Specialist R&D Tax & Grant Funding Advisors

Museums & Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief

Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) is a creative industry tax relief incentive, funded by the UK government.  MGETR is worth up to 20% of core production costs, with a higher rate of 25% for touring exhibitions.

Museums & Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief

Guide Overview


Below are six simple sections to help you understand what Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) is, how it works and whether you’re eligible.

What is Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief?


Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) is a creative industry tax relief incentive, funded by the UK government.

Unlike other creative tax reliefs, there is no requirement for certification via a cultural test. MGETR supports museums and galleries to develop new permanent and temporary exhibitions for the benefit of the general public.

What is Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief
How Much MGETR can I claim

How Much MGETR can I claim?


Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief is worth up to 20% of core production costs, with a higher rate of 25% for touring exhibitions.

Museums and galleries can claim MGETR on the whichever is the lower:

  • 80% of total core expenditure
  • the amount of core expenditure on goods or services that are provided from the EEA

The maximum repayable credit is capped at £100,000 for touring exhibitions and £80,000 for non-touring exhibitions.

How to Qualify for Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief


To qualify for Museum and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief, you need to meet the following criteria;

  • You must be a charitable company, or a company wholly owned by a charity or local authority, which maintains a museum or gallery and is responsible for producing and running an exhibition at a venue and actively engaged in the decision-making process
  • the exhibition is a curated display of an organised collection of works (or of a single object or work) considered to be of scientific, historic, artistic or cultural interest.
  • from the planning stage the exhibition is intended to be open to the general public, irrespective of admission charge.
  • At least 25% of your core production expenditure is within the European Economic Area (EEA)
How to Qualify for Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief
What is a Touring Exhibition

What is a Touring Exhibition?


A touring exhibition has to fulfil the following additional criteria to qualify for Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief;

  • It must have been intended as a tour at the outset.
  • The exhibition must be held at two or more venues
  • At least 25% of the objects or works displayed at the first venue, must also be displayed at every subsequent venue
  • The time between deinstallation and installation at the next venue must not exceed six months
  • The exhibition must have both a Primary Production Company for the first venue, and a Secondary Production Company for each subsequent venue.

What is the Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) claims process?


Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief is claimed as part of the Company Tax Return (CT600) that is filed with HMRC. You must also have the following information:

  • whether the exhibition is touring or non-touring
  • if the exhibition is taking place at more than one venue, then whether the company is claiming as a primary or secondary production company
  • if the company is a secondary production company, then who the primary production company is
  • Analysis of the separate exhibition trade expenditure, this should include statements that show your core expenditure, broken down by category and by EEA and Non-EEA spending.

You’ll need to calculate if your exhibition has made a profit or a loss and determine whether your MGETR claim should be surrendered as a loss for a cash repayment or used to reduce your tax bill.

HMRC has a specific approach for calculating the taxable profit and loss of a Museums and Galleries Exhibition Production Company (MGEPC).

What is the Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) claims process
Illustration 06

Our results

  • Confident of delivering value to our clients, we offer our MGETR services on a success fee-only basis.
  • We handle your MGETR claim from start to finish, with the aim of taking up as little of your time as possible.
  • Our expert consultants can identify all of your qualifying projects and all your eligible expenses, including costs often missed by accountants and in-house teams.

Frequently asked questions


Qualifying costs are referred to as core expenditure.  This general includes the expenditure on;

  • Planning and preparation of the exhibition
  • De-installing and closing the exhibition (if it runs for less than 12 months).

Non-core expenditure typically relates to the running and promotional costs for the exhibition, this includes;

  • Marketing and advertising
  • Storage (except with there is a tour)
  • Ordinary running cost of the museum or gallery
  • Purchase of the exhibit(s)
  • Infrastructure cost not solely related to the new exhibition

Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief is a creative industry tax relief incentive, funded by the UK government.

MGETR supports UK museums and galleries by offering them a tax rebate against the money they spend on the production of new exhibitions.

There are two standard rates of Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief available.

Non touring exhibitions can claim back 20% of qualifying expenditure. Claims are capped at

£80,000 per exhibition

Touring exhibitions can claim back 25% of qualifying expenditure, with is available to both the

Primary Production Company (PPC) and the Secondary Production Company (SPC). Claims are capped at £100,000 per exhibition, per venue.

Museums and galleries can claim MGETR on which is the lower

  • 80% of total core expenditure
  • the amount of core expenditure on goods or services that are provided from the EEA

In the Autumn 2021 budget new temporary rates of relief for MGETR where announced.  From 27th October 2021 until April 2023 the rates increase to 50% for touring and 45% for non-touring exhibitions.  From April 2023 the rate will be 35% for touring and 30% for non-touring exhibitions.  Then returning to standard rates from April 2024.

To qualify for Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief you must be:

  • a charitable company, or company wholly owned by a charity or local authority, which maintains a museum or gallery
  • a charity that is formally recognise by HMRC
  • able to submit a full corporation tax return (CT600), although you do not need to be pay corporation tax relief.
  • You must identify as the Primary Production Company (PPC), or the Secondary Production Company (SPC) if the exhibition is touring. You cannot be the PPC and a SPC for the same exhibition.

The Primary Production Company (PPC) is responsible for organising an exhibition at the first (if touring) or only venue (if not touring).  It must also be responsible for the following at the first or only venue:

  • Creative and technical decisions
  • Contractual agreements
  • Producing and running the exhibition
  • Deinstallation and closing the exhibition

A Secondary Production Company (SPC) is responsible for organising an exhibition at the second or subsequent venues for a touring exhibition.  It must be responsible for the following at its venue:

  • Production and running the exhibition at that venue
  • Deinstalling the exhibition at the venue

There is a cap on the amount of relief available via Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief. 

The maximum repayable credit is capped at £100,000 for touring exhibitions and £80,000 for non-touring exhibitions.

An exhibition is a curated display of an organised collection of works, a single object or work considered to be of scientific, artistic, historic or cultural interest.  The exhibition must be open to the general public irrespective of admission charge.

The following criteria would disqualify an exhibition from being eligible for Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief;

  • If it’s in connection with a competition of any kind
  • If one of its main purposes is to sell anything displayed or to advertise or promote any goods or services
  • If it includes a live performance by and person, unless that performance is incidental to the exhibition
  • If anything displayed is for sale
  • If anything displayed is alive

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 MGETR team today

To qualify for MGETR, you need to meet the following criteria;

  1. Your company (charitable or local authority owned) must be either be considered the;

Primary Production Company (PPC) responsible for producing and running the exhibition, creative and technical decisions, contractual agreements and closing/deinstallation at the first or only venue

or

Secondary Production Company (SPC) responsible for Production and running of the exhibition and deinstalling at a second or subsequent venues.

  1. The exhibition is intended to be open to the general public irrespective of admission fee
  2. At least 25% of your core production expenditure is within the European Economic Area (EEA)

Does your business qualify?

Speak to our experts today to see if your activities qualify.

GET IN TOUCH
Close

Step 1 of #

Is your business registered for Corporation Tax in the UK or are you a partnership with corporate owners?

Continue

Have you developed new or improved existing products, processes or services in the last 2 accounting periods?

Continue Back

Have you incurred any R&D costs on staff, contractors and consumables?

Continue Back

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?

Continue Back

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.

Thanks for that!

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.

Speak to an expert Back