Written by on Feb 24, 2015. Posted in Incentive News

UK television tax credit drives massive increase in location filming spend

The UK’s new TV tax credit drove a huge increase in television location filming in its first full year, according to figures published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Designed to bring more high-end TV shoots to the UK, the tax credit attracted Veep, Elementary and 24: Live Another Day.

Television productions spending over a million pounds per episode can now get a rebate worth up to 25% of eligible spending.

In the first year of the tax credit’s launch, TV production spending reached GBP 395 million, nearly 60% of which came from major international shoots.

This compares to just GBP 50 million in the year before the tax credit came into effect, when many British production companies chose to film overseas in countries that offered more generous incentives.

“This report, alongside record-breaking production statistics for 2014 and success at the Oscars, yet again confirms the UK screen industries are generating billions for the economy and are vital in terms of job creation,” said Adrian Wootton, chief executive of the British Film Commission and Film London.

“A creative powerhouse, our industry is able to successfully compete on a global stage, thanks to a combination of attractive tax incentives alongside world-class infrastructure, talent and crew.”

Television series Outlander, Galavant and Da Vinci’s Demons (above) have all benefitted from the TV tax credit. It’s also been a factor in keeping Game of Thrones filming on location in Belfast.

The UK saw a 35% increase in overall production spending in 2014, bringing the figure for the year to GBP 1.5 billion, according to BFI figures from earlier this month. Some 85% of this money was generated by international productions, including two dozen major TV shoots.

(Photo: © 2013 Tonto Films and Television Limited)