Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 487A

Tax credit for expenditure on unscripted production

Section 487A introduces a corporation tax credit for producer companies incurring qualifying expenditure on the production of unscripted television programmes and internet content, calculated at 20% of the lowest of eligible expenditure, 80% of total production costs, or €15,000,000.

• The credit applies to non-fiction audiovisual works produced commercially for television broadcast or internet transmission, excluding promotional content and programmes already certified under the section 481 film relief; for licensed format series, only one season may be certified in any 12-month period.
• Producer companies must be resident in Ireland or another EEA state, must have traded in programme production for at least 12 months, cannot be broadcasters or companies whose business is mainly internet transmission, and must be tax compliant and not an undertaking in difficulty.
• A two-stage certification process applies: an interim certificate is obtained from the Minister before production is complete, allowing interim credit claims up to 20% of €15,000,000 in aggregate, and a final certificate is issued once the completed programme satisfies the cultural test and all interim certificate conditions.
• Claims must be made in the corporation tax return within 12 months of the end of the relevant accounting period, and Revenue will pay or offset valid claims within 48 months; unauthorised claims attract a penalty charge of four times the unauthorised amount for companies or one-fortieth for individuals, plus interest from the date the amount was originally paid or offset.