Film and Television Tax Credit

Tax credit to support medium and large-scale productions filming in Alberta. Overview The Film and Television Tax Credit (FTTC) offers a refundable Alberta tax credit certificate on eligible Alberta production and labour costs to corporations that produce films, television series and other eligible screen-based productions in the province. Applicants may apply for either a 22% or 30% tax credit rate. Principal photography must not have started before an application is submitted to the program. Full details can be found in the Film and Television Tax Credit program website. Tax credit rates Applicants can apply for either a 22% or a 30% tax credit certificate. Basic eligibility requirements for both tax credit rates can be found in the Eligibility Criteria section of the Film and Television Tax Credit program guidelines. In addition to the basic eligibility requirements, productions applying for a 30% tax credit must also: be owned (at least 50%) by Alberta-based shareholders; this includes proportionate financial control and proportionate profit participation – for information on completing the calculation, refer to 'level of ownership' in the Definitions section of the Film and Television Tax Credit program guidelines have at least one Alberta-based producer with a single card credit recognition have the production’s copyright held, at least in part, by an Alberta-based individual partnership or corporation at the time of application and for a minimum of 10 years following the completion of production spend at least 60% of the total production costs in Alberta or spend at least 70% of the total production salary or wages on Alberta-based individuals Applications that do not meet the above criteria may be eligible for a 22% tax credit certificate provided they meet the eligibility criteria for corporations and for productions outlined below. International treaty co-productions may be eligible for a 30% tax credit certificate if they: have at least one Alberta-based producer with a single card credit recognition spend at least 60% of the total production costs in Alberta or spend at least 70% of the total production salary or wages on Alberta-based individuals

Grant Deadline

Deadline not available

Funding Amount

33% of expense

Type of Grant

Grant, Funding

Sectors

Arts & Culture, Film, Media

Demographics

Incorporation

For Profit

Perks

Region Restriction

This grant is restricted to whole of Canada

Keywords

Age Restriction

This grant is age restricted from 18 to 100

Eligibility and Requirements

Eligibility

For corporations

To be eligible, a corporation must:

• be primarily engaged in film, television or digital media production
• be incorporated in Alberta under the Business Corporations Act, registered as an extra-provincial company in Alberta or continued as an Alberta company through a Certificate of Continuance
• not be exempt from paying taxes under the Alberta Corporate Tax Act (or be controlled by a corporation that is)
• be making an eligible production with total production costs of $499,999 CAD (before GST) or greater
• not have received funding from the Alberta Production Grant or the Alberta Screen-Based Production Grant

Applications to the program may be submitted by an ineligible parent corporation on behalf of an eligible corporation that will be established in the future.

However, an Authorization Letter will only be issued to an eligible corporation that meets all of the criteria above (for more information on Authorization Letters, refer to the After You Apply section in the Film and Television Tax Credit program guidelines).

For productions

A production is defined as a segment of content intended for broadcast, distribution or streaming, and may include a single production or a series of related productions that are produced or aired over a common time period.

Eligible productions must be new productions. Repackaging of previously completed productions is not permitted under the program and will be deemed ineligible.

Applicants must also begin principal photography on the production no later than 6 months after an Authorization Letter is issued (for more information on Authorization Letters, refer to the After You Apply section in the Film and Television Tax Credit program guidelines).

Genres of production and platforms not eligible for funding are:

• news, current events or public affairs programming or a program that includes weather or market reports
• talk shows
• a production in respect of a game or contest
• professional/franchise sporting events or activities – a production that consists of live or pre-recorded coverage of a professional game, match, competition or tournament or pre and post-game shows for sports events or activities
• a gala presentation or awards show – a production that consists of live or pre-recorded coverage of a gala or awards show, or pre and post-game shows for galas or awards shows
• a production that solicits funds
• pornography/adult entertainment
• advertising
• reality television
• a production produced primarily for industrial, corporate or institutional purposes
• a production, other than documentary, that consists of more than 25% stock footage
• video games
• a production for which financial support would, in the opinion of the Minister, be contrary to public policy.*

*Productions deemed contrary to public policy may include those that incite hatred against an identifiable group, or have a dominant characteristic of undue exploitation of sex, violence or of sex and one or more of crime, horror, cruelty or violence.

Eligible Alberta production costs

Eligible production costs generally include all expenditures where goods or services are purchased, consumed or used in Alberta and are considered an essential cost incurred as a normal part of business.

Production costs incurred or paid outside of Alberta are not eligible for a tax credit.

For goods or services to be considered an eligible Alberta production cost, the items must meet the following criteria:

• be listed on the Estimated Total Production Costs worksheet found on the program webpage
• be purchased directly from businesses located in Alberta
• be incurred and fully paid in Alberta during the eligibility period (for more information on the eligibility period, refer to the “Definitions” section in the Film and Television Tax Credit program guidelines)
• be directly related to the portion of the production that occurs in Alberta
• be a considered an essential cost incurred as a normal part of business

Costs incurred by a parent corporation on behalf of a wholly-owned subsidiary that is an eligible corporation may be eligible for a tax credit certificate, provided the parent corporation has been reimbursed by the subsidiary.

Goods or services cannot be purchased from an Alberta company that has sub-contracted the procurement of the goods or services to out-of-province individuals or organizations.

Invoices or proof of payment for all production costs must be maintained and provided to the program upon request.

Grant Application website

https://www.alberta.ca/film-television-tax-credit.aspx

Contact

Connect with the Film and Television Tax Credit program:

Email: fttc.program@gov.ab.ca

Address:

Film and Television Tax Credit program

13th Floor, Commerce Place

10155 – 102 Street NW

Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4G8