Digital Games Relief

About this scheme

Digital Games Relief is a Corporation Tax credit that supports digital games development companies with the costs of designing, producing and testing digital games. To qualify, a game must be intended for commercial release, meet content safeguards under the Video Recordings Act 1989, not be mainly for advertising, promotion or gambling, and be certified by the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport after passing a cultural test aimed at promoting culturally Irish and European games. Claimant companies must be resident in Ireland or another EEA state, though non-Irish residents must carry on business in Ireland when claiming. The credit is 32% of the lowest of: eligible expenditure, 80% of total qualifying expenditure, or €25 million. Qualifying expenditure excludes concept-stage design, debugging/maintenance, amounts already relieved under Film Relief or the R&D credit, and costs met by other funding. Companies can claim interim relief annually against an interim cultural certificate, then claim the balance once a final certificate is issued.

Who can apply

• Company must be a digital games development company
• The digital game must be developed for commercial release to the public
• The game must meet the content safeguards set out in the Video Recordings Act 1989
• The game must not be produced mainly for advertising, promotional purposes or gambling
• The game must be certified (interim and/or final) by the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, having passed a cultural test
• The company must be resident in Ireland, or in an EEA State other than Ireland; a non-Irish resident company must carry on business in Ireland at the time of claiming the credit
• Qualifying expenditure on the game must be at least €100,000
• Expenditure already claimed under Film Relief or the R&D Corporation Tax Credit is excluded, as is any cost met (or to be met) by other funding such as a grant
• Subcontractor payments count toward qualifying expenditure only up to €2,000,000

How to apply

1. 1Apply to the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport for an interim cultural certificate before or during development of the digital game (or apply for a final certificate once it is complete).
2. 2Once an interim certificate is issued, claim interim relief on an annual basis while development continues.
3. 3On completion of the game, apply to the Minister for final certification, which is issued once the game meets the eligibility criteria and passes the cultural test (and satisfies any conditions attached to an earlier interim certificate).
4. 4Once the final certificate is issued, claim the Digital Games Corporation Tax Credit through the company's Corporation Tax return — the full amount of relief due, less any interim amounts already claimed — while meeting Revenue's tax compliance and record-keeping conditions.