Claiming Video Games Tax Relief for Corporation Tax
Find out if you qualify for Video Games Tax Relief for Corporation Tax and what you can claim.
Who can claim
Your company can claim Video Games Tax Relief if the video game is:
- certified as British by the British Film Institute
- intended for supply to the general public
Your company must also:
- be responsible for designing, producing and testing the video game
- be actively engaged in planning and decision-making
- directly negotiate, contract and pay for rights, goods and services
- spend at least 25% of its ‘core costs’ on goods or services provided from within the UK or European Economic Area (EEA)
Core costs are what’s spent on designing, producing and testing the game.
Cultural test
To qualify for creative industry tax reliefs, all video games must pass a cultural test and be certified as British.
The British Film Institute manages certification and qualification on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The British Film Institute will issue:
- an interim certificate for uncompleted work
- a final certificate where production has finished
You can find more information about certification on the British Film Institute website.
Who cannot claim
Your company cannot claim Video Games Tax Relief if your game is produced for:
- advertising or promotional purposes
- the purposes of gambling
What you can claim
You can claim an additional deduction to reduce your profits or to increase a loss. This will reduce the amount of any Corporation Tax you will need to pay. If you make a loss, some or all of this loss can be surrendered for a payable tax credit at a rate of 25%.
The additional deduction will be the lower of either:
- 80% of total core expenditure
- the amount of core expenditure on goods or services that are provided from the UK and EEA
When you can claim
You may make, amend or withdraw a claim to Video Games Tax Relief up to one year after the company’s filing date.
For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, you may make, amend or withdraw a claim to Video Games Tax Relief up to 2 years after the end of the period of account the claim relates to.
HMRC may agree to accept late claims in some circumstances.
How to claim
You can claim for relief on your Company Tax Return. You will need to calculate the amount of:
- additional deduction due to your company
- any payable credit due
From 1 April 2024, all claims must be accompanied by an additional information form. This will allow you to provide the necessary evidence to support your claim.
For each production you must provide:
- a British cultural certificate from the British Film Institute — if the game is still in development, you can provide an interim certificate and send the final certificate when the game is complete and the certificate must be in date when you submit it
- statements of the amount of core expenditure, split between:
- UK or EEA
- non-UK or non-EEA
- a breakdown of expenditure by category
Closure of Video Games Tax Relief — from 1 April 2027
Video Games Tax Relief will be closed to all productions from 1 April 2027. You may be able to continue to receive relief under the Video Games Expenditure Credit scheme.
You cannot claim Video Games Tax Relief for any productions that do not start production by 31 March 2025. You may be able to claim a Video Games Expenditure Credit instead.
Further information
You can find detailed guidance for video games companies, including examples of how the relief is calculated, in the Video Games Development Company Manual.
Last updated 19 January 2024 + show all updates
-
We have updated the page with information on the Video Games Expenditure Credit scheme and the Closure of Video Games Tax Relief scheme from 1 April 2027.
-
The 'How to claim' section has been updated with a link to 'Support your claim for creative industry tax reliefs' which explains how to provide evidence to support your creative industry reliefs claim.
-
First published.