Film and TV incentive in the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic runs the Czech production incentive (Audiovisual Fund): a cash rebate worth 25% (35% animation and VFX). A payment on approved local spend, usually claimed after delivery or in stages. What matters is the queue: most cash rebates run from an annual budget.
The numbers
- Scheme
- Czech production incentive (Audiovisual Fund)
- Type
- Cash rebate
- Headline rate
- 25% (35% animation and VFX)
- Minimum local spend
- CZK 18m feature film, CZK 7.5m per series episode, CZK 5m animated film, CZK 2.5m documentary; digital productions CZK 5m flat
- Cap per project
- No cap
- Funding
- Budget-limited Annual budget; registration was halted on 27 March 2026 and reopened on 1 September 2026
- Paid
- After completion, in CZK; since 2026 the registration decision no longer states the amount and payment can take up to 2 years
- Foreign spend qualifies
- Partly
- Currency
- CZK
What this means for the cashflow
There is an annual pot and a queue. Applying early in the year matters, and a full pot can push a production to the next round. The production carries the gap until the money arrives, and that is a financing question rather than a budget line.
When it pays: After completion, in CZK; since 2026 the registration decision no longer states the amount and payment can take up to 2 years.
The detail
25% since 2025 (up from 20%), 35% for animation and VFX-only projects, plus 66% of the withholding tax paid by foreign cast and crew. Public aid is capped at 50% of the budget and claims must be filed within 3 years of registration.
What you have to submit
Registration forms 2026 (ZIP, Czech), Czech Audiovisual Fund. Mandatory forms including the budget and cost tables, in Czech; the fund's applicant guide explains them. The rebate is paid on the audited actual costs.
Building the budget first? Use the free film budget template or the Budget Builder, then map it onto whatever the fund asks for.
How it compares
Counted on the best rate a production can reach after tax, Czech Republic sits at number 23 of the 32 European schemes we track (25%). Work out the net value on your own spend, side by side with up to two other countries, in the incentive comparison.
Pays more
Pays less
Other cash rebate schemes
- Netherlands Up to 35%
- Germany 30%
- Portugal 30% / 25% (large track); 30% to 40% (medium track)
- Malta 30% to 40%
- Hungary 30% (up to 37.5% with foreign costs)
- Poland 30%
- Iceland 25% (35% for large productions)
- Austria Up to 30% (35% with Green Bonus)
Shooting there
We list 99 places to shoot in Czech Republic and 11 studios, production companies and post houses, each checked on its own site.
Source
Figures taken from Czech Film Commission and checked on 2026-09-05. Incentives change: confirm the current terms with the fund before you commit a budget to them.
All 32 incentives · Compare them on your own spend · Locations by country