What is the Video Games Expenditure Credit?
The Video Games Expenditure Credit is the British tax credit for video game development, successor to Video Games Tax Relief. It pays a taxable credit at 34% on qualifying expenditure.
| Rate | 34% of qualifying expenditure, on up to 80% of core costs, with at least 10% of core costs spent in the UK source |
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What it means in practice
The headline of 34% is not what reaches the bank. The credit is taxable at the main corporation tax rate before it is set against your bill, so the cash effect lands nearer a quarter of qualifying spend. It also reaches development only: the money spent finding players sits outside it entirely, which for most mobile studios is the larger number.
Who it applies to
UK companies developing video games that pass the cultural test. Games made for advertising, promotion or gambling cannot claim.
Working out what a Turkish company would claim on the same spend? Put your numbers in the calculator.