ARTICLE XII
U.S. Income Tax Treaty — Canada Income Tax Treaty and Protocols - 1980 · 2026-10-03 edition · updated 2026-10-04 · United States
Royalties
Royalties arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
However, such royalties may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise, and according to the laws of that State; but if a resident of the other Contracting State is the beneficial owner of such royalties, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties.
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, copyright royalties and other like payments in respect of the production or reproduction of any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (but. not including royalties in respect of motion picture films and works on film or videotape for use in connection with television) arising in a Contracting State and beneficially owned
by a resident of the other Contracting State shall he taxable only in that other State.
The term "royalties" as used in this Article means payments of any kind received as a consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of literary, artistic or scientific work (including motion picture films and works on film or videotape for use in connection with television), any patent, trademark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or for the use of, or the right to use, tangible personal property or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience, and, notwithstanding the provisions of Article XIII (Gains), includes gains from the alienation of any intangible property or rights described in this paragraph to the extent that such gains are contingent on the productivity, use or subsequent disposition of such property or rights.
The provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the royalties, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the royalties arise, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the royalties are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions of Article VII (Business Profits) or Article XIV. (Independent Personal Services), as the case may be, shall apply.
For the purposes of this Article, royalties shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is that State itself, or a political subdivision, local authority or resident of that State. However:
(a) Except as provided in subparagraph (b), where the person paying the royalties, whether he is a resident of a Contracting State or not, has in a State other than that of which he is a resident a permanent establishment or a fixed base in connection with which the obligation to pay the royalties was incurred, and such royalties are borne by such permanent establishment or fixed base, then such royalties shall be deemed to arise in the State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated and not in the State of which the payer is a resident; and
(b) Where the royalties are for the use of intangible property or tangible personal property in a Contracting State, then such royalties shall be deemed to arise in that State and not in the State of which the payer is a resident.
Where, by reason of a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the royalties, having regard to the use, right or information for which they are paid, exceeds the amount which would have been agreed upon by the payer and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In such case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.
Where a resident of a Contracting State pays royalties to a person other than a resident of the other Contracting State, that other State may not impose any tax on such royalties except insofar as they
arise in that other State or insofar as the right or property in respect of which the royalties are paid is effectively connected with a permanent establishment or a fixed base situated in that other State.
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