The Incentive Programme
Financial incentive for Film and TV productions shooting in Croatia is available to international and local filmmakers in the form of a rebate of 25% on qualifying Croatian spending. An additional 5% is approved for productions filming in regions with below average development. The variety of filming locations, combined with high-quality local service providers and financial feasibility make Croatia one of the top destinations on the world’s filmmaking map.
Regulations
Croatian Incentive Programme is based on the Law on Audiovisual Activities (Official Gazette 61/18 114/22) and the Rules and Regulations (Official Gazette 70/19 152/22 9/24).
Overview
The Incentive Programme is administered on a first-come, first-served basis. The rebate is calculated on the total qualifying expenditure, excluding the value added tax, and is paid directly to the applicant’s Croatian bank account. Qualified spend consists of the costs of goods and services purchased in Croatia and wages paid to Croatian tax residents (both cast and crew) for services carried out in Croatia. Qualifying production formats:
- Feature films
- Documentaries
- Animation
- TV films and TV series
The Rebate does not apply to commercials, reality TV, game shows and soaps.
Criteria to access the benefit
Minimum Croatian spend dependent on the type of project
- EUR 250.000,00 for feature films
- EUR 150.000,00 for television films
- EUR 100.000,00 for each tv episode
- EUR 60.000,00 for documentaries, animation films, one episode of documentary tv series, an animated tv series with a minimum total duration of 24 minutes, the post-production of an audiovisual work if the application refers exclusively to that stage of production
Use of Croatian cast and crew
The benefits are based on the work cost of Croatian tax residents (cast and crew) working in Croatia, as well as the goods and services purchased in Croatia.
Cultural Test
The Croatian Cultural/Qualifying test (for service production and co-production) comprises three categories: cultural content, creative collaboration, and the use of Croatian production capacities, such as studios or locations. No preference is given to projects scoring higher on the Cultural Test.
Additional Criteria
Productions benefiting from more than EUR 500.000,00, must employ at least one Croatian trainee in each of the main production departments.
Productions benefiting from more than EUR 1.000.000,00, with above mentioned, must employ at least three co/head of departments and 50 % of the crew must be Croatian tax residents.
Evaluating the Application
The Incentive Committee, comprising five members appointed by the Minister of Culture and Media, meets at least once every three months.
Members of the Incentive Committee are:
- One representative of Ministry of Culture and Media
- Two representatives of Croatian Producers Association
- One representative of Ministry of Finance
- One representative of Croatian Audiovisual Centre
Payment
The net benefit will be made available upon completion of production, submission of audited accounts and evidence that all the requirements have been met. Guidlines for auditors are available here (only in Croatian).
Application
Electronically signed Application and all its pertaining documents must be submitted to the HAVC (filmingincroatia@havc.hr) no later than
The Application and all its pertaining
Application forms
Application forms with Local production budget, Qualification test and Statutory declaration are available for download (only in Croatian):
SERVICE PRODUCTION
CO-PRODUCTION
Supporting documents
- Tax Clearance Certificate (issued by the Department of Revenue, the certificate must verify that the entity satisfied all tax obligations due to the State, including taxes, interest, penalties, fees, charges and any other liabilities)
- Certificate of Incorporation (issued by the Commercial Registry Office)
- Proof of the public screening of a work produced by applicant within the last 3 years (in the event that the company lacks such credits, the company’s founder or Director must have produced such a work)
- A screenplay and synopsis of the work
- Overall Production Budget (for local productions or co-productions, and international co-productions with a Croatian co-producer: a preliminary, detailed overall production budget; for international productions with a local production service provider: the overall production budget amount)
- Proof of security of financing for 70% of the Project’s production costs in Croatia (copies of contracts, preliminary contracts, letters of intent or commitment stating the exact amount)
- Preliminary Contract or a Service Level Agreement