What is the Denmark film tax incentive rate?

Denmark offers 25% on qualified in-state spend through the Danish Production Incentive Scheme. 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.

Is the Denmark film incentive transferable or refundable?

Neither transferable nor refundable, which limits its value to productions with in-state tax liability.

Cash grantHuman verified· 2026-09-30Active

Denmark film tax incentive

Danish Production Incentive Scheme

Headline rate

25%

Minimum spend

Eligible costs in Denmark of at least DKK 3 million (feature films, fiction series, animation) or DKK 1 million (documentaries). Minimum total budgets: DKK 25 million (feature film), DKK 150,000 per minute and DKK 15 million per season (fiction series), DKK 4 million (documentary), DKK 6.5 million (animation).

What Denmark 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

Meet minimum total-budget and Danish-local-spend thresholds for the format; pass the cultural/production points test; secure ≥70% financing (≥25% foreign) before applying. Competitive against a fixed budget pool.

Animation
Documentary
Scripted TV
Feature Film
Streaming / SVOD

How to apply

Apply through the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces grant portal by a round deadline (24 September 2026, 14:00; the first 2027 round is expected to close 8 April 2027). At application, 60% of total financing must be confirmed and at least 25% of the total budget must come from a foreign financing source, and the lead producer must have produced at least one widely distributed title. Eligible applicants are independent lead producers, co-producers or production service companies not majority-controlled by a broadcaster or streamer. Decisions follow about six weeks after the deadline. 70% of the grant is paid after the commitment and receipt of the auditor-endorsed financing plan, and 30% after reporting is approved. A commitment is valid 12 months, with one extension.

The rule to remember

Competitive, not automatic: applications are ranked one third each on eligible Danish spend, total budget and production and cultural test score against a fixed pool per round, and the recipient must have a permanent place of business in Denmark when paid.

Common questions

What is the Denmark film tax incentive rate?: Denmark offers 25% on qualified in-state spend through the Danish Production Incentive Scheme. 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 Denmark film incentive?: Eligible costs in Denmark of at least DKK 3 million (feature films, fiction series, animation) or DKK 1 million (documentaries). Minimum total budgets: DKK 25 million (feature film), DKK 150,000 per minute and DKK 15 million per season (fiction series), DKK 4 million (documentary), DKK 6.5 million (animation).. 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 Denmark film incentive transferable or refundable?: Neither transferable nor refundable, which limits its value to productions with in-state tax liability.

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.

At a glance

Program: Danish Production Incentive Scheme
Mechanism: Cash grant
Rate: 25%
Minimum spend: Eligible costs in Denmark of at least DKK 3 million (feature films, fiction series, animation) or DKK 1 million (documentaries). Minimum total budgets: DKK 25 million (feature film), DKK 150,000 per minute and DKK 15 million per season (fiction series), DKK 4 million (documentary), DKK 6.5 million (animation).
Annual cap: DKK 125 million per year: DKK 100 million for feature films, fiction series and documentaries, and DKK 25 million for animation, each split across two application rounds, with unused funds able to roll into later rounds. The next round is expected to close 8 April 2027.
Per-project cap: DKK 20 million per production.
Compensation cap: None stated.
Transferable: No
Stackable: Yes
Application lead time: Two annual rounds; apply ahead of the round deadline (Round 1 ~April, Round 2 ~September)

Sources

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What could Denmark 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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Tracking changes to this program?

We re-verify Denmark 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.