Audiovisual tax credit: rates, expenses and CNC approval

The audiovisual tax credit (CGI art. 220 sexies) is a tax incentive reserved for delegated production companies making approved audiovisual works and subject to corporate income tax. It amounts to 25 % of eligible expenses incurred in France for fiction, animation and documentary, and 10 % for other works.

The scheme aims to keep and relocate the making of programmes in France: shooting, post-production, writing, technical work. It targets the delegated production company, namely the one that takes the financial, legal and artistic initiative and responsibility for the work and guarantees its completion. An executive production company or a mere service provider does not qualify in its own name.

In our practice, the audiovisual tax credit is rarely an isolated topic: it interacts with the financing plan, broadcaster contributions, CNC support and, where relevant, the international tax credit. It is this interaction, more than the rate itself, that wins or loses cash.

The rate depends on the genre of the work. Here is the reading we apply to the audiovisual credit.

The rate applies to the base of eligible expenses, not to the total budget of the work. A work may therefore show a large budget without the whole of it qualifying, which often surprises producers on a first project.

Territoriality is the heart of the scheme. The credit covers operations and services carried out in France, including:

• payments to authors within the meaning of article L113-7 of the intellectual property code, together with the related social contributions;
• the salaries and social contributions of technicians and production staff;
• production expenses (shooting, sets, costumes, equipment, post-production) incurred with providers established in France.

The underestimated risk almost always concerns the traceability of territoriality. An expense invoiced by a French provider but performed abroad, or a rough allocation of cost items, weakens the base. We recommend structuring analytical tracking from the start of the project, item by item, rather than rebuilding the base after the fact.

The credit requires approval from the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), granted in two stages, after selection by a panel of experts:

1. Provisional approval: it confirms the eligibility of the project upstream.
2. Final approval: it follows completion and the review of expenses.

A decisive point: expenses qualify for the credit only from the receipt of the provisional approval request by the president of the CNC. Incurring significant expenses before that filing effectively removes them from the base. It is the most costly mistake we see on poorly timed projects.

The tax credit does not combine without limit with other support. The total amount of public aid granted to an audiovisual production, including the tax credit, may not exceed 50 % of the final production cost. This ceiling rises to 60 % for difficult or low-budget works.

In practice, this ceiling drives the financing plan: stacking regional aid, CNC grants and the tax credit without simulating the ceiling exposes the producer to a clawback. We compute this ceiling at the forecast stage, not at closing.

The same article 220 sexies also hosts a film tax credit, with its own regime, featuring a standard rate and an increased rate depending on the characteristics of the work. We do not detail it here so as not to mix two distinct schedules.

In addition, the international tax credit, the C2I (CGI art. 220 quaterdecies), targets foreign productions filmed in France. An international production locating part of its making on French territory may, depending on its structure, fall under this scheme rather than the audiovisual credit. The choice between regimes deserves a case-by-case analysis.

• Confirm the company's status as delegated producer and its liability to corporate income tax.
• File the provisional approval request before incurring heavy expenses.
• Isolate expenses incurred in France from the outset in a dedicated analytical track.
• Document the territoriality of each item (place of performance, provider establishment).
• Simulate the public-aid ceiling (50 % or 60 %) on the estimated final cost.
• Consider the C2I option for international co-productions.
• Prepare the final approval in line with the expenses actually incurred.

On these files, our role is to secure the base and the timetable as much as to compute the credit. If you are structuring a production, our support for audiovisual production helps you align the tax credit, CNC approval and financing plan without straining your cash position. This article is for information; a decision taking account of your specific project requires a review of your situation, your contracts and the rules in force.