FIBC | Film Incentive BC

About FIBC

Film Incentive BC (FIBC) is a refundable labour based incentive for Canadian productions.

When filing tax returns, your corporation may claim a specified percentage of the labour costs incurred while making a production. The credits are applied to reduce tax payable, and any remaining balance is paid to the corporation.

Please note that your production corporation must apply to Creative BC to receive an eligibility and completion certificate for your production. In order to claim FIBC tax credits, your production corporation must file a corporate income tax return, along with the certificates, with the Canada Revenue Agency.

FIBC is a labour based tax credit available to Canadian owned and controlled production corporations that have a permanent establishment in BC.

FIBC provides refundable tax credits to Canadian controlled production companies based on eligible BC labour costs. This tax credit is designed to encourage film, television, digital animation, and visual effects production in British Columbia. The program includes six initiatives: Basic, Regional, Distant Location Regional, Training, Digital Animation, Visual Effects and Post-Production (DAVE) and Scriptwriting. 

Important message for FIBC applicants: Tax Credit Rate Increase in 2025

On December 12, 2024, the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport announced the following updates, subject to approval of budget legislation:

• The basic tax credit will increase from 35% to 36% for productions that start principal photography on or after January 1, 2025; and
• The Province intends to restore the regional and distant location tax credits for animated productions with a bricks-and-mortar presence in a regional or distant location

See the news release issued by the Province of BC for more information.

FOR LIVE ACTION PRODUCTIONS:

For productions with a principal photography start date after September 30, 2016.

For productions with a principal photography start date before October 1, 2016, please contact Creative BC for more information.

For scriptwriting Expenditures Incurred after February 20, 2018.

FOR ANIMATED PRODUCTIONS:

For productions with a principal photography (key animation) start date on or after June 1, 2024.

Productions with a principal photography (key animation) start date after June 26, 2015, and before June 1, 2024 could be eligible for Regional Tax Credit and Distant Location Tax Credit.

For productions with a principal photography start date before October 1, 2016, please contact Creative BC for more information.

For scriptwriting Expenditures Incurred after February 20, 2018.

When to submit an FIBC application

Production companies are encouraged to apply for their tax credit certificates as early as possible – see the recommended timelines below. This is because Creative BC may require up to 4 months to process complete applications. We are unable to guarantee that applications filed later will be processed in time for the production company to file with the CRA before the deadline, which may result in denied claims.

For an eligibility certificate, we strongly recommend that you apply as early as possible in the pre-production or production stage and no later than 12 months from the corporation’s taxation year in which principal photography began.

For completion certificates, we strongly recommend that production companies submit completion certificate applications at least 6 months before the filing deadline to avoid a risk of losing tax credits. Read more here.

DAVE Tax Credit

B.C. Budget

Learn about the adjustments to Film Incentive BC Tax Credit (FIBC) application timelines and protocols.