Worldwide film & post-production incentives comparator
Compare tax credits, cash rebates and tax shelters across 37 territories, side by side, for a full feature budget or a post-production-only budget. Labour is computed fully loaded (gross salary + that country's employer contributions); every rate is sourced and editable.
Indicative estimate, not legal or tax advice. Rules change often (caps, annual allocations, cultural tests, excluded costs). Data checked on 2026-10-24; always confirm with the film commission and a local accountant before building a finance plan.
1. Budget
2. Assumptions
3. Countries and regions to compare (4)
Ranking by net cost after incentive
- Loaded cost
- €2,288,900
- Of which charges (27%)
- €288,900
- Net incentive
- €869,782 (38.0%)
- Net cost
- €1,419,118
- Loaded cost
- €2,139,100
- Of which charges (13%)
- €139,100
- Net incentive
- €713,134 (33.3%)
- Net cost
- €1,425,966
- Loaded cost
- €2,192,600
- Of which charges (18%)
- €192,600
- Net incentive
- €463,220 (21.1%)
- Net cost
- €1,729,380
- Loaded cost
- €2,481,500
- Of which charges (45%)
- €481,500
- Net incentive
- €744,450 (30.0%)
- Net cost
- €1,737,050
Effective rate = net incentive ÷ loaded local cost. Net incentive = gross incentive minus the haircut (tax on a taxable credit, discount when selling a transferable credit). Assumes the whole entered budget is spent in that country. Click a country to see details and edit rates.
France — details and assumptions
Rate: 30%; 40% when French VFX spend exceeds €2M
Post / VFX: 40% on all eligible spend if French digital VFX > €2M and ≥ 15% of shots are processed
Eligible spend: Salaries of French/EU authors, performers (up to minima) and crew with social contributions, technical services, transport, catering, depreciation.
Caps / minimum: €30M per project; minimum €250k of French spend (or 50% of a budget under €500k).
Post only: Live-action works need at least 5 shooting days in France; animation can qualify without a shoot.
Employer contributions: Statutory employer contributions ≈ 45% of gross for executives/technicians (reduced on low wages). Intermittents du spectacle often cost more (specific unemployment rate, Congés Spectacles). Employer contributions are part of the eligible spend.
Empty rate field = sourced value (shown greyed). A typed rate replaces tiers and conditions.
| Component | Base | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRIP 30% / 40% | €2,481,500 | 30.0% | €744,450 |
| Gross / net incentive | €744,450 / €744,450 |
Amounts in local currency (EUR). Loaded local cost: €2,481,500.
Post-production day rates, fully loaded
Sourced gross day rate (local currency, editable) and loaded employer cost. Empty cell = no reliable source: enter your own rate.
| Role | Belgium gross EUR → loaded EUR | Canada — Quebec gross CAD → loaded EUR | United Kingdom gross GBP → loaded EUR | France gross EUR → loaded EUR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture editor | — | — | — | €532 |
| Colorist | — | — | — | €612 |
| Re-recording / sound mixer | — | — | — | €612 |
| VFX artist (compositor) | — | — | — | — |
- United Kingdom: No reliable public post-production rate card found; enter your own.
- France: 2026 minimum weekly salaries (39 h) of the film production collective agreement (IDCC 3097, annexe I) ÷ 5: chef monteur €1,833.05, mixeur and étalonneur €2,110.45. Minima, not market rates. No VFX artist title in the grid. [source][source]
Exchange rates (editable)
Units per 1 EUR, prefilled as of 2026-10-23 (no live feed: update them yourself).
