Official Statistics

Creative industries statistics commentary: August 2024

Published 29 August 2024

1. Introduction

This is an Official Statistics publication produced by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). It provides information on the number and value of claims for Film, High-end Television, Animation, Children’s Television, Video Games, Theatre, Orchestra, and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Reliefs, for the financial years up to March 2023.

The statistical tables are published on GOV.UK alongside this commentary document, together with the background information and quality report.

This is an annual release, and the next release is planned to be in Summer 2025.

All figures are provided on an accruals basis. This means that claims are allocated to the financial year in which the accounting period ends. Tables 1.1 to 8.1 provide statistics on the total number of claims and amount paid for each relief per financial year, while tables 1.2 to 8.2 provide breakdowns by claim size. There is a lag in the data as companies have a year after the end of their accounting period to file their Corporation Tax return, and a further year to make, withdraw or amend a claim for the Creative industries tax reliefs.

There will be some changes in next year’s publication following the reform of the audio-visual creative sector reliefs. The new Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) will replace the current Film, High-end TV, Animation and Children’s TV Tax Reliefs. The Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC) will replace the Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR). This means film, high-end TV and video games production companies will be eligible to claim a new ‘above-the-line’ credit at a rate of 34%, and animation (both films and TV programmes) and children’s TV companies will be eligible for a new rate of 39% from January 2024. The statistics in 2025 will include claims for both the existing creative sector reliefs and the new AVEC and VGEC reliefs. However, because of the lag in the data, the current publication covers claims made under the legacy schemes only.

Statistical contacts: N. Chowdhury, J. Fox and M. Rowe-Brown; ct.statistics@hmrc.gov.uk

Media enquiries: HMRC Press Office; news.desk@hmrc.gov.uk

2. Summary

A total of £2.2 billion of relief was paid out in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, across all the Creative industries tax reliefs. This is an increase from £1.9 billion in relation to the 2021 to 2022 financial year. The increase was mainly driven by rises in the amount of High-end television (HETV) tax relief and Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) paid. For claims relating to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, HETV Tax Relief accounted for half (50%) of the total amount paid out and Film Tax Relief accounted for 25% of the total (Figure 1 and Table 1). This is similar to the previous year’s results.

Figure 1: Creative industries tax reliefs (£ million, accruals basis) paid in relation to financial years ending 2021, 2022 and 2023

Table 1: Number of companies, claims, projects, and amount of creative industries tax relief paid out (£ million) in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year

Relief	Number of companies	Number of claims	Number of projects	Amount of relief paid
Film	805	895	815	553
High-end TV	495	615	505	1,107
Animation	80	95	85	26
Children’s TV	65	70	65	27
Video Games	455	525	485	282
Theatre	1,175	1,230	3,980	178
Orchestra	215	220	400	33
Museums and Galleries Exhibition	325	330	2,755	29
Total	3,615	3,980	9,090	2,235

3. Film Tax Relief

Film Tax Relief (FTR) allows qualifying film production companies to make a deduction in their taxable profits or to surrender a loss for a payable tax credit. A company may make several tax relief claims for a film during the production process. A claim may cover several films.

Since FTR was introduced in 2007, companies have made claims for 5,230 films and £5,905 million has been paid out.

Number and value of claims by financial year

There were 895 claims made for Film Tax Relief in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, totalling £553 million of relief (Figure 2) paid out. This is a 6% increase in the amount of relief paid compared with the previous year. Prior to the 2020 to 2021 financial year, the number of claims had increased steadily year on year (Figure 3). There was a steep fall in both claims and relief paid in relation to the 2020 to 2021 financial year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though FTR claims have since increased, they have not yet reached pre-COVID levels. This is partly due to the recent increase in the number of films produced for streaming services, which usually claim HETV relief rather than FTR.

Figure 2: Amount of Film Tax Relief paid (£ million, accrual basis) relating to financial years ending 2007 to 2023

Figure 3: Number of Film Tax Relief claims, financial years ending 2007 to 2023

Of all claims made in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, 63% were for £100,000 or less. The proportion is similar (65%) to the previous year. Despite only 3% of claims relating to the 2022 to 2023 financial year being for over £5 million, these accounted for 65% of the total amount paid.

4. High-end Television Tax Relief

HETV Tax Relief allows qualifying production companies to make a deduction in their taxable profits or to surrender a loss for a payable tax credit. A company may make several tax relief claims for a programme during the production process. A claim may cover several programmes.

