UK developers can’t backdate games tax relief

The Treasury has now confirmed that developers will not be able to claim back games tax relief. The claiming period will officially begin from April 1st 2014.

A statement from UKIE read: "We can confirm that claims are not back dateable from the 1st of April 2013. Claims can be made for production from 1st April 2014 according to the Treasury".

It was previously thought that studios would be able to claim back to April 1st 2013, when tax breaks were originally set to go through.

The European Commission officially announced its approval for UK tax breaks today, a year after they had been expected to be introduced.

UK game businesses can claim back up to 25 per cent of 80 per cent of the total costs of game production

You can read TIGA’s full guide to games tax breaks here. You can also see the full cultural test, which studios will need to pass to be approved for tax relief, here.