High-end Television Tax Relief (HETR)

HETR introduced from April 2013 built on the success of the Film Tax Relief scheme by extending the relief to high-end television productions made in the UK.

 

Company Eligibility

 

To be qualifying, both the company and the programme will need to meet some conditions.

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The company must be a Television Production Company (TPC). To qualify as a TPC the company must:

 

• be liable to UK corporation tax;

• be activity engaged in planning and decision-making and be responsible for pre-production, principal photography and the post-production of the programme;

• be responsible for delivery of the completed programme; and directly negotiate contracts and pay for rights, goods and services in relation to the programme.

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Programme Eligibility

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To qualify, the programme must:

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• be intended for distribution on television or the internet;

• be ‘British’ or qualify as an official co-production;

• have at least 10% of total production costs in the UK;

• be a drama, comedy or documentary;

• have a slot length of more than 30 minutes; and

• have an average core expenditure of £1 million per hour.

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Programmes which do not qualify include:

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• advertisements or other promotional material

• news or current affairs programmes or discussion programmes

• any quiz show, game show, panel show, variety show, chat show or similar entertainment

• a programme that consists of or includes a competition or contest or announces the results of a competition or contest

• a children’s programme may consist of a or include a competition or contest as long as the total prizes do not exceed £1,000

• any broadcast of live events or of theatrical or artistic performance given otherwise than for the purpose of being filmed

• any programme produced for training purposes

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Cultural Test

 

The programme must be classed as ‘British’ by the British Film Institute (BFI). The BFI has a Cultural Test which is points-based based on content, cultural contributions, location and the cast and crew. To be qualifying, the programme needs to achieve at least 18 from a possible 35 points.

 

The cultural test comprises four sections:

1. cultural content (up to 18 points)

2. cultural contribution (up to 4 points)

3. cultural hubs (up to 5 points)

4. cultural practitioners (up to 8 points)

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Additional guidance is available from the BFI by following this link

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Qualifying Expenditure

 

The all-important spend that can be enhanced is core expenditure as:

• pre-production;

• principal photography; and

• post production.

 

Core expenditure does not include development expenditure or expenditure on marketing, distribution or other non-production activities.

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