the requirements for an IB specialist under section 13.3 of the Act and the related refund provisions under section 21(5) of the Act. A “designated international business” is defined in the regulations as an international film distribution business. For more information, please see About international film distribution business.

Executive Specialists

Effective March 3, 2010, Budget 2010 added a new category to the IBA program for executive specialists to replace the existing international financial activity related to management services, which was repealed. In order to register an IB specialist as an executive specialist, the registered corporation must carry on an international business*. In order to qualify as an executive specialist, the individual must meet all of the following qualifications under section 13.2 of the Act and section 7 of the International Business Activity Regulation:

• the individual must be a member of the executive management of the corporation.
• the individual has entered into a written contract that requires the individual to work in the international business of the corporation.
• the individual must have been non-resident before entering into the contract, or must have previously been an IB specialist.
• the individual must have been a non-resident of Canada at the end of the year before the year of application unless the individual was previously registered as an IB specialist.
• the individual must enter into the written employment contract on or after March 3, 2010.
• the individual, and any person related to the individual, must deal at arm’s length with the registered corporation.

There is no requirement for executive specialists to devote a certain per cent of their time to the international business of the corporation. However, a corporation may only apply to register a maximum of two executive specialists for the corporation, including all affiliated corporations.

* For more information on international businesses, please see About international businesses.

A registered corporation that carries on an international business that is an international patent business may only register an IB specialist that is an Executive Specialist (see above).

For more information on international businesses, please see About international businesses.

In addition to the registration rules above, in order to be eligible to receive a tax refund in a year, all IB specialists, other than an executive specialist, must have received at least $100,000 in remuneration* from the corporation for the year of the claim. An executive specialist must have received $250,000 in remuneration*.

* A specialist’s total remuneration is salaries, wages, commissions, and other remuneration, but does not include any amount described in section 7 (security options) of the Income Tax Act (Canada). If an IB specialist was only registered for a portion of the taxation year, the minimum remuneration threshold is prorated at $274 for each calendar day in the taxation year the individual was registered ($685 per calendar day for executive specialists).

For more information on making a claim, please see How to file – Specialists.