UK film tax relief claims not back to pre-pandemic levels

The amount of film tax relief (FTR) paid out in the UK rose by 6% year-on-year in the financial year ending March 31 2023, although it did not return to pre-pandemic levels, according to statistics released today (August 29) by the UK’s tax, payments and customs authority, HMRC. 

There were 895 claims made for FTR in the 2022-23 financial year (April 2022-23) totalling £553m of relief, an increase from £520m in the previous year. Prior to the Covid-19 impacted 2020-2021 financial year, the number of claims had increased steadily year-on-year. 

In 2019-20, 950 claims were made, with £627m of relief paid.

According to HMRC, the number of claims has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, in part due to the recent increase in the number of films produced for streaming services, which usually claim high-end TV (HETV) relief rather than FTR.

Of all claims made in 2022-2023, 63% were for £100,000 or less. The proportion is similar (65%) to the previous year. Despite only 3% of claims in 2022-2023 being for over £5m, these accounted for 65% of the total amount paid.

Films in production in the UK across 2022-23 included Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Sam Taylor Johnson’s Back To Black.

Since FTR was introduced in 2007, companies have made claims for 5,230 films and £5.9bn has been paid out.

HMRC’s 2022-23 statistics relate to the claims for film and TV at a 25% rate of relief, which has since been reformed. The Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) was introduced in early 2024, which equates to a small uplift in relief, to around 25.5%.

From April 2025, film productions budgeted under £15m can opt-in for an enhanced AVEC at a rate of 53% on their qualifying expenditure, which equates to around 40% in relief, under the Independent Film Tax Relief (IFTR).

These statistics also do not cover the strike-impacted summer of 2023, which saw the production pipeline dry up owing to the Hollywood strikes, and will be reflected in the 2023-24 statistics, issued in the summer of 2025. 

HETV

There were 615 claims made for HETV relief in the 2022-2023 financial year, totalling £1.1bn of relief paid out. This is an increase of 13% from the previous year, driven by both an increase in high-budget TV production, and an increase in feature-length films created for streaming services, which claim HETV instead of FTR. High-end TV productions to shoot in the UK in this period included the sixth season of The Crown and season two of The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power.

In 2022-2023, 38% of claims were for £250,000 or less – however, these only accounted for 2% of the total amount paid. High-value claims (over £2m) accounted for more than three-quarters of the total amount paid.

Apart from a drop in the pandemic 2020-21 period, the number of claims for high-end TV has continued to steadily grow since the relief was introduced in 2013. A total number of claims have been made for 1,375 programmes with £3.97bn of relief paid out.

A total of £2.2bn of relief was paid out in relation to the 2022-2023 financial year, across all the creative industries tax reliefs, which includes film, high-end TV, animation, children’s TV, video games, theatre, orchestra and museums and galleries exhibition relief.

This is an increase from £1.9bn in relation to the 2021-2022 financial year. This increase, says HMRC, was mainly driven by rises in the amount of HETV tax relief and theatre tax relief paid.