Film and TV incentive in Germany
Germany runs the DFFF I / DFFF II / GMPF: a cash rebate worth 30%. 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
- DFFF I / DFFF II / GMPF
- Type
- Cash rebate
- Headline rate
- 30%
- Minimum local spend
- DFFF I: €1m total cost (€200k documentary, €2m animation) and 25% German spend (20% above €20m); DFFF II: €20m budget and €8m German spend; GMPF series: €30k per minute
- Cap per project
- No cap
- Funding
- Budget-limited First come, first served; the €250m for DFFF I, DFFF II and GMPF in 2026 was fully committed by 20 August 2026
- Paid
- Four instalments of 25%: start of shoot, mid-production, rough cut, final audit
- Foreign spend qualifies
- No
- Currency
- EUR
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: Four instalments of 25%: start of shoot, mid-production, rough cut, final audit.
The detail
30% since February 2025 across all three schemes. The federal pot was doubled to €250m for 2026 and ran out on 20 August 2026; the window for shoots starting in 2027 opens in November 2026. Public aid is capped at 50% of the total cost.
What you have to submit
DFFF calculation scheme for feature and documentary films (Excel), FFA. Optional layout: the FFA also accepts Sesam, Movie Magic and PreProducer budgets, as long as the German costs are identifiable.
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, Germany sits at number 12 of the 32 European schemes we track (30%). Work out the net value on your own spend, side by side with up to two other countries, in the incentive comparison.
Pays more
- Netherlands Up to 35%
- Iceland 25% (35% for large productions)
- Slovakia 33% (14% on foreign crew fees)
Pays less
- France 30% (40% VFX-heavy)
- Spain (mainland) 30% / 25%
- Portugal 30% / 25% (large track); 30% to 40% (medium track)
Other cash rebate schemes
- Netherlands Up to 35%
- Portugal 30% / 25% (large track); 30% to 40% (medium track)
- Malta 30% to 40%
- Hungary 30% (up to 37.5% with foreign costs)
- Czech Republic 25% (35% animation and VFX)
- Poland 30%
- Iceland 25% (35% for large productions)
- Austria Up to 30% (35% with Green Bonus)
Shooting there
We list 271 places to shoot in Germany and 66 studios, production companies and post houses, each checked on its own site.
Source
Figures taken from FFA 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