Since HETV Tax Relief was introduced in 2013, companies have made claims for 1,375 programmes and £3,967 million has been paid out.

Number and value of claims by financial year

There were 615 claims made for HETV relief in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, totalling £1,107 million of relief paid out. This is an increase of 13% from the previous year (Figure 4). This growth is driven largely by an increase in high-budget productions. There has been a corresponding increase in the number of HETV Tax Relief claims in recent years (Figure 5).

The increase in HETV relief over the past few years is in line with statistics produced by the British Film Institute on HETV production expenditure, which has seen substantial growth in recent years. This is in part due to the increase in feature length films created for streaming services, which claim HETV relief instead of FTR.

Figure 4: Amount of HETV Tax Relief paid (£ million, accrual basis) relating to financial years ending 2014 to 2023

Figure 5: Number of HETV claims, financial years ending 2014 to 2023

For claims relating to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, 38% were for £250,000 or less – however, these only accounted for 2% of the total amount paid. High-value claims (over £2 million) accounted for more than three-quarters of the total amount paid. This proportion has increased by 5 percentage points from the previous year.

5. Animation Tax Relief

Animation Tax Relief (ATR) allows qualifying animation companies to make a deduction in their taxable profits or to surrender a loss for a payable tax credit. A company may make several tax relief claims for a programme during the production process. A claim may cover several programmes.

Since Animation Tax Relief was introduced in 2013, companies have made claims for 570 programmes and £166 million has been paid out.

Number and value of claims by financial year

There were 95 claims made for ATR in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, totalling £26 million of relief paid out. Both the number of claims and amount paid out have remained consistent in recent years (Figures 6 and 7).

Figure 6: Amount of Animation Tax Relief paid (£ million, accrual basis) relating to financial years ending 2014 to 2023

Figure 7: Number of Animation Tax Relief claims, financial years ending 2014 to 2023

For claims relating to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, 40% were for values of over £250,000. This is an increase of 13% compared to the previous year. These claims accounted for 84% of the total amount of relief paid.

6. Children’s Television Tax Relief

Children’s Television Tax Relief (CTR) allows qualifying companies to make a deduction in their taxable profits or to surrender a loss for a payable tax credit. It is an extension of the high-end television and animation reliefs, but is specifically aimed at the producers of children’s television programmes.

Since CTR was introduced in 2015, companies have made claims for 615 programmes and £153 million has been paid out.

Number and value of claims by financial year

There were 70 claims made for CTR in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, totalling £27 million in relief paid out. Both the number and value of claims for CTR have remained steady in recent years (Figures 8 and 9).

Figure 8: Amount of Children’s TV Tax Relief paid (£ million, accrual basis) relating to financial years ending 2016 to 2023

Figure 9: Number of Children’s TV Tax Relief claims, financial years ending 2016 to 2023

Only 17% of the claims made in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year were for amounts over £500,000, but these accounted for 72% of the total amount of relief. The fall (4%) in amount paid for the year is driven bt a slight drop (2%) in the value of high-budget claims.

7. Video Games Tax Relief

Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR) allows qualifying video games companies to make a deduction in their taxable profits or to surrender a loss for a payable tax credit. A company may make several tax relief claims for a game during the production process. A claim may cover several games.

Since VGTR was introduced in 2014, companies have made claims for 2,740 games and £1,479 million has been paid out.

Number and value of claims by financial year

There were 525 claims made for VGTR in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, totalling £282 million of relief paid out. The amount of relief paid increased by 10% compared with the previous year (Figure 10). This is mainly due to a rise in high-value claims (over £2 million). VGTR was not as severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as other creative sector reliefs, so it has seen a gradual increase in both the number and value of claims since the 2014 to 2015 financial year (Figures 10 and 11).

Figure 10: Amount of Video Games Tax Relief paid (£ million, accrual basis) relating to financial years ending 2015 to 2023

Figure 11: Number of Video Games Tax Relief claims, financial years ending 2015 to 2023

The majority of claims relating to the 2022 to 2023 financial year tended to be for smaller amounts, with 42% of all claims being for £50,000 or less; however, these claims only represent 1% of the total amount of relief paid. Claims over £500,000 account for 87% of the total amount of relief paid. This proportion is similar to the previous year.

