Creative industry tax reliefs

Creative industry tax reliefs are the UK government tax incentives for the creative industries. There are eight tax reliefs spanning film, high-end television, children’s television, animation, video games, theatre, orchestral concerts, and museum or gallery exhibitions.

These tax reliefs are designed to help companies fund their creative projects. If your company makes a loss, you might still be able to claim tax credit from HMRC.

Your company might be eligible for creative industry tax reliefs if you’re responsible for producing (from start to finish):

• film and high-end television
• children’s television
• animation television
• video games
• theatrical productions
• orchestral concerts
• museum or gallery exhibitions.

To qualify for creative industry tax reliefs, films, television programmes or video games in particular must pass the British Film Institute’s Cultural Test and be certified as British. The BFI runs this test on behalf of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. 

You can find more information on the HMRC website under Creative industry tax reliefs.