Originally announced as part of the 2015 Provincial Budget released in April, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador has recently finalized and implemented a new interactive digital media tax credit to support businesses in the competitive digital media industry. The Newfoundland and Labrador Interactive Digital Media (IDM) Tax Credit will offer a 40% refundable rate on eligible labour and remuneration costs incurred while developing an eligible product between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2019.

The credit will be available to taxable, interactive digital media development companies with a permanent establishment in NL who have registered with the NL Film Development Corporation. For a product of such a company to be eligible for the new tax credit, the product will have to meet the following qualifications:

  • The interactive product has the primary purpose to educate, inform, or entertain;
  • The interactive product presents information using at least two of text, sound, and images;
  • The interactive product is intended to be used by individuals for purposes other than interpersonal communication and is non-promotional; and
  • The interactive product must provide feedback to the user, allow the user to control what information is presented and when, and the product must adapt to the user’s needs (if appropriate).

Not all products that meet the above criteria are eligible, so please consult the NLIDM website for a complete explanation of eligibility.

If a product is eligible, the credit can be awarded up to a value of $40,000 per employee, with a maximum of $2,000,000 in labour and remuneration claimable. While employee labour is claimable up to 100% of development time, it should be noted that remuneration costs will only be claimable to a maximum of 65%. Unlike other provincial IDM programs, the NLIDM credit must be claimed in respect of the year that the expenses were incurred and this claim must be submitted to the Minister of Finance within six months of the end of the taxation year.

While the tax credit is currently managed by the Ministry of Finance, it will transition to the CRA beginning in May 2016. This means that digital companies in Newfoundland and Labrador should try to not only take advantage of this new program, but also look at Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credits, which are also filed with the CRA. With a 15% provincial SR&ED top-up available, companies that submit claims under both these programs can benefit from significant tax returns to continue innovative product development.