High-End Television Tax Relief is a creative industry tax relief incentive, funded by the UK government and is worth up to 20% of the core production costs of an animation project. Read our helpful guide below to learn more.
Below are six simple sections to help you understand what High-End Television Tax Relief (HTTR) is, how it works and whether you’re eligible.
High-End Television Tax Relief is a creative industry tax relief incentive, funded by the UK government.
It offers Television Production Companies (TPCs) a tax rebate against the money spent on the pre-production, principal photography and post production.
High-End Television Tax Relief is worth up to 20% of the core production costs of the piece. TPCs can claim HTTR on the lower of:
If the company is profitable, the tax relief can be used to reduce a Corporation Tax bill. If loss-making, claimants can receive a cash payment from HMRC at a rate of 25%.
To qualify for HTTR, you need to meet the following criteria:
There are several conditions to these criteria, so it’s best to get in touch with Myriad Associates to check you meet the criteria.
If you meet the above HTTR criteria then;
you can claim on the expenditure for the pre-production, principal photography and post production, referred to as core expenditure.
This excludes development, distribution and other non-production activities.
"Barrie & his team at Myriad Associates have provided a great service to us for a VGTR claim. They've been professional, knowledgeable, well-coordinated and have communicated well throughout the process. We would highly recommend their specialist knowledge."
Antonio Gould
Executive Director, Teach Monster Games
High-End Television Tax Relief is claimed as part of the Company Tax Return (CT600) that is filed with HMRC. To make an HTTR claim, you’ll need to be registered as a company and have the following documents:
HMRC has a specific approach for calculating the taxable profit and loss of a Television Production Company (TPC). There are restrictions for the way losses can be used and these will vary depending on if the programme is finished and trade has ceased.
Under the definition for High-End television tax relief, a co-production is a programme that is produced under the terms of an international co-production agreement between two or more countries or authorities.
In the UK, such programmes are made under:
The advantage of a programme being made as an official co-production is that each producer can access the support on offer within their respective countries, including tax relief where available.
To benefit from High-End television tax relief there must also be;
If you want to claim High-End Television Tax Relief, your high-end television programme must be certified as British. To receive this certification, you must pass the British Film Institute (BFI) cultural test.
To pass the BFI cultural test, you must complete an online application form for each high-end television programme you want to claim HTTR for. If the programme is intended as a series, you can make one application to cover all episodes within the series. The BFI will assess your application and award points based on the cultural content of the programme, its cultural contribution, its cultural hubs, and its cultural practitioners. To pass the test, each high-end television programme must score at least 18 out of a possible 35 points.
Myriad Associates employs BFI application specialists that can help you pass this test. Contact us for advice.
The cultural test for high-end television programmes is set out in The Cultural Test (Television Programmes) but for more information, feel free to contact us.
In addition to completing an application form for each high-end television programme, a Statutory Declaration to certify the truth of the particulars in the application is also required.
The Statutory Declaration can be made before a practising solicitor, a general notary, a Justice of the Peace, or any other officer authorised by law to administer a statutory declaration under the Statutory Declaration Act 1835.
An Accountant’s report is required if an application for a final certificate relies upon points in Section C and/or Section D of the cultural test. The Accountant’s Report must be prepared by a person who is eligible for appointment as a company auditor under Section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
The Accountant's Report is required when an application is claiming points in Section C and/or Section D.
The purpose of the Accountant's Report is to verify the total and UK expenditure of the work in Section C and the nationality or residence of all persons in Section D.
The Accountant's Report must be prepared by a person who is eligible for appointment as a company auditor under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
An Accountant’s Report can cost between £500 and £2,000 per application, depending on the programme’s costs and the number of applications you’re submitting.
The BFI cultural test regulations require you to make a statutory declaration which states that the information you’ve given in your application is true.
A statutory declaration is required for both the Interim and Final certifications.
The statutory declaration must be made either before a practising solicitor, general notary, Justice of the Peace or an officer authorised by law to administer a statutory declaration under the Statutory Declaration Act 1835.
You can apply for both High-End Television Tax Relief and R&D Tax Credits. However, you may only claim a given project cost against one of these schemes, not both.
In certain cases, you can maximise your overall tax relief by applying to both schemes and claiming specific costs against each scheme on a project-by-project basis.
Myriad Associates can help you with this. To maximise your tax relief, we’ll study your projects, assess your costs and establish which project costs to claim under which scheme. Contact us for advice.
Non-core high-end television programme expenditure relates to initial design stage activities or commercial exploitation of the programme.
For example, initial concept artwork used as part of the process of establishing the commercial viability is not core expenditure and not eligible for HTTR. Marketing a high-end television programme isn’t classed as development expenditure and is not, therefore, core expenditure.
Ineligible expenditure includes entertaining, publicity, promotion, audit fees, interest, completion bonds and other forms of insurance.
The amount of High-End Television Tax Relief (HTTR) to which a Television Production Company (TPC) is entitled in respect of a high-end television programme trade is determined by the amount of core expenditure which relates to activity undertaken in the UK.
Where a television programme is partly produced in the UK and partly outside of the UK it will follow that some goods and services may be non-UK. In such cases, it will be necessary to make an apportionment of the relevant core expenditure between UK and non-UK expenditure.
This applies in the case of goods and services provided throughout core expenditure stages. That is, it applies to expenditure incurred during pre-production, principal photography and post-production.
The method for making an apportionment is not fixed and can be determined on a case-by-case basis. The key criterion is that it must be done on a fair and reasonable basis.
There will often be more than one ‘fair and reasonable’ basis. The requirement is not that the apportionment must be made using the fairest and most reasonable basis, but simply that it must be made on a basis that is fair and reasonable.
Contact the HTTR team today.
High-End Television Tax Relief (HTTR), is a creative industry tax relief incentive, funded by the UK government.
HTTR supports UK television production companies by offering them a tax rebate against the money they spend on the pre-production, principal photography and post-production of a new television programme.
High-End Television Tax Relief is worth up to 20% of the core production costs of a television programme. Television production companies can claim HTTR on whichever is lower:
If the television programme is profitable, the High-End Television Tax Relief can be used to reduce a Corporation Tax bill. If the television programme makes a loss, claimants can receive a cash payment from HMRC at a rate of 25%.
You can claim High-End television tax relief on your programme if;
For the purpose of the tax relief a television programme is defined as;
“any programme (with or without sounds) which-
There is a list of excluded programmes. If your programme falls into one of these categories, it will does not qualify for the animation tax relief.
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Is your business registered for Corporation Tax in the UK or are you a partnership with corporate owners?
Have you developed new or improved existing products, processes or services in the last 2 accounting periods?
Does your business have fewer than 500 staff, and either: A turnover of no more than €100 million; or Gross assets of no more than €86 million?
Sorry, you must be a UK limited company or be a Partnership with corporate owners to be eligible for R&D tax credits.
In order to qualify for R&D tax credits you must be seeking to advance science or technology within your industry. As you’ve not developed any new or improved any existing innovative tools, products or services, and not re-developed any existing products, processes or services in the last 2 years. It is unlikely you have any qualifying activity. If you’re unsure, email or call us and we’ll help clarify.
In order to claim R&D tax credits, you need to either employ staff or spend money on contractors, consumable items and other items. If you’re unsure, email or call us and we’ll help clarify.
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Congrats!! Based on your previous answers, you will qualify for the SME scheme. If you’d like some help maximising and securing your claim, please email or call us.
Congrats!! Based on your previous answers, you will qualify for the RDEC scheme. If you’d like some help maximising and securing your claim, please email or call us.
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