Film and TV incentive in Ireland
Ireland runs the Section 481 Film Tax Credit: a tax credit worth 32%. A credit against tax, claimed through a return. It is reliable, but it arrives after the filing rather than during the shoot, and in some countries it is itself taxable.
The numbers
- Scheme
- Section 481 Film Tax Credit
- Type
- Tax credit
- Headline rate
- 32%
- Minimum local spend
- €125k eligible spend and €250k total production cost
- Cap per project
- No cap
- Funding
- Entitlement Payable credit, no annual budget; up to 90% can be claimed in advance
- Paid
- Up to 90% in advance, balance on completion
- Foreign spend qualifies
- No
- Currency
- EUR
Higher rates and tiers
- Scéal uplift (40%) for feature films with eligible expenditure under €20m and an Irish or EEA key creative
What this means for the cashflow
If the production qualifies, the money follows. No queue, no annual pot. The production carries the gap until the money arrives, and that is a financing question rather than a budget line.
When it pays: Up to 90% in advance, balance on completion.
The detail
Credit is paid untaxed. 40% for feature films with eligible spend under €20m (Scéal) and 40% on the first €10m of VFX spend when at least €1m goes to Irish VFX. Cast and crew of any nationality qualify when working in Ireland. Runs to end 2028.
What you have to submit
Section 481 guidance, Screen Ireland. No prescribed budget format. Revenue's application takes your own detailed budget and finance plan; Screen Ireland's page lists the compliance documents that go with it.
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, Ireland sits at number 2 of the 32 European schemes we track (40%). 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 tax credit schemes
- United Kingdom 34%
- France 30% (40% VFX-heavy)
- Spain (mainland) 30% / 25%
- Canary Islands (Spain) 50% / 45%
- Italy 40%
Shooting there
We list 65 places to shoot in Ireland and 19 studios, production companies and post houses, each checked on its own site.
Source
Figures taken from Screen Ireland 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