Accounting for Film and TV Production in BC
Independent producers run their business in two layers. A parent company develops projects and keeps the rights, while each production lives in its own company with its own budget, crew and tax credit claim.
EverStone CPA supports small and independent BC production companies with books, payroll, cost tracking and corporate returns, online, at fixed fees agreed in writing.
Quick answer: Most BC producers set up a single-purpose production company for each project. Its books follow the budget line by line, its labour is tracked for the film tax credits, and its year-end supports the cost report funders and credit administrators expect. We keep those books and file the returns.
Production businesses we work with
We work with the smaller end of the industry: owner-producers, documentary makers and companies producing a few projects a year. Large service productions usually bring their own studio accounting team, and we say so when that is the better fit.
- Independent producers with a development company and project companies
- Documentary, short film and web-series makers
- Commercial and branded-content production houses
- Post-production, animation and visual effects studios
- Crew and performers working through their own loan-out corporation
- Equipment rental and grip companies supplying productions
Why each production gets its own company
Film and TV financing nearly always expects a single-purpose production company. The structure is not a formality: it is how the credits, the financing and the risk are kept apart.
Credits are claimed per corporation
The federal and BC film credits are claimed by the corporation that produces the project, on its own return. A clean single-project company makes the claim far easier to support.
Lenders and funders want it ring-fenced
Interim lenders lending against tax credits, broadcasters and funders want the project’s money in a separate company and bank account. That protects them from your other projects.
The parent company
Your main company holds development spending, overhead and often the rights. Producer fees and overhead charges flow up from the production companies under written agreements.
Winding up afterwards
Once the credits are received and the project is delivered, a production company may sit dormant or be wound up. Plan that from the start so nothing is left owing.
Our incorporation advice sets up the parent and project companies. The guide to federal vs provincial incorporation covers a common early question.
Producer fees, salary and dividends
Producer income is lumpy. A fee lands when a project is financed, then nothing for months. How it moves from the production to you is a planning question.
Fees into the parent company
Paying producer fees to your parent company, not to you personally, lets you smooth income across lean years. The parent then pays you salary or dividends as needed.
Salary for labour credits
Credit rules often look at who was paid and how. Whether your own pay counts toward qualifying labour depends on how and where it is paid, so plan it before the shoot.
Dividends in the good years
In a year with a big fee, dividends from the parent can be timed against your personal income. The small business rate applies only to active business income.
Model the split with the salary vs dividends calculator or read about salary vs management fees.
Film and TV tax credits in general terms
Canada and BC each offer refundable tax credits for film and television production. There are separate programs for Canadian-content productions and for service productions. They are based mainly on qualifying labour spent in BC or Canada.
Certificates come first
A production usually needs certification from the federal and provincial administrators before the credit is allowed. Apply early; certificates can take time, and conditions apply.
Claimed with the return
The credits are claimed on the production company’s T2 for the year. Cash arrives only after the return is filed and assessed, which is why interim financing is common.
Labour tracked from day one
Who was paid, where they live and where the work happened can all affect the claim. Code every payroll and crew invoice by budget line and by residency as you go.
We do not publish credit rates here; they change and depend on the program. We work with your production accountant or tax credit specialist where you have one, and keep the books that support the claim. See our corporate tax return service.
Cost reports and budget-to-actual tracking
Funders, broadcasters and credit administrators each want proof of what the production spent. The cost report is that proof. It is far easier to produce if the books follow the budget from the first cheque.
Books by budget line
We set up accounts that mirror your budget topsheet: above the line, below the line, post and other. Every invoice is coded to a line, not a generic expense.
Weekly cost to complete
During prep and shoot, a weekly report of spent, committed and remaining keeps overages visible before they happen.
Final cost report and review
Some funders and credit programs ask for an audited or reviewed final cost report. Know the level required before you hire the firm that signs it.
See compilation vs review engagements, audit and review readiness and our budgeting and forecasting service.
GST and PST for production companies
Each production company usually registers for GST so it can recover the GST on its spending through input tax credits. BC PST has a separate registration and return.
Recovering GST on spending
Productions spend heavily on taxable supplies: rentals, locations, catering and services. Registering early and coding GST on every invoice turns that tax into refunds.
Selling rights abroad
A licence of rights to a non-resident broadcaster or distributor may be zero-rated. The answer depends on the deal, so we review the contract before invoicing.
PST on rentals and purchases
Equipment rentals and goods bought in BC often carry 7% PST, which is a cost, not a credit. Check what suppliers charge and self-assess where they did not.
Read GST on exports and non-residents or see our GST filing services.
Crew payroll, loan-outs and T4A slips
A production can employ dozens of people for a few weeks. Each one is either on payroll, invoicing as a sole proprietor, or invoicing through a loan-out company.
Employees on payroll
Crew working on your schedule, with your equipment, are usually employees. Source deductions, vacation pay and WorkSafeBC follow, and final pay is due within 48 hours.
Payroll service companies
Many productions use a specialist payroll company for crew. We reconcile its invoices, fringes and union or guild remittances to the budget each week.
Contractors and loan-outs
Self-employed crew and loan-out companies invoice you, often charging GST. Collect their business numbers and issue T4A slips where required by the last day of February.
Our payroll services handle office staff and smaller crews. See employee vs contractor classification and the T4A form guide.
Equipment, rights and CCA
Owned gear
Cameras, lenses, lighting and edit systems are deducted through capital cost allowance. Gear owned by the parent and rented to productions should carry a written rate.
Production costs as an asset
Spending on a production you own is generally capitalized rather than expensed as it happens. The rules for certified productions differ, so treatment is set per project.
Development spending
Options, scripts and research in the parent company may be capital or expense. Record them by project so costs can move into the production company once it is financed.
See equipment CCA in BC and the half-year rule.
Wrap and year-end checklist for a production company
- Close the budget. Post the last invoices and compare final costs to the locked budget, line by line.
- Reconcile crew payroll. Agree the payroll company’s totals and fringes to the ledger.
- Gather residency records. Keep proof of BC residency for labour counted toward the credits.
- Collect contractor details. Confirm names, addresses and business numbers for every T4A.
- Settle intercompany balances. Record producer fees and overhead owed to the parent company.
- Prepare the cost report. Produce it in the format your funders and credit programs require.
- Diarize the T2. The return is due six months after year-end, with the balance two or three months after.
Services and fees for production companies
- Monthly books for the parent company, GST and PST filing included: from $300 a month
- Production company bookkeeping and cost tracking: quoted per project from the budget
- T2 returns for parent and project companies: quoted after a free consultation
- Loan-out corporation for crew or performers: books and T2, quoted in writing
Every fee is fixed in writing first; see our pricing page. We work with producers in Vancouver, Burnaby, North Vancouver, Victoria and anywhere else in the province.
Questions from BC producers
Do I need a new company for each production?+
When are film tax credits paid?+
What is a loan-out company?+
Do you replace my production accountant?+
Written and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm working remotely with businesses across British Columbia. Updated . You can read client reviews before you get in touch.
Related reading
For creative companies and the people who work on productions.