Production services tax credit

The production services tax credit is a refundable corporate income tax credit for accredited production corporations that produce accredited film or video productions in British Columbia (B.C.). The credits are available to both domestic and foreign producers and there is no Canadian content requirement.

The production services tax credit program consists of four tax credits with the following tax credit rates:

• Production services tax credit (28%)
• Regional production services tax credit (6%)
• Distant location production services tax credit (6%)
• Digital animation, visual effects and post-production (DAVE) services tax credit (16%)

To calculate the amount of tax credit you are eligible for, multiply your qualified BC labour expenditure by its applicable tax credit rate.

On this page

• Applying for a certificate
• Recent legislative changes
• Claiming the credits
• Filing deadlines
• Legislation

Applying for a certificate

Before you can claim the credits, you must obtain an accreditation certificate from Creative BC. This includes:

1. Filing a pre-certification form with Creative BC within 120 days of incurring your first accredited B.C. labour expenditure (ABCLE) for a production
   • Make sure to file the pre-certification form within the right time frame to avoid reduced or denied claims
   • Learn more about this deadline and recent changes, and view examples​
     Note: If you file the pre-certification form with Creative BC late, you cannot claim any ABCLE incurred before the date you submit the pre-certification form.
      
2. Applying for an accreditation certificate with Creative BC
   • We strongly recommend you submit your accreditation certificate application to Creative BC within 12 months of your corporation’s taxation year end
     Note: For applications submitted later, Creative BC cannot guarantee it will be processed in time for you to file with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) before the deadline, which may result in denied claims.

Recent legislative changes

• Budget 2024 has excluded animated productions that start principal photography on or after June 1, 2024 from the regional tax credit and distant location tax credit
• For production companies that first incurred an ABCLE between July 1, 2020 and February 21, 2022, Budget 2023 allows you to claim ABCLE incurred up to 120 days prior to the pre-certification form submission date. You are unable to claim ABCLE incurred more than 120 days prior to filing the pre-certification. This may reduce the production services tax credit available to you
• Budget 2022 extended the deadline to file a pre-certification form from 60 to 120 days effective February 22, 2022. This impacts productions that first incur accredited B.C. labour expenditures (ABCLE) on or after February 22, 2022

Claiming the credits

You can claim the credit(s) by:

1. Completing the British Columbia Production Services Tax Credit (T1197) form
2. Attaching the accreditation certificate you receive from Creative BC
3. Submitting it with your T2 Corporation Income Tax Return

A separate T1197 form and accreditation certificate is required for each production. Enter the total amount of credits from all productions you're claiming on line 672 on Schedule 5, Tax Calculation Supplementary - Corporations.

Filing deadlines

For tax years beginning on or after February 19, 2020:

• You must claim the credit no later than 18 months after the end of your corporation's tax year 

For tax years beginning before February 19, 2020:

• You must claim the credit no later than 36 months after the end of your corporation’s tax year

Note: The CRA must receive the T1197 form and accreditation certificate for each production by the filing deadline for each tax year or your production services tax credit may be denied.  

The credit is fully refundable, but must first be applied against total income tax payable. There are no carry-back or carry-forward provisions.

Legislation

The following legislation applies to the production services tax credit program:

• Income Tax Act (B.C.) Part 5
• Film and Television Tax Credit Regulation