Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR)

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Understanding the Video Games Tax Relief

A detailed guide to the Video Games Tax Relief can be found in Ukie's Access to Finance Guide.

For a more detailed guide to VGTR, HMRC's Video Games Development Company Manual is available here.

Applying for the Cultural Test

You can do that via the BFI website.

Economic Impacts of the VGTR

These can be found in the Screen Business report.

Amount Paid in Tax Relief to Date

According to data released by HMRC in July 2018, VGTR has provided £230m to UK studios across 770 claims since the relief was launched in April 2014. Of that total, £105m was paid out to 345 claims in the financial year 2017-18.

To date, VGTR has been claimed by 480 video game productions, accounting for over £1bn in UK expenditure.

Claims and amount of relief paid on receipts basis

Paid
Year Claim Paid Number Amount (£m)
2014-15 10 -
2015-16 130 45
2016-17 280 74
2017-18 345 108
Total 770 227

Claims and amount of relief paid on receipts basis, split by size of claim

2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Size of claim Number Amount (£m) Number Amount (£m) Number Amount (£m)
Up to £5,000 10 - 35 - 65 -
£5,001 to £10,000 25 - 35 - 30 -
£10,001 to £25,000 35 1 60 1 80 1
£25,001 to £50,000 15 1 35 1 40 1
£50,001 to £100,000 15 1 30 2 30 2
£100,001 to £500,000 15 2 50 11 60 12
Over £500,000 10 41 35 58 40 91
Total 130 45 280 74 345 108

NB. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 5 and amounts to £1 million. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Certifications by Fiscal (Financial) Year

Latest data available via the BFI here

Final Certifications per Year

Year Number EEA/UK spend (£m) Total budget (£m) UK spend as a % of total budget
Apr 2014-Mar 2015 19 14.3 15.1 95.2%
Apr 2014-Mar 2016 133 189.0 275.3 68.7%
Apr 2014-Mar 2017 214 220.8 258.3 85.5%
Apr 2014-Mar 2018 201 247.8 262.6 94.4%
Apr 2014-Mar 2019 188 430.1 1,042.1 41.3%

Interim Certifications per Year

Year Number EEA/UK spend (£m) Total budget (£m) UK spend as a % of total budget
Apr 2014-Mar 2015 47 157.7 166.32 94.7%
Apr 2014-Mar 2016 136 575.75 631.22 91.22%
Apr 2014-Mar 2017 187 412.27 482.22 85.5%
Apr 2014-Mar 2018 181 540.43 1,107.17 48.8%
Apr 2014-Mar 2019 151 411.91 536.96 41.3%

Median budgets of interim video game cultural test certifications

Year Median budget (£m)
2014* 0.2
2015 0.6
2016 0.4
2017 0.4
2018 0.5
2019 (Q1) 1.0

NB. As the tax relief for video games commenced in April 2014, median budget for 2014 is for Q2-Q4.

Certifications by Calendar Year

Latest data available via the BFI here

Final Certifications per Year

Year Number UK/EEA spend (£m) Total budget (£m) UK/EEA spend as a % of total budget
2015 116 180.9 265.6 68.1%
2016 189 202.2 224.5 90.1%
2017 212 248.8 277.5 89.7%
2018 195 201.9 263.9 76.5%

Interim Certifications per Year

Year Number UK/EEA spend (£m) Total budget (£m) UK/EEA spend as a % of total budget
2015 121 548.0 603.6 90.8%
2016 176 401.7 466.9 86.0%
2017 179 434.3 461.7 94.1%
2018 170 517.6 1,106.4 46.8%

Median budgets of interim video game cultural test certifications

Year Median budget (£m)
2015 0.6
2016 0.4
2017 0.4
2018 0.5