8. Theatre Tax Relief

Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) was announced in the Finance Act of 2014 and introduced in September 2014. Theatrical production companies are not required to pass a cultural test to be eligible to claim tax relief. A theatre production company may make several claims during the production process. A claim may cover several productions.

Since TTR was introduced in 2014, companies have made claims in relation to 24,700 productions and £645 million has been paid out.

Number and value of claims by financial year

There were 1,230 claims made for TTR in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, totalling £178 million in relief paid out. This is a 50% increase in claims and a 171% increase in relief paid compared to the previous year. The number of productions also increased, by 66%, compared to the 2021 to 2022 financial year. Theatres were severely affected by COVID restrictions, resulting in a large drop in productions and therefore TTR claims relating to financial years ending 2021 and 2022 (Figures 12 and 13). There has since been an increase in productions claimed for and relief paid. The number of claims made in the latest year is now higher than pre-COVID levels (Figure 13).

In 2021, the government introduced a temporary increase in the relief rates of TTR, for productions which commenced production on or after 27 October 2021. This increased the tax credit rate for touring productions to 50% and non-touring productions to 45%, from 25% and 20% respectively, more than doubling the value of relief available. As a result, the value of TTR relief relating to the 2022 to 2023 financial year has increased substantially, as more recent productions are able to benefit from the higher rates of relief. The increased relief rates may have also contributed to an increase in the number of claims. The higher rates also apply to Orchestra Tax Relief and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief. The increase in rates was made permanent at the 2024 Spring Budget, at a rate of 45% for touring and 40% for non-touring productions from 1 April 2025.

Figure 12: Amount of Theatre Tax Relief paid (£ million, accruals basis) relating to financial years ending 2015 to 2023

Figure 13: Number of Theatre Tax Relief claims, financial years ending 2015 to 2023

The highest proportion of claims made in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year is for smaller amounts, with 22% of all claims being for £10,000 or less. In comparison, claims of over £500,000 represented just 6% of the claims made but over half (55%) of the total amount of relief paid. This is expected to increase as more productions are able to claim at the higher relief rate.

9. Orchestra Tax Relief

Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR) was introduced in April 2016. Orchestral production companies are not required to pass a cultural test to be eligible to claim tax relief. An orchestral production company may make a number of claims, receiving payments at stages throughout the production process. A claim may cover several productions. If a company has made a concert series election covering multiple productions, then the series of concerts is treated as a single production.

Since OTR was introduced in 2016, companies have made claims for 3,455 productions and £111 million has been paid out.

Number and value of claims by financial year

There were 220 claims made for OTR in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, totalling £33 million in relief paid out. This is a 20% increase in productions compared to the previous year, and the number of claims is now above pre-COVID levels (Figure 15). The increase in OTR relief rates has contributed to the 140% increase in the amount paid out in the 2022 to 2023 financial year (Figure 14).

Figure 14: Amount of Orchestra Tax Relief paid (£ million, accruals basis) relating to financial years ending 2017 to 2023

Figure 15: Number of Orchestra Tax Relief claims, financial years ending 2017 to 2023

Claims of £5,000 or less represented 29% of the claims relating to the 2022 to 2023 financial years. While only 10% of all claims were for amounts over £250,000, these represent 83% of the amount of relief paid.

10. Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief

Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) was introduced in April 2017. Exhibitions are not required to pass a cultural test to be eligible to claim tax relief. Relief is only available to charitable companies, and to subsidiaries of charities and local authorities. Tax credits are capped per exhibition at a maximum of £100,000 (touring) or £80,000 (non-touring). A museum or gallery may make a number of claims, receiving payments at stages throughout the exhibition process. A claim may cover several exhibitions.

Since MGETR was introduced in 2017, companies have made claims for 9,650 exhibitions and £94 million has been paid out.

Number and value of claims by financial year

There were 330 claims made for MGETR in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, totalling £29 million in relief paid out. This represents a large increase in the number of claims and productions (Figure 17), and the amount of relief paid (Figure 16) compared to the previous year. The increase in relief paid is in part due to the increase in relief rates for MGETR.

Figure 16: Amount of Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief paid (£ million, accruals basis) relating to financial years ending 2018 to 2023

Figure 17: Number of Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief claims, financial years ending 2018 to 2023

The highest proportion of claims made in relation to the 2022 to 2023 financial year is for smaller amounts, with 31% of all claims being for £25,000 or less. Only 27% of claims were for over £100,000, but these accounted for 72% of the total amount of relief paid.