Alberta Film and Television Tax Credit

Who is eligible?

• Corporations primarily engaged in film production
• Corporations primarily engaged in television production
• Corporations primarily engaged in digital media production

Who is not eligible

• Corporations exempt from paying taxes under the Alberta Corporate Tax Act, or controlled by such corporations.
• Companies that have received project funding from the Alberta Production Grant or the Alberta Screen-Based Production Grant for the same project.
• Corporations not primarily engaged in film, television, and/or digital media production.
• Corporations not incorporated in Alberta, not registered as an extra-provincial company in Alberta, or not continued as an Alberta company through a Certificate of Continuance.

Eligible expenses

• Alberta-based salary or wages paid to eligible individuals.
• Service contract expenditures incurred in Alberta.
• Expenditures for tangible property acquired in Alberta for production purposes.
• Production-related costs for goods and services purchased directly from Alberta businesses (excluding those subcontracted outside Alberta).
• Parent-subsidiary amounts, where production costs incurred by a parent on behalf of a wholly owned subsidiary are reimbursed by the subsidiary.
• For documentaries only: non-Alberta salary or wages, service contract expenditures, and travel expenditures directly attributable to principal photography occurring outside Alberta.

Eligible geographic areas

• Companies incorporated or registered in Alberta.
• Productions with principal photography or key animation completed in Alberta.
• Rural and remote locations within Alberta, including underutilized areas outside Edmonton and Calgary (for rural/remote stream).

• Applicants are required to retain all invoices or proof of payment for eligible production costs for seven years, as they may be requested for review.
• If an applicant's initial application is declined, one additional application is permitted within 12 months of notification, even if outside the standard 120-day window after principal photography commenced.
• Applicants are responsible for fulfilling recognition requirements, as outlined in the program guidelines, to receive a tax credit certificate.
• A corporation may request its tax refund be redirected to a lender for bridge financing by including a letter with the AT1 return for the relevant tax year.