tax incentives Spain
30% TAX REBATE IN COMMON TERRITORY 50% TAX REBATE IN THE CANARY ISLANDS 35% TAX CREDIT IN NAVARRE REGION 60% TAX REBATE IN BIZKAIA - (BASQUE COUNTRY) 60% TAX REBATE IN GIPUZCOA - (BASQUE COUNTRY) 60% TAX REBATE IN ARABA - (BASQUE COUNTRY)
Spain offers tax incentives for international films and TV series which, when you add it to the many benefits offered by this country and its audiovisual industry, make it one of the most competitive destinations in the area. The current applicable legislation in common territory (except for Navarre region and the Basque Country) is: Article 36.2 Law 27/2014 dated the 27th of November, on Corporation Tax. Rebates for investments in film and series audiovisual productions. These incentives are applicable to the registered Spanish producers, who are managing a foreign production. This means as the "service company" which takes on the executive production and will carries out the tax procedures involved in applying for a tax rebate. SPAIN General incentives: 30% Tax Rebate
General incentive of 30% in the first million euros and 25% for the rest of the expenditure made in Spain.
Foreign production types: Feature length films, television series, animated films and documentaries. Maximum rebate limit: 20 million Euros for featured films and 10 million per episodes for TV series, with no limit on the number of episodes.
Beneficiaries: Spanish companies which are registered in the Film and Audio-visual Arts Institute's register of audio-visual producers.
Rebate base: eligible expenses incurred in Spain.
Eligible expenses: creative staff with a registered address in the country or in another European Union member state, up to a maximum of €100,000 per person/technical or complementary service. Minimum expense incurred in Spain: 1 million Euros and 200.000 euros for Animation and VFX projects.
Procedure: the refund must be applied by the Spanish company, during the month of July of the year after the end of filming.
Canary Islands incentives: 54% Tax Rebate. When shooting in the Canary Islands, there are special conditions involved if you want to access tax incentives as the region complies with two of the conditions set by the European Commission to qualify for this tax system: it is an insular and outlying territory. The same common law is applied with a series of mark-ups.
General incentive: 50-54% in the first million euros and 45% for the rest of the expenditure made in Spain.
Maximum rebate limit: 36 million Euros for featured films and 18 per episode for TV series, with no limit on the number of episodes.
Beneficiary: companies with a registered address in the Canaries, which are registered in the Film and Audiovisual Arts Institute's register of audiovisual producers, and which are managing the production overseas.
NAVARRE Incentives: 35% Tax Credit. As Navarre is a chartered territory with its own taxation system, it also has its own Corporation Tax Law which applicable tax benefits are subject to in this community: Article 65.2. Regional Order 24/1996, dated the 30th of December, on Corporation Tax (Text applicable on the 31st of December 2016) Rebate for investments in film and series audiovisual productions. Beneficiaries: Companies which are based in Navarre and which are registered in the Film and Audiovisual Arts Institute's register of audiovisual producers. Shoot duration: at least a week.
Procedure: the incentive goes up to 35% for a mixed modality rebate of the corporation tax plus fiscal credit. If the tax to be paid is not high enough to cover the total amount of fiscal credit, the rest could be deducted from the Income Tax over the following years for a maximum of 15 years.
BASQUE COUNTRY Incentives: 60% Tax Credit. Tax credit up to 70%, for all audiovisual productions, national and international, including new digital formats.
60% if expenses in Bizkaia >50%. 50% if expenses in Bizkaia account for between 35-50% of the total. 40% if expenses in Bizkaia are between 20-35%. 35% overall (There is no territoriality requirement). +10% if Basque is the source language.
Deduction limits
50% of global production cost estimate, including all other grants.
60%, European co-productions.
No Limit, complex works or co-productions with countries belonging to the OECD Development Assistance Committee.
Requirements for the deduction: Certificate accrediting cultural nature, issued by ICAA, Autonomous Community Bodies or other EU or EEA States. Deposit a copy in the Basque Film Archives or competent body.
Beneficiaries: Legal entities “producers and/or executive producers” with registered address in Bizkaia. Natural persons normally resident in Bizkaia.
Complex works
Short films.
Films which are a director’s first or second work.
Works with version in Euskera only.
Low budget works (up to one million euros).
Works, which due to subject matter or other questions inherent to the production, encounter difficulties entering the market. (Apply to the Tax Office for this classification during first year of application of deduction).
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