FPC60010 - Claims: How to claim

Film Tax Relief (FTR) is a Corporation Tax regime.

Production companies can only claim FTR through Corporation Tax Self Assessment (CTSA).

A valid claim consists of two parts:

The claim is considered to be made at the time at which it is submitted in the company’s tax return. This means that the form and all supporting evidence must have been received by HMRC on or before the day on which the return is filed. If any mandatory information is missing or incomplete, then the claim will be invalid and HMRC may amend the CT600 to remove the claim.

The additional information form must be submitted to HMRC on or before the day the company’s tax return for the period is filed. If the form is submitted after this, then the company’s tax return must be amended and the claim re-submitted (even if no changes are required to the CT600), in order for it to be recognised as a valid claim by HMRC.

The supporting evidence must be provided as attachments to the form; there are prompts requiring the evidence to be uploaded at appropriate points.

HMRC has produced templates which can assist companies in calculating their relief entitlement. These templates can be attached to the additional information form as part of the necessary supporting evidence. These templates can be downloaded from the form itself, or obtained via emailing [email protected].

Claims must be made digitally through the online Corporation Tax gateway, and they can be made via an amendment. Claims in any other format (e.g. via email) will not be accepted.

While the claim in the CT600 can be amended through the normal process to amend a tax return, the additional information form cannot be amended. It can only be displaced by a new version, if the company sends in another form covering the same accounting period.

As claims are made through CTSA, they must be calculated in reference to the company’s accounting period and the return should be accompanied by the company’s accounts.

For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, the time limit to make or amend a claim is two years from the end of the company’s period of account, or 42 months from the beginning of the period of account for long periods of account (over 18 months). Any claim received after this will be considered late.

For earlier accounting periods, the time limit to make or amend a claim is the first anniversary of the company’s filing date for the tax return for the accounting period for which the claim is made.

Interim claims

Some of the conditions which determine entitlement to the relief (or the amount of relief) can only be met with certainty once the film is completed. For example, its certification as a British film (FPC40030), or whether it meets the required minimum amount of UK expenditure (FPC40040).

Whether a film is a British film depends on who is involved in the production and where the film is made, so that although the initial plan may be to make a film which qualifies as British, changes in response to circumstances (such as the unavailability of a lead actor) may mean that the eventual film does not.

Similarly, the actual amount of core expenditure in the UK, as a proportion of the total, is only certain on completion, as is the overall spending on the film (which determines whether the film is limited-budget or not).

The legislation therefore allows relief to be claimed on an interim basis, assuming that the required conditions have been met. Film productions typically operate according to a strict budget so it should be clear from the outset whether they are likely to be met. If any of the conditions are not actually met on completion of the film, then the position is adjusted to reflect the outcome, including, if appropriate, repayment of film tax credit to HMRC and HMRC charging interest (though penalties would not normally be appropriate).