Recent years have seen introduction of tax reliefs targeted at UK companies engaged within the creative sector. These measures are aimed at incentivising investment and promoting sustainable development and production of culturally significant high-end television, broadcast animation, video games, orchestras, theatre productions and museum exhibitions in the UK.
The reliefs which apply to eligible companies include:
- an additional 100% corporate tax deduction on qualifying expenditure (up to a maximum of 80% of the company’s total expenditure), or
- A payable cash tax credit of 25% of the losses surrendered (up to a maximum of 25% of the qualifying production/development expenditure for the period).
In order to be eligible for these reliefs, productions must be certified by the Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) as ‘Culturally British’. Points will be awarded by the DCMS for factors such as cultural content (UK characters or settings), cultural contribution, cultural hubs (the use of UK facilities) and cultural practitioners (UK personnel) with a minimum of 16 points required to qualify for the reliefs.
Once a certificate has been obtained, a claim for the tax relief is made on the company’s corporation tax return. Where it is envisaged that production or development will span a number of accounting periods, a provisional claim for relief can be made by obtaining an interim cultural certificate from the DCMS.
If you require further information please contact your usual Beavis Morgan Partner.