All schemes at a glance
37 territories, checked on 2026-10-24. Headline gross rates; see each country's details for conditions.
| Territory | Scheme | Type | Rate | Post / VFX | Caps / minimum | Cultural test | Employer charges | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | Crédit d'impôt cinéma (French delegate producer) | Refundable tax credit | 30% for French-language fiction and animation films (20% base rate) | No separate post rate: French post-production and VFX services count at the same rate | €30M per film; requires CNC agrément and the points scale (barème). | Yes | 45% | [1][2][3] |
| Crédit d'impôt audiovisuel (TV fiction & animation) | Refundable tax credit | 25% for TV fiction and animation (20% base for other genres) | Same rate for French post-production and VFX | Per-minute ceilings (not modelled here). | Yes | [1][2] | ||
| TRIP / C2I — tax rebate for international productions | Refundable tax credit | 30%; 40% when French VFX spend exceeds €2M | 40% on all eligible spend if French digital VFX > €2M and ≥ 15% of shots are processed | €30M per project; minimum €250k of French spend (or 50% of a budget under €500k). | Yes | [1][2] | ||
| Belgium | Belgian Tax Shelter | Tax shelter (investor-funded) | Net financing ≈ 38–40% of eligible Belgian expenditure (market estimate, not statutory) | Same mechanism for Belgian post-production and VFX spend | Tax-shelter certificate value capped at €15M per work. Net amount depends on Euribor, broker fees and insurance. | Yes | 27% | [1][2] |
| Germany | DFFF I (theatrical features) | Cash grant | 30% of approved German production costs (since Feb 2025) | Same 30% on German post/VFX costs within the approved budget | €5M per film (DFFF I). 2026 intake closed on 20 Aug 2026 (budget exhausted). | Yes | 21% | [1][2][3] |
| DFFF II (large service productions) | Cash grant | 30% of approved German costs; total cost ≥ €20M and German service costs ≥ €8M | Same 30% | €25M per project. | Yes | [1][2] | ||
| GMPF (series, streaming, high-end) | Cash grant | Up to 30% of approved German costs (since Feb 2025) | Same 30% | €5M per film, €20M per series season. | Yes | [1] | ||
| Austria | FISA+ cash rebate | Cash rebate | 30% + 5% green bonus | — | €5M per film or episode; €7.5M per season. Green bonus not modelled (add 5% manually). | Yes | 21% | [1] |
| United Kingdom | AVEC — film / high-end TV (with VFX uplift) | Refundable tax credit | 34% taxable credit (≈ 25.5% net); 39% on UK VFX costs (≈ 29.25% net) | UK VFX: 39% gross since 1 Jan 2025, and VFX costs are outside the 80% cap | No cap on the amount; minimum 10% UK spend. | Yes | 18% | [1][2] |
| IFTC — Independent Film Tax Credit (budgets ≤ £23.5M) | Refundable tax credit | 53% taxable credit (≈ 39.75% net) on the first £15M of core expenditure | No VFX uplift with IFTC | Enhanced rate on the first £15M only. | Yes | [1][2] | ||
| AVEC — animation / children's TV | Refundable tax credit | 39% taxable credit (≈ 29.25% net) | — | No cap. | Yes | [1] | ||
| Ireland | Section 481 (standard) | Refundable tax credit | 32% of eligible Irish expenditure | See the VFX uplift variant (40%) | Eligible expenditure capped at €125M per project; up to 90% can be paid early. | Yes | 11.25% | [1][2] |
| Section 481 — Scéal uplift (budgets ≤ €20M) | Refundable tax credit | 40% for feature films with total qualifying expenditure ≤ €20M | — | Total qualifying expenditure ≤ €20M. | Yes | [1] | ||
| Section 481 — VFX uplift (from 16 July 2026) | Refundable tax credit | 40% on the first €10M if ≥ €1M of Irish VFX spend; 32% above | 40% on all eligible production, post and VFX spend once triggered; shooting in Ireland not required | 40% applies to the first €10M of eligible spend. | Yes | [1] | ||
