The HMRC has revealed that video game tax relief payouts leapt 10% in the 2022-23 financial year.
525 claims were made according to data from the UK government’s Creative Industries Statistics commentary, totalling £282 million of relief paid out.
The increase was attributed to a “rise in high value claims” of over £2 million, in addition to the VGTR not being as “severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as other creative sector reliefs.”
Almost half the claims were small amounts of £50,000 or less, while claims over £500,000 accounted for 87% of the total relief paid.
The HMRC has also admitted it was substantially out when it revealed last year that there was a drop in Video Game Tax Relief claims in the UK.
The department has revised payout data for the UK’s VGTR last year by 36%, from £189 million to £257 million, for the financial year 2021-22
According to Games Investor Consulting, although it is standard for HMRC to “underestimate and adjust”, the £68 million adjustment is the HMRC’s “biggest ever revision.”
Initially, the HMRC said that tax relief claims had dropped 6% year-on-year.