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Tax ReliefUK-wide

Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC)

HM Revenue & Customs

Description

Corporation Tax expenditure credit for UK film, high-end TV, children's TV, and animation production costs, replacing the separate Film Tax Relief, High-End TV Tax Relief, Animation Tax Relief, and Children's TV Tax Relief for new productions. Since 1 April 2025, qualifying independent films with budgets up to £15 million can opt in to an enhanced rate — the Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC) — worth 53% rather than the standard 34%.

Amount

34% expenditure credit for film and high-end TV; 39% for animation and children's TV (net benefit after tax approx. 25.5% and 29.25% respectively); independent films with a budget up to £15 million can opt in to the Independent Film Tax Credit at 53% instead (net approx. 39.75%, capped at £6.36 million credit per film)

Deadline

Rolling / no fixed deadline

Eligibility summary

  • Available across the whole UK (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland).
  • Applicant must be a registered business.
  • Most relevant to: Creative Arts & Media, Technology & Digital.
Notes
Sits alongside the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC, a separate entry in this dataset), which covers video games specifically — video games are not part of AVEC despite coincidentally sharing the same 34% standard rate.
Requirement
Production must pass the BFI cultural test (or qualify via an internationally agreed co-production treaty) to be certified as culturally British; claimable on expenditure incurred from 1 January 2024, with all productions required to have moved from the legacy reliefs to AVEC by 1 April 2027. The enhanced Independent Film Tax Credit additionally requires a BFI eligibility certificate confirming the film meets the Budget Condition (core expenditure of no more than £15 million) and is claimable on expenditure from 1 April 2024, with claims to HMRC accepted from 1 April 2025.

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How to apply

Claim via your Corporation Tax return (CT600), with a BFI cultural test certificate (or BFI eligibility certificate for IFTC) and the CT600P creative industries supplementary page.

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Last verified: 23 August 2026. See the footer disclaimer — this is general information, not financial or tax advice.