On 15 March 2023, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said he would reform the existing film and TV relief from a rebate of 25% of qualifying expenditure to a new “expenditure credit” of 34% from January 2024.

The qualifying threshold for high-end TV shows will remain at £1m ($1.2m), following feedback from producers who noted that an increase in the threshold would discourage investment.

Animation and children’s TV content will also benefit from the new changes, with each category receiving a 39% expenditure credit.

The new tax reliefs have been renamed and remodelled as the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit. Draft legislation on the reforms will be published on 20 July 2023.

Industry leaders including Pact, the British Film Commission and the British Film Institute have welcomed the changes.

Adrian Wootton OBE, Chief Executive of the British Film Commission, said: “Today’s announcement is a real recognition from the Government of the growth and opportunity our UK Film and High-end TV industry presents. The UK’s tax reliefs have directly influenced many productions’ decisions to base themselves in the UK, contributing billions of pounds to the economy and hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK’s nations and regions.”

Hunt’s announcement demonstrates the government’s determination to promote British content and invest in the screen industries, in a testament to how significant they are to the UK economy’s growth.

The full government response to the consultation on audio visual tax relief is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/audio-visual-tax-reliefs-consultation