High-end Television Tax Relief

Introduced on the 1st April 2014

Your company will be entitled to claim High-end Television Tax Relief on a programme if:

• the programme passes the cultural test - relative to the European Economic Area
• the programme is intended for broadcast
• the programme is a drama, comedy or documentary
• at least 25% of the total production costs relate to activities in the UK (reduced to 10% effective 1st April 2015)
• the average qualifying production costs per hour of production length is not less than £1 million per hour
• the slot length in relation to the programme must be greater than 30 minutes

Programmes commissioned together are treated as one programme.

However, your company can't claim High-end Television Tax 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
• broadcasts live events, including theatrical and artistic performance
• is produced for training purposes