Italy film tax incentive

What Italy 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

40% tax credit on eligible costs spent on Italian territory (international/executive-production route), with a reduced 30% on above-the-line costs of non-EEA subjects. Minimum eligible spend EUR 250K; eligible costs cannot exceed 75% of total budget (EU-country spend counts up to 1/6 of that 75%). Mandatory cultural eligibility test (Table A). Credit is offset against Italian taxes via F24 and may be sold to banks/intermediaries. Annual ceiling EUR 20M per company/group; the national-production credit is not counted toward that ceiling. AI spend excluded under the 2024 decree.

• Animation
• Miniseries
• Documentary
• Scripted TV
• Feature Film
• Post-Production
• Streaming / SVOD

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.

• Apulia Film Fund 2026

  The grant is a percentage of eligible spend incurred in Puglia only: payroll of Puglia-resident crew registered in the Apulia Film Commission Production Guide, and services, rentals, locations, permits and lodging from suppliers tax-resident in Puglia. 35% standard; 40% for cross-border productions financed by more than one EU member state; 60% for difficult works or co-productions with OECD DAC countries. [basis: specific-spend]

  Minimum spend: Minimum grant by category: fiction feature EUR 80,000; TV and web fiction EUR 250,000; documentary EUR 40,000; animation EUR 300,000; short EUR 10,000. At least 30% of shooting days in Puglia (animation: at least 20% of storyboard, animation or lighting, rendering, compositing work in Puglia).

  35%–60%

• Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Fund

  The grant is a percentage of the budgeted spend in Friuli Venezia Giulia with suppliers and workers domiciled or tax-resident in the region, set by the evaluation score. Fiction features and series (fiction or documentary): 30% at 90 points or more, 25% at 81 to 89, 20% at 75 to 80. Documentaries and shorts: 40% at 86 points or more, 25% at 75 to 85. [basis: specific-spend]

  Minimum spend: N/A

  20%–40%

Grants & funds

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

• Production Tax Credit for Italian Producers (Article 15, Law 220/2016)

  Rates apply to the Italian producer's eligible production cost (its own share in a co-production). Films by independent producers: 40%, stepping down to 35% on eligible cost between EUR 5,000,000 and EUR 10,000,000 and 30% above EUR 10,000,000 for high-capacity companies. Television and web works: 25%, raised to 35% for international co-productions that are not purely financial or with at least 30% international financing. Non-independent and non-European companies: 30% on films of Italian nationality. [basis: qualified-spend]

  Minimum spend: Not established at source for this record

  25%–40%

How to apply

The Italian executive producer files through the DGCA online platform (DGCOL) during the annual session set by director's decree: either a preventive request before work starts followed by a definitive request, or a definitive request only, filed within 180 days of the end of work. The work must pass the Table A cultural eligibility test (50 of 100 points) and the definitive request needs an auditor's cost certification. With a preventive request 70% of the credit (40% on request) can be used on approval and the rest on definitive approval; a definitive-only request releases 100%. The approved credit is offset against Italian taxes via form F24 or assigned to supervised banks, financial or insurance intermediaries.

Common questions

What is the Italy film tax incentive rate?

Italy offers 40% on qualified in-state spend through the Tax Credit for Foreign Productions (Article 19, Law 220/2016). 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 Italy film incentive?

EUR 250,000 of eligible cost in Italy. 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 Italy?

Yes — Apulia Film Fund 2026, Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Fund. 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 Italy 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.