Who

Watch cana claim

Yourvideo companyabout canhow claimCreative AnimationIndustry Tax Reliefreliefs on an animation programme if:work.

• the programme is certified as British by the British Film Institute
• the programme is intended for broadcast — this includes streaming online
• at least 51% of the ‘core costs’ on animation
• at least 10% of the ‘core costs’ relate to activities in the UK

CoreWhat costs are what’sCreative beenIndustry spentTax onReliefs pre-production,and principalhow photographydo andthey post-production.work?

Who can claim

Your company must be responsible for:

• pre-production
• principal photography
• post-production
• delivery of the completed programme

Your company must also:

• be actively engaged in planning and decision-making
• directly negotiate, contract and pay for rights, goods and services

Animation programmes commissioned together are treattreated as one programme.

Check if your company qualifies as the production company before claiming the relief.

Cultural test

To qualify for creative industry tax reliefs, all animation television programmes must be certified as British.British. They must pass a cultural test or qualify through an internationally agreed co-production treaty.

The British Film Institute manages certification and qualification on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The British Film Institute will issue:

• an interim certificate for uncompleted work
• a final certificate where production has finished

You can find more information about certification oncertification and applying on the British Film Institute website.website.

WhoCheck cannotif claimthe animation qualifies for the tax relief

Your company can claim the relief on an animation programme if:

• the programme is certified as British by the British Film Institute
• the programme is intended for broadcast — this includes streaming online
• at least 51% of the ‘core costs’ are spent on animation
• at least 10% of the ‘core costs’ relate to activities in the UK
• it started principal photography on or before 31 March 2025

Core costs are what’s been spent on pre-production, principal photography and post-production.

Your company cannot claim the relief if the programme:

• is an advertisement or promotional programme
• is a news, current affairs or discussion programme
• is a quiz or game show, panel show, variety show, or similar programme
• consists of, or includes an element of, competition or contest
• is produced for training purposes

You can check if the animation qualifies for the relief.

What you can claim

You can claim an additional deduction to reduce your profits or to increase a loss. This reduces the amount of any Corporation Tax you need to pay. If you make a loss, some or all of this loss can be surrendered for a payable tax credit at a rate of 25%.

The additional deduction will be the lower of either:

• 80% of total core expenditurecosts
• the amount of UK core expenditurecosts

If you make a loss, some or all of this loss can be surrendered for a payable tax credit at a rate of 25%.

When you can claim

You may make, amend or withdraw a claim tofor Animation Tax ReliefsRelief up to one year after the company’s filing date.

HMRC may agree to accept late claims in some circumstances.

How to claim

YouWatch cana video about how to claim Creative Industry Tax relief.

How to make a claim for Creative Industries Tax Relief.

Claim the tax relief on your Company Tax Return.

From April 2025, you must include the CT600P creative industries supplementary page with your return.

You will need to calculate the amount of:

• additional deduction due to your company
• any payable credit due

For each production you must provide:

• a British cultural certificate from the British Film Institute –— if you send an interim certificatecertificate, is provided, you must send in the final certificate when the programme is complete and the certificate must be in date when you submit it
• statements of the amount of core costs, split by UK and non-UK costs
• a breakdown of costs by category

Closure of Animation Tax Relief Relief from — from 1 April 2027

You cannot claim Animation Tax Relief willfor beany closedproductions tothat start principal photography after 31 March 2025.

The relief will close for all productions from 1 April 2027.

You may be able to continueclaim toan receive relief under the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit scheme. 

You cannot claim Animation Tax Relief for any productions that doyou notcannot start principal photography by 31 March 2025. You may be able to claim anAnimation Audio-VisualTax ExpenditureRelief Credit instead.for.

FurtherGet more information

You can find detailedmore guidanceinformation, for animation production companies, including examples of how the relief is calculated, in the Animation Production Company Manual.