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The TRIP (Tax Rebate for International Productions) is selectively granted by the CNC (French National Center for Cinema, TV and the moving image) to French Production services companies. It amounts 30 % of the qualifying expenditures incurred in France (or up to 40% if the French VFX expenses are more than €2M). 

Eligible projects

To qualify, a project must:

  • be a fiction film (live action or animation, feature film, TV, web, VR, short film, TV special, single or several episodes of a series, or a whole season)*
  • shoot at least 5 days in France for live action production
  • spend a minimum of €250 000 (or at least 50% of their total production budget) spent on French qualifying expenditures
  • pass a cultural test specific to each genre (live action or animation), including elements related to the French culture, heritage, and territory

*Nb: Documentaries, commercials and reality tv shows are not eligible

Eligible companies

The TRIP is selectively granted by the CNC to French Production services companies who are in charge of shooting in France in compliance with a contract entered into with a non-French production company. It is available through a company:

  • subject to corporate income tax in France
  • acting as a production services company (PSC) for the sequences filmed or made in France

It can either be an existing company, a subsidiary of the foreign production or a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

The French production services company is in charge, in compliance with a contract entered into with a non-French production company of :

  • supplying the artistic and technical means for making the feature film or TV project concerned
  • managing the material operations for its making and monitoring its proper execution

They receive the TRIP through their yearly tax return.

Eligible expenses

The tax rebate amounts to 30% of the following pre-tax expenses (or 40%, if the French VFX expenses are more than €2M) : 

  • salaries and wages paid to French or EU of writers, actors (up to the minimum set in collective bargaining agreements), direction and production staff (wages and incidentals) including the related social contributions
  • expenditures incurred to specialized companies for technical goods and services
  • transportation, travel and catering expenditures
  • depreciation expenses

 It is capped at €30 million per project, which means €100M in eligible expenditures.

The date when the CNC receives the application file will be the starting date for taking eligible expenses into consideration.

VFX-related 10% bonus

Projects including a substantial amount of VFX, may be eligible for a 40% Tax Rebate on all eligible expenses. The 10% bonus applies to projects with more than €2M of VFX-related French expenditure. Once the €2M threshold is passed, the 40% tax rebate applies on all of a project’s eligible spends, including live action spends which are not VFX-related.

To qualify, they must:

  • be works of fiction
  • include more than €2M in VFX-related eligible French expenses
  • pass a cultural test

As to VFX-related spends, they are expenses carried out by a service provider established in France and related to digital processing of shots allowing the addition of characters, decorative elements or objects participating in the action, or modifying the rendering of the scene, or the camera point of view.

Also, VFX-only projects with no filming in France are eligible to the TRIP if they respect two conditions:

  • 15% of the shots, or on average one and a half shots per minute, are digitally processed (on the whole film).
  • more than 50% of the French spend is VFX/post-production expenditures

Collecting the Tax Rebate

The approval gives right to the tax rebate at the end of each fiscal year. If the amount of the tax rebate exceeds the corporate income tax due for this year, the difference will be paid by the French State. It is possible to discount the rebate at a financial institution, under certain conditions provided for by the law.

Contacts

For any questions relating to the qualification procedure or the regulatory framework :

Carl Thierry

Tax Rebate manager

For any enquiries about filming and making your project in France :

Daphné Lora

Head of Film France

Laurie Ades

Promotion & Production Support manager

Joanna Verner

Promotion & Production Support manager