| Italy | Tax credit for international (executive) productions | Tax credit (offset / assignable) | 40% of eligible Italian costs (30% on above-the-line of non-EEA residents) | Post-production in Italy qualifies; shooting in Italy not mandatory | €20M per company/group per year. Credit is used by offset (or assigned). | Yes | 30% | [1][2][3] |
| Spain (mainland) | Tax rebate for foreign productions (art. 36.2 LIS) | Refundable tax credit | 30% on the first €1M, 25% above | VFX-only work under €1M Spanish spend: 30% (EU de minimis) | €20M per film, €10M per episode; minimum €1M (€200k animation). | No | 31% | [1][2][3] |
| Navarre (foreign productions) | Refundable tax credit | 35% of expenditure in Navarre | — | Domestic productions: max deduction €5M (40% enhanced on first €1M). | No | [1] | ||
| Spain — Canary Islands | Canary Islands tax rebate (foreign productions) | Refundable tax credit | 50% on the first €1M, 45% above (54% on the first €1M above ~€1.8–1.9M Canarian spend) | — | €36M per film, €18M per episode; minimum €1M (€200k animation). | No | 31% | [1][2][3] |
| Portugal | SCRI.PT — medium-budget track (2026–2029) | Cash rebate | 30% (40% in low-density territories / autonomous regions) | Post-production-only projects had their own €200k threshold under the former Pic Portugal rebate | €1M per work; minimum €500k fiction / €200k documentary. | Yes | 23.75% | [1][2][3] |
| SCRI.PT — large-scale track | Cash rebate | 30% on the first €2M, 25% above; minimum €2.5M spend in Portugal | — | €6M per work, €3M per episode. | Yes | [1][2] | ||
| Netherlands | Netherlands Film Production Incentive | Cash rebate | Up to 35% of qualifying Dutch production costs | — | Max €3M per year per applicant; 2026 budget €20M in four rounds (last deadline 26 Oct 2026). | Yes | 19% | [1] |
| Luxembourg | Film Fund Luxembourg — selective financial aid | Selective aid | Selective aid (no automatic rate): amount decided by committee | — | Not computed: enter an assumed rate in the assumptions panel if you have a commitment. | Yes | 15.1% | [1][2] |
| Czech Republic | Czech production incentive | Cash rebate | 25% of eligible Czech costs (35% animation / digital); 66% of withholding tax on foreign cast & crew | — | Eligible costs up to CZK 450M per project; minimum CZK 18M (feature), CZK 5M (animation). | Yes | 33.8% | [1] |
| Hungary | Hungarian film tax rebate | Cash rebate | 30% of Hungarian spend; up to 37.5% when certain non-Hungarian costs are included | — | No published project cap; temporary registration cap lifted from 1 July 2026; administration fee up to 2.5% (not deducted here). | Yes | 13% | [1][2][3] |
| Poland | PISF cash rebate | Cash rebate | 30% of eligible Polish costs | Post-production is an eligible cost type | PLN 15M per project; PLN 20M per applicant per year. | Yes | 20.48% | [1][2] |
| Croatia | HAVC production incentive | Cash rebate | 25% of qualifying Croatian spend (+5% in less-developed regions) | Post-production-only applications accepted from €60k | Minimum €250k (feature), €100k per episode, €60k (post-production only). | Yes | 16.5% | [1] |
| Greece | EKKOMED cash rebate (Law 5105/2024) | Cash rebate | 40% of eligible Greek production costs | Editing, VFX and sound editing are eligible costs; post companies (NACE 59.12) can apply | €8M per work (€10M strategic projects); minimum €200k (fiction). | Yes | 21.79% | [1][2] |
| Malta | Malta Film Commission cash rebate | Cash rebate | 30% (up to 40% with bonuses); animation/VFX 25% (+ up to 15% for animation) | VFX/animation spend: 25% base | No overall cap identified. | Yes | 10% | [1][2][3] |
| Iceland | Reimbursement — standard | Cash rebate | 25% of Icelandic production costs | Icelandic post-production costs are eligible | No cap. Legislation valid to 31 Dec 2028. | No | 17.85% | [1] |
