What India actually pays
A cash payment back on qualified spend, usually after an audit. Like a grant in practice, though often funded from a capped pool.
New to the mechanics? Tax credit vs rebate vs grant and What counts as qualified spend.
What qualifies
30% base reimbursement on QPE incurred in India. +5% bonus for employing at least 15% Indian labor. +5% bonus for Significant Indian Content (>=25% of total budget spent in India AND at least one of three lead characters Indian/played by an Indian). Combined max 40%. Per-project payout capped at INR 300 million (~USD 3.6M). Only India-incurred costs qualify; international travel, marketing and overhead excluded.
- Animation
- Commercial
- Documentary
- Music Video
- Scripted TV
- Feature Film
Other state programs
Separate incentives India runs alongside the headline program. Each has its own base, rules and application — the rates here are the programs' own, not additions to the rate above.
- 30%–35%
Rajasthan Film Policy 2025 Subsidy
+5% of COP in Rajasthan (capped, by format) where 100% of shooting is done in Rajasthan
Minimum spend: INR 2 crore COP in Rajasthan for feature films (1 crore for Rajasthani-language features); INR 1 crore for web series, TV serials and songs
Grants & funds
Grant funds and fellowships available to productions here, including national programs. Awarded competitively rather than earned on spend.
- 30%
Incentive Scheme for Audio-Visual Co-Production (Official Co-Productions)
How to apply
Foreign production engages an Indian Production Services Company, which applies to India Cine Hub (FFO) under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting via the online portal. Provisional certificate issued; final incentive disbursed after wrap on audited Qualifying Production Expenditure (QPE). Digital disbursement introduced 2024-25.
The rule to remember
Up to 40% of Indian spend (30% base, +5% for 15%+ Indian crew, +5% for significant Indian content), capped at INR 30 crore per project. Get interim approval through India Cine Hub before you spend — projects without it cannot claim.
Common questions
- What is the India film tax incentive rate?
- India offers 30% to 40% on qualified in-state spend through the Incentives for Shooting of Foreign Films in India. It is a rebate. A cash payment back on qualified spend, usually after an audit. Like a grant in practice, though often funded from a capped pool.
- What is the minimum spend for the India film incentive?
- INR 3 crore (INR 30M) QPE live shoot; nil for documentaries; INR 1 crore (INR 10M) for pure animation / post-production / VFX projects. 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 India 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.
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%.
British Columbia
40%Refundable creditBelgium
38%up to 40%Non-transferable creditCalifornia
35%up to 40%Refundable creditChile
30%up to 40%Cash grant
STAY CURRENT
Tracking changes to this program?
We re-verify India 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.