What is the Switzerland film tax incentive rate?

Switzerland offers 20% to 50% on qualified in-state spend through the FiSS (Swiss Film Location Promotion). 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.

Is the Switzerland film incentive transferable or refundable?

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

RebateHuman verified· 2026-09-30Active

Switzerland film tax incentive

FiSS (Swiss Film Location Promotion)

Headline rate

20%up to 50%

Minimum spend

Eligible costs of at least CHF 1,200,000 (feature or animation, majority co-production), CHF 300,000 (feature or animation, minority co-production), CHF 250,000 (documentary, majority) or CHF 150,000 (documentary, minority). Features need at least 5 shooting days in Switzerland, waivable if at least CHF 150,000 more is spent on Swiss personnel at a foreign shoot.

What Switzerland 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.

How to apply

The Swiss production company applies to the Federal Office of Culture once 75% of total financing is secured and before the costs are incurred, since only costs after the application count. There are no deadlines; submissions are moving from the FPF platform to the federal eSubventions portal from June 2026. The settlement must be audited externally and filed by September 30 to count in the current year.

The rule to remember

Only a Swiss production company can apply, for a Swiss film or recognized co-production; series and films first released on television are excluded, and only 80% of the award is guaranteed.

Film commissions in Switzerland

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

Common questions

What is the Switzerland film tax incentive rate?: Switzerland offers 20% to 50% on qualified in-state spend through the FiSS (Swiss Film Location Promotion). 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 Switzerland film incentive?: Eligible costs of at least CHF 1,200,000 (feature or animation, majority co-production), CHF 300,000 (feature or animation, minority co-production), CHF 250,000 (documentary, majority) or CHF 150,000 (documentary, minority). Features need at least 5 shooting days in Switzerland, waivable if at least CHF 150,000 more is spent on Swiss personnel at a foreign shoot.. 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 Switzerland 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.

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What could Switzerland 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 Switzerland 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.