| Reimbursement — large projects (35%) | Cash rebate | 35% if ≥ ISK 350M in Iceland, 30 working days (10 shooting) and 50 crew | — | No cap. | No | [1] | ||
| Norway | Norwegian Film Production Incentive | Cash rebate | Up to 25% of approved Norwegian costs (allocated by ranking) | Covers animation, studio productions and post-production | Annual frame allocated by ranking; not automatic. | Yes | 16.1% | [1] |
| Romania | OFIC cash rebate | Cash rebate | 30% of eligible Romanian spend | — | €10M per project; agreements through 31 Dec 2029. | Yes | 2.25% | [1] |
| Canada — Quebec | Quebec PSTC + federal PSTC (service productions) | Refundable tax credit | Quebec 25% of all Quebec production costs + 16% on VFX/animation labour; federal 16% of Canadian labour | +16% Quebec bonus on VFX/CGI labour (service contracts capped at 65%, i.e. 26.65% effective on VFX service contracts) | No cap on the basic Quebec rate. | No | 13% | [1][2] |
| Canada — Ontario | OPSTC + OCASE + federal PSTC | Refundable tax credit | 21.5% of qualifying Ontario spend + 18% OCASE on VFX/animation labour + federal 16% labour | OCASE: 18% of eligible Ontario labour for digital animation and VFX, stackable with OPSTC | Location fees capped at 5% of qualifying spend. | No | 10.2% | [1][2][3] |
| Canada — British Columbia | BC PSTC + DAVE + federal PSTC | Refundable tax credit | 36% of BC labour (since 2025) + 16% DAVE on VFX/animation/post labour + federal 16% | DAVE: 16% of BC labour for digital animation, VFX and post-production | No minimum budget stated; CAD 19,000 certification fee from March 2026. | No | 10.2% | [1][2] |
| USA — Georgia | Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act | Transferable tax credit | 20% + 10% Georgia logo uplift = 30% | Post spent in Georgia on a Georgia-produced project counts at the same rate | No per-project cap. | No | 10% | [1] |
| Georgia postproduction credit (H.B. 129, from 2026) | Transferable tax credit | 20% of Georgia postproduction spend (+10% if shot in Georgia, +5% rural) | 20% base for Georgia post companies | Program cap $10M over five years, first come first served. Source dated April 2025 (bill awaiting signature): confirm status. | No | [1] | ||
| USA — New Mexico | New Mexico film production tax credit | Refundable tax credit | 25% base, up to 40% with uplifts (TV, rural, facility) | Standalone post-production qualifies (forms filed before services start) | Annual funding $150M (FY27). Source shows conflicting banners: confirm with the NM Film Office. | No | 10% | [1][2] |
| USA — New York | Empire State film production credit | Refundable tax credit | 30% of qualified NYS production costs (+10% upstate labour) | Post-production credit: 30%, 35% upstate (outside the MCTD) | No per-project cap; $700M per year program. | No | 10% | [1] |
| NY post-production credit | Refundable tax credit | 30% (35% upstate) of qualified NY post costs | VFX/animation threshold: ≥ 20% of total VFX or ≥ $3M in NY; other post ≥ 75% in NY | Up to $45M per year reserved for post. | No | [1] | ||
| USA — California | California Program 4.0 | Refundable tax credit | 35% of qualified expenditures (+5% VFX, +5% out-of-zone, +10% local hire on the relevant spend) | +5% VFX uplift if CA VFX ≥ 75% of worldwide VFX or ≥ $10M | Features: first $120M of qualified spend (indies: first $20M). $750M per year to June 2030. | No | 10% | [1][2] |
| USA — Louisiana | Louisiana motion picture production tax credit | Transferable tax credit | 25% base, up to 40% (+15% resident payroll, +10% LA screenplay, +5% outside New Orleans, +5% VFX) | +5% on qualified VFX spend | Program cap $125M per fiscal year from July 2025; no per-project cap. | No | 10% | [1][2] |
