The government has announced a globally significant tax credit of 32% for the development of video games. This is greater than the credit available to most other games developing nations, including France and the UK. The credit will bolster the Irish video games industry, encouraging both home and overseas investment.
Back in October 2020, as part of the national budget for 2021, the Irish government announced their intention to develop a tax credit for game development. Since this announcement the Imirt board and member-filled Advisory Panel has been in active discussions with the relevant government department to ensure that the needs of our industry are fully understood by those who are planning for and designing this credit.
This process reached a major milestone this month with the first details on this credit being confirmed by the Minister for Finance as part of the announcement of Ireland’s overall state budget for 2022. These details are:
· The rate of the tax credit is 32% of eligible expenses
· The maximum limit of eligible expenses is €25 million per project
· The minimum project spend required to avail of the credit is €100,000
There are a number of steps that need to be completed before this credit comes into effect. The most important of these are:
· Confirmation of the full specifics of the tax credit legislation with the release of the Budget 2022 Finance bill, which is due for release on October 22nd
· The government to get the tax credit legislation approved by the European Commission
This last step is expected to take several months to complete. Based on this, our expectation is that the credit comes into effect by mid-2022.
While working on this credit over the last year, Imirt has been given regular assurances by the department of finance that they view the establishment of this credit as an important step for the advancement of the games industry in Ireland, and they are committed to an on-going relationship with us to ensure have the desired impact on the industry. We in turn are committed to engagement with them on behalf of the industry.
This new tax credit - a piece of legislation developed specifically for the games industry - will evolve over time. We will continue working with the Department of Finance to ensure the credit will benefit as broad a range of developers as possible.
Imirt in the press
RTÉ
www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2021/1016/1254132-ireland-digital-games-video-games-tax-credit/
"this globally significant 32% tax credit will support our existing games development talent enormously, plus attract major investment from overseas. Ireland is ideally positioned to secure more of the rapidly expanding $300 billion worldwide industry."
The Irish Times
"We want to nurture the talent that is already here and make sure they get the support they need to not only create the game they’re working on now, but the next game and the next game,"
“The other side of things is attracting people from abroad. If we have tax credits that are similar or better than other nations that they might be considering, they’ll say ‘Ireland have got a good set-up there, loads of support from the Government and a great community”
