FPC55110 - Film Tax Relief: Calculation: Surrenderable losses and film tax credit: Examples - single-period productions

The following examples illustrate how film production companies (FPCs) that sustain a surrenderable loss can surrender that loss in return for a payable tax credit ( FPC55100). In each case the production is completed within a single period.

Example 1: Limited-budget film

An independent FPC makes a film with total core expenditure of £10m, all of which is UK expenditure. The film was commissioned by an unrelated distributor which pays £9m for it.

Income£9m
Expenditure£10m
Pre-FTR profit (loss)(£1m)
Enhanceable expenditure£8m
(UK core expenditure of £10m x 80%)
Additional deduction(£8m)
(Rate of enhancement applied to enhanceable expenditure = 100%)
Post-FTR profit (loss)(£9m)


The surrenderable loss is the lesser of

  • the trading loss: £9m and
  • the enhanceable expenditure on which the additional deduction for period: £8m.

In this case, the film production company can surrender up to £8m.

The amount of credit due is:

the payable credit rate (for a limited-budget film): 25%
multiplied by
the loss surrendered: £8m,

giving a payment £2m (assuming that the maximum amount of loss is surrendered). This is equal to 20% of the total core expenditure.

Example 2: Large budget film

An independent film production company (FPC) produces a film with total core expenditure of £100m, all of which is UK expenditure. The film was commissioned by an unrelated distributor which pays £84m for it.

Income£85m
Expenditure£100m
Pre-FTR profit (loss)(£15m)
Enhanceable expenditure£80m
(UK core expenditure of £100m x 80%)
Additional deduction(£64m)
(80% x Enhanceable expenditure of £80m)
Post-FTR profit (loss) (£79m)


The surrenderable loss is the lesser of

  • the trading loss: £79m and
  • the enhanceable expenditure on which the additional deduction for period: £80m.

In this case, the film production company can surrender up to £79m.

The amount of credit due is the credit rate of 20% multiplied by the loss surrendered, giving a payment of £15.8m (£79m x 20%). This is equal to 15.8% of the total core expenditure.

The amount of credit due is:

the payable credit rate (for a large-budget film): 20%

multiplied by

the loss surrendered: £79m,

giving a payment £15.8m (assuming that the maximum amount of loss is surrendered). This is equal to 20% of the total core expenditure.

The FPC would therefore make a profit, post tax, of £800,000