MGETR70010 - Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief: calculation: introduction

Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) is only available to Museums and Galleries Exhibition Production Companies (MGEPCs) that undertake qualifying exhibitions.

A company meeting the definition of an MGEPC is entitled to claim MGETR on UK core expenditure on an exhibition provided:

  • the exhibition is a curated public display
  • the exhibition is a qualifying exhibition and
  • not less than 10% of the total core expenditure is UK expenditure

If the MGEPC is in administration or liquidation, it cannot make a claim at that time, but it can make a claim later if it is no longer in administration or liquidation. HMRC will correct and remove any claims made by companies in administration or liquidation.

Prior to 1 April 2024, relief was based on European expenditure instead of UK expenditure. Please see MGETR60050 and MGETR60070 for details. Also, the minimum expenditure condition instead required at least 25% of core expenditure to be European expenditure. Please see MGETR50040 and MGETR50045 for details. 

Benefits of MGETR: additional deduction and tax credit

A company entitled to MGETR can claim an additional deduction in computing its taxable profits relating to a separate exhibition trade. .

The additional deduction can:

  • reduce the taxable profits of the separate exhibition trade (so that the company pays less tax), or
  • create or increase a tax loss, which the company can surrender in return for a payable Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Credit (MGETC).

MGETR only available to certain companies

MGETR is not available to individuals, either alone or within partnerships, or to investors, financial institutions and those whose involvement in exhibition production is confined to providing or arranging finance.

The purpose of targeting the relief exclusively at MGECs is to ensure that Government support is delivered directly to exhibition production and is not used as a means of avoiding tax.  It also ensures that such support is delivered to production activity in its entirety.

The relief is targeted at companies which are either

  • a charitable company which maintains a museum or gallery or
  • a company wholly owned by a charity which maintains a museum or gallery or
  • a company wholly owned by a local authority which maintains a museum or gallery

Core expenditure before 1 April 2017

MGETR was introduced from 1 April 2017 and only expenditure incurred after this date is eligible for an additional deduction.