Yes. A completion certificate must be issued by Creative BC within 30 months from the end of the corporation’s tax year in which principal photography began.
However, if the production is started and completed in a single tax year, corporations only have 18 months from the end of the tax year in which the production is completed to receive the completion certificate and submit it to CRA along with the T2 corporate income tax return. This 18-month CRA filing deadline will be sooner than the 30-month completion certificate deadline for these shorter production cycles. Learn more about CRA filing deadlines here and about completion certificate required in the final tax year of production here.
Documents required at the time of application are set out in the FIBC Checklist. If you fail to submit your application and documents on time, or do not allow Creative BC sufficient time to issue the completion certificate (standard processing time for a completion application is up to 4 months), your eligibility certificate may be revoked and your tax credit claim(s) denied. If the eligibility certificate is revoked, the production corporation is not entitled to FIBC and must repay any FIBC tax credits received for that production. If you do not provide your completion certificate to CRA by the filing deadline for your final year of production, your tax credit claim for that tax year may be denied.
Production |
Production 1 |
Production 2 |
Production 3 |
Principal photography / Key animation (PP/KA) start date |
Jan 01, 2021 |
Jan 01, 2021 |
Jan 01, 2021 |
Production Completion Date |
Dec 30, 2021 |
Dec 30, 2022 |
Dec 30, 2023 |
Time between PP/KA Start and Production Completion |
1 Year |
2 Years |
3 Years |
Taxation Year End (TYE) |
Dec 31 |
Dec 31 |
Dec 31 |
First TYE after PP/KA start date |
Dec 31 2021 |
Dec 31 2021 |
Dec 31 2021 |
Final Taxation Year-end of Production |
Dec 31 2021 |
Dec 31 2022 |
Dec 31 2023 |
24-month deadline – Production must complete before this date – see Basic tax credit 80(1)(b) |
Dec 31 2023 |
Dec 31 2023 |
Dec 31 2023 |
30-month deadline – ProdCo must receive Completion Certificate before this date but CRA deadline to file Completion Certificate may be earlier – see below.see Revocation of certificates 88(1)(b)(i)(A) |
Jun 30, 2024 |
Jun 30, 2024 |
Jun 30, 2024 |
CRA filing deadline for the following Taxation Year: |
Production 1 |
Production 2 |
Production 3 |
1st Taxation Year (Ending Dec 31, 2021)
Eligibility Certificate required to be filed with this claim. See Application for tax credit 85(1)(a)(i).
|
Jun 30, 2023 (file with both Eligibility and Completion certificate) |
Jun 30, 2023 (file with Eligibility certificate) |
Jun 30, 2023 (file with Eligibility certificate) |
2nd Taxation Year (Ending Dec 31, 2022) |
N/A |
Jun 30, 2024 (file with Completion certificate) |
Jun 30, 2024 (file with Eligibility certificate) |
3rd Taxation Year (Ending Dec 31, 2023) |
N/A |
N/A |
Jun 30, 2025 (file with Completion certificate) |
Final Taxation Year
Completion Certificate required to be filed with this claim. See Application for tax credit 85(1)(a)(ii).
|
Jun 30, 2023 |
Jun 30, 2024 |
Jun 30, 2025 |
Date Completion Certificate Must Be Submitted to the CRA |
Jun 30, 2023 |
Jun 30, 2024 |
Jun 30, 2024 |