Czech Republic film tax incentive

What Czech Republic actually pays

The state pays cash against qualified spend. No tax liability needed, no broker, no discount — the cleanest structure for an independent production.

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

What qualifies

Cash rebate of 25% of eligible Czech costs (35% for animation and digital production without live action). 66% of withholding tax paid in CZ on foreign cast/crew is also eligible. Min spend: feature CZK 18M; fiction series CZK 7.5M/ep; animation CZK 5M; documentary CZK 2.5M. Eligible-cost base capped at 80% of total budget; total state aid may not exceed 50% of total budget. Per-project rebate cap CZK 450M. Administered by Czech Audiovisual Fund (formerly State Cinematography Fund).

• Animation
• Documentary
• Scripted TV
• Feature Film
• Post-Production
• Video Game / Interactive

How to apply

The applicant must be a Czech tax resident, or an EU/EEA tax resident with a permanent establishment in the Czech Republic; it can be the producer, a co-producer or the service company, but not a broadcaster, VOD provider or company affiliated with one. File the application for registration of the incentive project with the Czech Audiovisual Fund before production starts in the Czech Republic, with the cultural test and required attachments, and pay the CZK 60,000 administrative fee. Work must start within 6 months of the registration decision, and live-action projects must complete 10 Czech shooting days within the following 3 months. Once a decision stating the incentive amount has been issued and production is complete, file the incentive application with an auditor's report, generally within 3 years of the registration decision; payment follows within 60 days of approval. Combined public aid may not exceed 50% of the budget (60% for cross-border productions, 90% for difficult works).

Common questions

What is the Czech Republic film tax incentive rate?

Czech Republic offers 25% to 35% on qualified in-state spend through the Film Incentive (Cash Rebate). It is a cash grant. The state pays cash against qualified spend. No tax liability needed, no broker, no discount — the cleanest structure for an independent production.

What is the minimum spend for the Czech Republic film incentive?

Eligible Czech costs excluding VAT: live-action work (60+ min) CZK 18M; documentary (60+ min) CZK 2.5M; animated work (60+ min) CZK 5M; live-action series CZK 7.5M per episode (episodes 20+ min, average per episode); documentary series CZK 2.5M per episode (episodes 20+ min, average per episode); animated series CZK 5M for the whole project (episodes 5+ min); projects without live-action shooting CZK 5M. 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.

Is the Czech Republic film incentive transferable or refundable?

Refundable — the excess over your state tax liability is paid out in cash.

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.