BC FILM INDUSTRY TAX INCENTIVES PROGRAMS

Filming in British Columbia

There are 3 filming zones in BC and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District is in the Distant Locations Zone.

1. Vancouver Studio Zone
2. REGIONAL: Nearby Location Zone - immediately outside Vancouver
          Fraser Valley area and east including Hope; north of Vancouver to include Whistler; and Victoria - the Capital District, Vancouver Island
3. REGIONAL: Distant Location Zone - Thompson-Nicola region
          East of Hope; North of Whistler; all of Vancouver Island outside Greater Victoria - the Capital District

Tax Incentive May Be Stacked:

BC Based:       Federal 25% + Film Incentive BC 35% + Distant Regional 18.5% = 78% Tax Credit Rebate (plus D.A.V.E. 17.5%) 

Service:            Federal 16% + BC Production Services 33% + Distant Regional 12% = 61% Tax Credit Rebate (plus D.A.V.E. 17.5%)

For more information on Film Incentive BC or Production Services Tax Credits:

British Columbia Film
2225 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC Canada V6K 2E4
Tel 604-736-7997
Fax 604-736-7290
bcf@bcfilm.bc.ca
www.bcfilm.bc.ca

For more information on Federal Production Services Tax Credits:

Effective July 1, 2010, British Columbia combined or "harmonized" its Provincial Sales Tax (PST) of 7% with the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 5% thus establishing the new single tax - the HST of 12%.

For the film industry, the HST is RECOVERABLE, similar to the GST.

As well, the film industry sectors that have a high indirect PST content should benefit substantially from harmonization. For example, HST on most services, from set construction, supplies, post production, equipment and studio rentals will now be recoverable. These savings of tax by businesses that provide goods and services to the film industry may result in lower prices of goods and services to the industry.

HST Contact Numbers

Quick Contacts:

• Canada Revenue Agency - Technical Questions: 1-800-959-5525
• Ministry of Finance: 1-877-388-4440

Public Inquiries

The HST will be administered by the Canada Revenue Agency, not the Province of British Columbia. 

Enquiries on the following topics should be referred to the CRA's General Business enquiries telephone lines at 1-800-959-5525 (English) or 1-800-959-7775 (French):

• Application of the HST, including
  • How the HST applies to goods and services,
  • The application of the HST under the general transitional rules;
  • The application of the HST to interprovincial/interjurisdictional sales of goods and services; and
  • HST registration and remittance/filing requirements.