What is the Colombia film tax incentive rate?

Colombia offers 35% on qualified in-state spend through the CINA Audiovisual Investment Certificate (Law 1556). It is a transferable credit. A credit you can sell to a company that owes tax in the state. You rarely get face value — expect a broker discount — so model the net, not the headline.

What is the minimum spend for the Colombia film incentive?

1,800 SMLMV (COP 3,151,629,000 at the 2026 minimum wage). Falling under the minimum is a total loss of the benefit, not a partial one — it is worth confirming the threshold before locking a budget.

Are there city or county film incentives in Colombia?

Yes — Medellin Film and Audiovisual Incentive (ICAM) Cash Rebate. Local programs generally stack on top of the state incentive but define their own qualified spend, caps and rules, so their rates can't simply be added to the state percentage.

Is the Colombia film incentive transferable or refundable?

Transferable — the credit can be sold, typically below face value, so model the net rather than the headline rate.

Transferable creditHuman verified· 2026-09-30Active

Colombia film tax incentive

CINA Audiovisual Investment Certificate (Law 1556)

Headline rate

35%

Minimum spend

1,800 SMLMV (COP 3,151,629,000 at the 2026 minimum wage)

What Colombia actually pays

A credit you can sell to a company that owes tax in the state. You rarely get face value — expect a broker discount — so model the net, not the headline.

New to the mechanics? Tax credit vs rebate vs grant, Selling a transferable credit and What counts as qualified spend.

What qualifies

Transferable tax credit = 35% of eligible Colombian audiovisual + logistical spend (net ~33.25% after ~5% Film Commission fee). Min spend: features/series 1,800 SMLMV (~USD 641K); series also avg 450 SMLMV/ep unless total >=9,000 SMLMV; single music video 200 SMLMV; advertising 400 SMLMV; post-production 360 SMLMV; video games 1,215 SMLMV. Eligible production types include features, series, web/animated series, music videos, advertising, video games, and post-production projects.

Commercial
Documentary
Music Video
Scripted TV
Feature Film
Post-Production
Streaming / SVOD
Video Game / Interactive

City, county & regional programs

Local incentives that can stack on top of the state program — but each defines its own qualified spend, caps and residency rules, so their rates can't simply be added to the state percentage. Worth a call before you count on one.

Medellin Film and Audiovisual Incentive (ICAM) Cash Rebate
20% of eligible spend, before VAT, on goods and services contracted with suppliers domiciled in Medellin, incurred by the applying company itself within the 12 months before the application. Spend outside Medellin, with suppliers based elsewhere, or in the name of co-producers is not in the base. [basis: qualified-spend]
Minimum spend: Line 2 (Colombian companies producing or servicing national and international projects), before VAT, at the 2026 minimum wage (SMLMV COP 1,750,905): development 30 SMLMV (COP 52,527,150); production 300 SMLMV (COP 525,271,500); post-production and distribution 70 SMLMV (COP 122,563,350); international productions with development, production and post-production combined 1,200 SMLMV (COP 2,101,086,000). Several projects may be combined to reach a Line 2 minimum.
10%–20%

Grants & funds

Grant funds and fellowships available to productions here, including national programs. Awarded competitively rather than earned on spend.

FFC Colombia Film Fund Cash Rebate (Law 1556)
Two rates on two separate bases. 40% of spend in Colombia on film and audiovisual services: specialized artistic and technical pre-production, production and post-production services contracted with Colombian film services companies or Colombian individuals resident in Colombia. 20% of spend in Colombia on logistical services: hotel, food and transport. Other spend is not in either base. [basis: qualified-spend]
Minimum spend: $3151629K
20%–40%

How to apply

Engage a Colombian production or film services company (mandatory), which may file on the producer's behalf under a power of attorney. Apply year-round on the Colombia Film Commission platform with corporate documents, a confirmed financing plan, a monthly Colombian spend projection and the bid bond; review takes 4 to 8 weeks and the Colombia Film Promotion Committee usually meets monthly. After approval, sign the Filmacion Colombia contract within 20 days and open a trust with a Colombian fiduciary within 3 months; all eligible spend runs through the trust. Complete spend within 24 months (48 for animation), submit trust, external auditor and service company certifications, pay the 5% contribution, and the Ministry of Culture issues the certificate within 15 days of the compliance certification.

The rule to remember

A 35% certificate issued in the foreign producer's name and sold at a discount to Colombian income taxpayers through the stock market, not a cash payment. Costs come off the top: a bid bond of 2.2% of the eligible budget (capped at COP 140,072,400), a 5% contribution on the certificate's face value, and the sale discount. Open only to non-Colombian projects financed from abroad, and a project cannot also take the FFC cash rebate.

Film commissions in Colombia

4 public offices handle location support, permits, local crew and vendors here. Every one listed is a member of the Association of Film Commissioners International.

Bogota Film CommissionFilm commissionCarrera 3 #19 - 10, Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia
Cali Film CommissionFilm commissionCali, Valle del Cauca, 760050, Colombia
Colombian Film CommissionFilm commissionCalle 35 # 5 89, Bogotá
Medellin Film CommissionFilm commissionMedellin

Common questions

What is the Colombia film tax incentive rate?: Colombia offers 35% on qualified in-state spend through the CINA Audiovisual Investment Certificate (Law 1556). It is a transferable credit. A credit you can sell to a company that owes tax in the state. You rarely get face value — expect a broker discount — so model the net, not the headline.
What is the minimum spend for the Colombia film incentive?: 1,800 SMLMV (COP 3,151,629,000 at the 2026 minimum wage). Falling under the minimum is a total loss of the benefit, not a partial one — it is worth confirming the threshold before locking a budget.
Are there city or county film incentives in Colombia?: Yes — Medellin Film and Audiovisual Incentive (ICAM) Cash Rebate. Local programs generally stack on top of the state incentive but define their own qualified spend, caps and rules, so their rates can't simply be added to the state percentage.
Is the Colombia film incentive transferable or refundable?: Transferable — the credit can be sold, typically below face value, so model the net rather than the headline rate.

Verify before you budget. These figures come from our own incentives database and each shows when it was last reviewed — but programs change between funding cycles and legislative sessions. Confirm with the film office, or ask us, before a number goes into a budget.

QUICK CALCULATOR

What could Colombia be worth?

A first-pass estimate with the arithmetic shown, so you can check it rather than trust it. Switch states right here to test the same budget elsewhere, or line up to five states up side by side on the compare page.

Compare with

Programs in a similar rate band. The mechanism matters as much as the percentage — a transferable credit at 30% is not the same money as a cash grant at 30%.

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STAY CURRENT

Tracking changes to this program?

We re-verify Colombia against the film office and the statute, and write when something moves that would change a budget. One email, no cadence you didn't ask for.