Give you a break? Sure we will – its because we are sharing info her on the real world of film tax credits in Canada – these can be truly referred to as film tax breaks in the world of Canadian film tax incentives in Canada .
We further point out to clients that as Canada continues to gain traction in the world if government non repayable tax credits in film , television and animation the actual financing of these credits play , or can play, a key role in the overall ‘ financial packaging ‘ of your project .
It’s all about teamwork in most any business, and surrounding yourself with a competent finance team in the area of film tax credit financing is what it’s all about. You are simply maximizing your credits and reducing downtime spent in what can only be described sometimes as a maze of financing possibilities and probabilities.
If your production qualifies and is certified under current provincial and federal guidelines producers and owners of projects in our 3 key areas (movies, TV, animation) can recoup a very significant amount of their investment in the project. And when you have the financing of the tax credit under consideration this cash flow just enhances overall project viability. In some cases the financing of your tax credit is a ‘ must have ‘, as opposed to a ‘ nice to have ‘.
So how do you take advantage of Canadian film tax credits? Typical independent budgets we see tend to range from anywhere from one million dollars, (sometimes less) up to the 5 Million dollar range. Depending upon where you shoot or produce your project, where you file your tax credits and the overall content mix of your production expenses you can typically get a film tax break in the 30-45% range .Unless we are missing something, that’s a huge part of your overall budget, and takes a nice bite out of your total finance plan.
Naturally your non repayable funds via the film tax incentives don’t unfortunately relieve you from having to be successful in the balance of your financing, which is typically equity money, debt, and the proverbial ‘ gap financing ‘ to make up the total picture . The tax credit in effect helps you ‘ complete’ the total finance package.
We see many instances where producers and project owners are successful in raising the other parts of the financing based on the knowledge a significant tax credit will be either utilized and cash flowed. We like to think of Canadian film tax credit financing as simply a great addition to your ‘ toolkit “,
Film financing is simply ‘ hard work ‘. Speak to a trusted, credible and experience Canadian film tax credit consultant about both obtaining and cash flowing your credit. It’s a very basic process revolving around demonstrating you have a project budget, a solid book keeping and accounting team in place, and a solid opinion from people that know that your credit is a justifiable one and meets production content rules.
If you wish to finance your credit it can be financed at time of final certification, or in many instances accrual financing is offered – funds are advanced as your spend on your project . Financings can be completed within a matter of weeks and provide valuable working capital and cash flow as a solid alternative financing vehicle for your project.