| Mexico | Federal film & audiovisual tax credit (Feb 2026) | Transferable tax credit | Up to 30% of costs incurred in Mexico | Post-production is an eligible stage; VFX/post-intensive projects included | Credit ≤ 40,000,000 (MXN assumed) per production. Technical guidelines were pending at publication. | No | 25% | [1][2] |
| Australia | Location Offset | Refundable tax offset | 30% of qualifying Australian production expenditure (QAPE) | PDV Offset (30%) is the post-only route | No cap. Offsets are mutually exclusive. | No | 12% | [1][2] |
| PDV Offset (post, digital & VFX) | Refundable tax offset | 30% of QAPE relating to post, digital and VFX work | 30% on PDV spend in Australia | No cap. Queensland's state PDV rebate cut to 10% from 4 Sep 2026. | No | [1][2] | ||
| Producer Offset (Australian content) | Refundable tax offset | 40% for cinema features, 30% for other formats | — | No cap. | Yes | [1] | ||
| New Zealand | NZSPG — International | Cash rebate | 20% of QNZPE (+5% uplift with points test) | PDV route from NZ$250k; PDV 5% uplift available since 1 Jan 2026 | No cap for international productions. | No | 4.5% | [1][2] |
| NZ Screen Production Rebate — NZ productions | Cash rebate | 40% for New Zealand productions (capped spend) | — | Applies to up to NZ$30M of spend. | Yes | [1] | ||
| Japan | Location incentive (JLOX+ / IP360) — selective | Cash grant | 50% of eligible Japanese spend, selected by committee | — | ¥1bn under JLOX+R6 (¥1.5bn under IP360 Menu 4). 2026 calls closed. | Yes | 16.44% | [1][2] |
| South Korea | KOFIC location incentive | Cash rebate | Up to 25% (KOFIC); regional film commissions up to 30% | — | Minimum spend and caps not published in the sources checked. | No | 10.35% | [1][2] |
| South Africa | Foreign film & TV production incentive | Cash rebate | 25% of QSAPE (+5% if post is also done in SA with a black-owned service company) | See the post-production variant | ZAR 25M cap. Payment delays widely reported. | No | 2% | [1] |
| Foreign post-production incentive | Cash rebate | 25% of QSAPPE; +2.5% from ZAR 10M, +5% from ZAR 15M of SA post spend | 25–30% on SA post-production spend | No cap listed for post (top-ups assumed not to stack). | No | [1] | ||
| Morocco | CCM cash rebate (foreign productions) | Cash rebate | 30% of eligible Moroccan spend | — | Sources disagree on a project cap; 5% bank guarantee required. | No | 21.09% | [1][2][3] |
| Colombia | FFC cash rebate (Law 1556) | Cash rebate | 40% of audiovisual services, 20% of logistics (hotels, catering, transport) | Post only if the project received FFC production support the year before | COP 3.34bn per project (2026); check remaining fund balance. | No | 20.5% | [1][2] |
| CINA transferable tax certificate | Transferable tax credit | 35% of audiovisual and logistics spend | Post-production eligible from 360 minimum wages (COP 630M, 2026) | No per-project cap stated; annual allocation COP 350bn (2026). | No | [1][2] |
How the calculation works
- Fully loaded labour: each gross salary entered (salaried ATL, crew, post) is multiplied by (1 + that country's employer contribution rate). Employer contributions are eligible spend in most schemes, so they raise both the cost and the incentive.
- Base: depending on the scheme, all local spend (France, Belgium, Quebec 25%, Georgia…), labour only (Canadian federal credit, British Columbia) or a subset (UK VFX, Ontario OCASE). Qualifying-spend caps (80% of budget in the UK, France, Ireland…) and incentive caps are applied.
- Net incentive: a taxable credit (UK AVEC) or a transferable one (Georgia, Louisiana, CINA) is not worth its face value; the haircut is editable. The Belgian Tax Shelter is already expressed net.
- Post-only mode: shoot-only schemes are flagged as not available and post-specific thresholds (Croatia €60k, South Africa ZAR 1.5M, Australian PDV A$500k…) are used where they exist.
