What’s new – Film and media tax credits

Stay up-to-date with the latest news and information related to the Film and Media Tax Credits (FMTC). Updates are organized by date.

[2023-04-01]

Under section 85 (1) of the Income Tax Act of British Columbia, corporations filing a claim for the British Columbia film and television tax credit (BCFTTC) must submit a Completion Certificate with their T2 corporation income tax return if the production was completed in the related tax year.

The CRA’s one-year transition period, which gave corporations time to adapt to this filing requirement, ended on March 31, 2023.

As of April 1, 2023, the CRA is no longer accepting an Eligibility Certificate alone for final-year claims. Corporations submitting final-year claims must obtain a Completion Certificate within the legislated time period that applies:

• For production cycles under one year: If the production begins and ends in a single tax year, corporations have 18 months from the end of the tax year in which the production is completed to receive the Completion Certificate and submit it to the CRA with the T2 corporate income tax return.
• For production cycles over one year: Within 30 months from the end of the tax year in which principal photography of the production began, BCFTTC claimants must receive a Completion Certificate.

The CRA encourages corporations to apply for a Completion Certificate with Creative BC as soon as possible to avoid delays and reduce the risk of losing tax credits for which they may otherwise be eligible.

[2022-12-15]

Under section 84.1 of the Income Tax Act of British Columbia, corporations filing a claim for the British Columbia production services tax credit (BCPSTC) must submit a pre-certification form to Creative BC within a required period of time after incurring their first accredited BC labour expenditure (ABCLE). If the pre-certification form is submitted late, ABCLE incurred before the date of submission cannot be claimed. Legislative measures will be brought forward as part of the BC Government’s Budget 2023 for production corporations that first incurred an accredited BC labour expenditure (ABCLE) between July 1, 2020 and February 21, 2022.

The new proposed measures will allow ABCLE incurred up to 120 days prior to the date of the pre-certification form submission to be claimed, regardless of how late the pre-certification form was filed. ABCLE incurred more than 120 days prior to the date the pre-certification form was filed will not be eligible. Examples of how this will impact corporations can be found on the BC Government’s PSTC webpage and Frequently asked questions webpage.

The CRA will administer these proposed legislative measures effective immediately. If you have been denied a portion of your BCPSTC by the CRA under the current rules, you can request an adjustment to your T2 Corporate Tax return to apply the new rules. For more information, see Requesting a reassessment of your T2 return.

[2022-06-22]
Under section 85(1) of the Income Tax Act of British Columbia, corporations filing a claim for the British Columbia film and television tax credit (BCFTTC) must submit a Completion Certificate with their T2 corporation income tax return if the production was completed in the related tax year. To make sure that claimants receive the tax credit to which they are entitled, an Eligibility Certificate alone will no longer be accepted for the tax year a production is completed.

Going forward, a Completion Certificate will be required for productions that are completed in a tax year. To help applicants adjust to the new process, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has implemented a transition period.

Transition period

The CRA is offering the transition period until March 31, 2023, to give BCFTTC claimants time to adapt to this filing requirement. During this period, the CRA will accept either an Eligibility Certificate and/or a Completion Certificate for BCFTTC claims for the tax year a production is completed. However, if a final-year claim is processed with only an Eligibility Certificate, the production must still get a Completion Certificate within the legislated time period that applies:

• 18 months from the tax year when the qualified BC labour expenditure was incurred, or
• 30 months from the end of the tax year in which principal photography of the production began

The CRA encourages corporations to apply for a Completion Certificate with Creative BC as soon as possible to avoid delays and reduce the risk of losing tax credits for which they may otherwise be eligible.

[2022-03-01]
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is resuming its requirement to submit certificates (for example, Eligibility, Accreditation and Completion certificates) when applying for the FMTC. You can submit your certificates to the CRA using a new feature available on My Business Account. You can also submit the certificates by fax, regular mail or at the time of filing your T2 corporation income tax return through EFILE.

[2022-03-01]
A new feature is now available on My Business Account (MyBA) for claimants without a case or reference number (note that a case or reference number is usually provided by the CRA when you are asked to submit additional documents to support a previous submission). This new feature allows MyBA registrants to voluntarily submit documents to the Film and Media Tax Credits Program in a secure and convenient way.

You can select one or more of the following tasks from a picklist if you have documents to submit:

• T2029 waiver forms for late-filed Part B applications at CAVCO
• Eligibility and Completion certificates
• Other documents

[2021-11-16]
Film and media tax credits - COVID-19 topics can help address questions about COVID-19 related expenditures for the FMTC.