Fi27. Please confirm that an assignment of a film infrastructure credit can be made any time prior to the return filing deadline for the year in which the Investment Expenditure Certificate is issued.

For the taxpayer that generated the Investment Expenditure Certificate, the deadline to claim or assign all or a portion of the infrastructure credit is the end of the taxpayer's tax year in which the original Investment Expenditure Certificate is issued by the Film Office.  With regard to the re-assignment of the infrastructure credit, the assignee must claim or re-assign the infrastructure credit before the end of the tax year in which that assignee (now assignor) was assigned the infrastructure credit from the immediately prior assignor.

Example:  Company X, a calendar year taxpayer, receives an assignment of an infrastructure credit in November 2010.  Company X must claim the infrastructure credit on its 2010 MBT return, or re-assign the infrastructure credit no later than December 31, 2010.

Exception:  Department of Treasury instructions for the 2009 MBT form 4589 "2009 Michigan Business Tax Film Credit Assignment" state:  "The deadline to assign the credit is the return filing deadline of the assignor's tax year in which the certificate is issued.  The deadline to reassign the credit is the return filing date for the tax year in which the assignee received the credit."  While this policy is being revised as expressed in this FAQ and for future form 4589 instructions, the Department will honor those infrastructure credit assignments that take place in accordance with 2009 instructions.