- Not modelled: per-person caps, public-aid intensity limits (50%, 80%), regional or thematic bonuses, application fees and payment delays. The result is an order of magnitude for comparing territories, not a finance plan.
Missing or unconfirmed data
- Day rates: only France (2026 collective-agreement minima) and the USA (Local 700 minimums) are sourced; no reliable public grid for VFX artists or mixers in most countries.
- Luxembourg (selective aid), South Korea (minimum and caps not published), Japan (2026 calls closed), Germany (2026 intake closed, 2027 reform) and New Mexico (conflicting statements) need direct checking.
- Employer rates for Canada, Iceland, Norway and Mexico are estimates built from their components.
All sources by territory
- CNC — article 220 sexies CGI (text page)
- Assemblée nationale — amendment CF1218 to the 2026 Finance Bill (describes current 20/25/30% rates; rejected)
- Sénat — amendment I-16, PLF 2026 (rejected)
- CNC — The Tax Rebate for International Productions (TRIP)
- CNC — VFX bonus to 40% (2020)
- Trading Economics — social security rate for companies (Dec 2026 series)
- CountryTaxCalc — employer payroll tax rates by country 2026
- Travail-Industrie — IDCC 3097 technicians grid 2026 (in force 1 May 2026)
- Légifrance — salary grid annex, IDCC 3097
- FFA — German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), 30% since 2025
- Greenberg Traurig — draft 2027 federal guidelines (May 2026)
- NeedAFixer — Film tax incentives by country, 2026 (secondary, updated 17 Sep 2026)
- FFA — German Motion Picture Fund (GMPF)
- Trading Economics — social security rate for companies (Dec 2026 series)
- CountryTaxCalc — employer payroll tax rates by country 2026
- Spain Audiovisual Hub — tax incentives (EN)
- Camaleon Rental — Spain tax rebate 2026 (secondary)
- NeedAFixer — Film tax incentives by country, 2026 (secondary, updated 17 Sep 2026)
- Trading Economics — social security rate for companies (Dec 2026 series)
- CountryTaxCalc — employer payroll tax rates by country 2026
- Señal News — SCRI.PT opens applications (18 Jun 2026)
- Portugal Film Commission — cash rebate (Pic Portugal rules)
- NeedAFixer — Film tax incentives by country, 2026 (secondary, updated 17 Sep 2026)
- Trading Economics — social security rate for companies (Dec 2026 series)
- CountryTaxCalc — employer payroll tax rates by country 2026
- Georgia.org — Understanding the Georgia Film Tax Credit (2026)
- Arnall Golden Gregory — Georgia revives postproduction credits
- Trading Economics — social security rate for companies (Dec 2026 series)
- CountryTaxCalc — employer payroll tax rates by country 2026
- IATSE Local 700 (Editors Guild) 2025–26 minimums, via Topsheet
- CCM — foreign productions
- PULPSCREEN — CCM foreign production support (verified 5 Apr 2026)
- NeedAFixer — Film tax incentives by country, 2026 (secondary, updated 17 Sep 2026)
- Trading Economics — social security rate for companies (Dec 2026 series)
- CountryTaxCalc — employer payroll tax rates by country 2026
Related tools
About this tool
The film incentives comparator puts the main production and post-production incentives of 37 territories side by side: refundable tax credits (France, UK, Ireland, Canada), cash rebates (Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Colombia), grants (Germany), tax offsets (Australia) and the investor-funded Belgian Tax Shelter. You enter a budget split into above-the-line, shooting crew, post-production labour, VFX and other local spend, or a post-production-only budget, and the tool estimates for each selected country the qualifying spend, the gross and net incentive and the net cost after incentive. Labour is always computed fully loaded: gross salaries are multiplied by each country's employer social contribution rate, because that is what a producer actually pays and what most schemes count as eligible spend. Each scheme lists its type, headline rate, post or VFX rate, caps, minimum spend, cultural test and official sources, all checked in October 2026. Every rate, employer percentage, haircut and exchange rate can be overridden, and the comparison can be exported as CSV or JSON. It is an order-of-magnitude tool for choosing where to place a shoot or a post-production job, not tax advice.
