Gaming Studios Across Canada can Claim up to 80% of their Cost and Time Overruns Through the SR&ED Funding Program

One of the leading and thriving industries across Canada over the last five years is the video game industry. As shown during COVID, over 23 million Canadian gamers are actively enjoying offline and/or online gaming experiences. With the evolution of Twitch (live gamer platform) and Esports (live video game sports) taking off, numerous people are turning to videos games as an alternative to other forms of daily life. To meet this high demand in gamers, there are over 692 gaming studios across Canada. Companies such as Next Level Games, Radical Entertainment | Activision, Behaviour Interactive, and Bioware to name a few are leading the charge. Gaming companies are employing over 28,000 Canadians to develop, architect, mold, create and program the next big video game, many are unaware that all of this time and effort can lead to a large cash return.

The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Credit allows Canadian Controlled Private Corporations (CCPCs) a 35% Federal cash return on their expenditures or a 15% credit for Non-CCPC Corporations. Expenditures can include staff, materials consumed, and subcontractors in Canada. Within the gaming industry, this can be the development of AR or VR, backend algorithms, motion capture and simulation, and image processing and reconstruction.

It is irrelevant if you are a start-up, small-medium enterprise, or large corporation to be eligible for the SR&ED Tax Credit. Below we have illustrated how a small gaming company with four technical staff received over $100,000 from the Federal government and an additional $37,000 from the Ontario government.

(Figures in the chart are a rough estimate. Please contact Braithwaite Canada for a detailed breakdown of your next SR&ED claim)

How can Braithwaite Canada assist with the gaming industry?
Braithwaite Canada takes a 7-step approach to maximize every R&D Tax Credit Claim filed to CRA (Detailed description of the 7-step approach).

1. Eligibility Criteria Scoping
2. Offer of Service & Presentation
3. Discovery/Preliminary Project Identification Stage & Documentation
4. Technological/Science Data Compilation Phase
5. Taxation/Financial Data Compilation Phase
6. Detailed Project Review & Finalization
7. Completion of SR&ED Submission by Braithwaite (Authorized CRA e-filer) and/or Your Accountant

For further information on how Braithwaite Canada can assist your company in successfully preparing an SR&ED Tax Credit claim to CRA, please contact us today.

Source: The Globe and Mail, Globe Content Studio