How to use it
- Choose a full production budget or a post-production-only budget, and your working currency.
- Enter the budget lines; labour lines are gross salaries by default, or switch to already loaded costs.
- Optionally switch post labour to days per role to use each country's sourced day rates.
- Select the countries and regions to compare, then read the ranking, bar chart and table by net cost.
- Click a country to see the scheme details and sources, pick another scheme and override any rate.
- Copy the summary or download the comparison as CSV or JSON.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the tool add employer social contributions to salaries?
Because the real cost of a crew member is the gross salary plus the employer contributions, and those contributions vary hugely: about 45% in France, 27% in Belgium, 18% in the UK including the minimum pension, around 10% in the US before union fringes and 2% in South Africa. Most incentives (French crédit d'impôt, TRIP, UK AVEC, Section 481) include these contributions in eligible spend, so they raise both the cost and the incentive. Comparing countries on gross salaries alone would hide this.
What is the difference between gross and net incentive?
The gross incentive is the headline rate applied to qualifying spend after caps. The net incentive is what the production actually keeps: the UK expenditure credit is taxable at 25% corporation tax, so 34% gross is about 25.5% net, and transferable credits such as Georgia or Louisiana are sold below face value, typically 88 to 92 cents per dollar. The Belgian Tax Shelter figure (38-40% of eligible Belgian spend) is already a net market estimate.
Can a post-production or VFX job alone benefit from an incentive?
Sometimes. Post-only routes exist in Australia (PDV Offset, 30%), New Zealand (PDV from NZ$250k), Croatia (from €60k), South Africa (post incentive from ZAR 1.5M), New York (post credit 30%, 35% upstate), Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia, Ireland's VFX uplift and Italy, among others. France's TRIP requires five shooting days for live action, and many rebates set their minimum on the whole production. Switch to post-production-only mode to see which schemes remain.
Why is the effective rate lower than the headline rate?
Several mechanisms reduce it: a cap on qualifying spend (80% of the budget in France, the UK or Ireland), labour-only bases (British Columbia and the Canadian federal credit), tiers (Spain pays 30% on the first million and 25% above), non-qualifying above-the-line costs (California), per-project caps and the haircut on taxable or transferable credits. The tool shows the effective rate as net incentive divided by the fully loaded local cost.
How reliable are the figures?
Rates come from film commissions, ministries and official guidelines where available, with dated secondary sources where official pages could not be read, and were checked on 24 October 2026. They remain indicative: schemes change with each budget, annual allocations run out (Germany's 2026 intake closed in August) and eligibility depends on cultural tests and audits. Always confirm with the film commission and a local accountant.
Calculation method and sources
For each territory, converts the budget to loaded local cost, builds the qualifying base defined by the scheme, applies its rate, tiers, conditions and caps, then deducts any financing discount to get the net incentive and net cost.
- Loaded labour (when gross salaries are entered)
loaded = gross × (1 + employer rate of the country)- Qualifying base
base = sum of eligible categories (all, labour, post + VFX…), with VFX labour = VFX × labour share ; base ≤ cap % × total budget and ≤ base cap- Gross incentive
gross = Σ base × rate, with tiered bands, VFX thresholds or rate by spend level when the scheme has them ; gross ≤ incentive cap- Net incentive and net cost
net = gross × (1 − haircut) ; net cost = total cost − net ; effective rate = net / total cost- Currency
local amount = base amount / FX(base) × FX(local)
- Rates, caps and minimums come from each scheme's official or film-commission source, checked on the date shown on the page. Rules change often.
- Cultural tests, annual allocations, regional spend obligations and per-person caps are not modelled; the user sets the qualifying ATL share.
- Selective funds have no fixed rate; the user enters an assumed rate.
- Haircut is the cost of cashing a transferable or deferred credit (broker discount, financing).
- Employer rates are statutory approximations and differ for specific contracts (for example French intermittents).