Italy confirms once again its role as a highly competitive destination for international film and audiovisual productions. With one of the most attractive incentive systems in Europe, the International Tax Credit provides a solid framework for foreign companies that choose Italy as a filming or post-production hub.

Below is the official text provided by the DGCA Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual (DGCA) of the Ministry of Culture with the provisions currently in force and the most recent updates:

Some Provisions Confirmed

• The recognized rate is equal to 40% of the production cost of the work spent on Italian territory; a 30% rate is provided for costs above the line relating to non-European subjects only.
• The tax credit has a maximum annual limit, for individual company or group of companies, of €20 M; there is no maximum limit per work.
• In any case, the national production tax credit, when used by the same company, is not included for the purposes of calculating the limit of €20 M per year.
• The transferability of the tax credit was confirmed.
• Also confirmed is the deadline of 180 days from the conclusion of the activities within which the definitive request must be submitted.

What’s new

• The costs of personnel and professional figures regulated by national collective labour agreements are eligible, for every employee, within the limits set out in the collective agreements stipulated by the most representative employers’ and trade unions’ associations increased up to a maximum of 20%.
• The requirement to include at least one day of filming/work on Italian territory has been eliminated (an innovation long-awaited by post-production companies).
• The benefit is granted on condition that the eligible cost is at least €250 K.
• There is now the possibility, in the presence of certain conditions, for the DGCA to remove the ban on executive production and post-production companies owning rights in the audiovisual work.
• Costs above the line related to the use of artificial intelligence for creative or artistic performances, incurred on national territory, are not eligible, except for the use of artificial intelligence attributable to special effects related to the item “Main actors”
• There is now an obligation to communicate the stages of the work carried out in Italy using artificial intelligence, in addition to the obligation to include specific clauses in the contracts between Italian executive production or post-production companies and writers, interpreters and performers of the work that permit their refusal to consent to the exploitation of their work/image/professional performance by artificial intelligence systems
• Applicants must operate in compliance with the protocol against harassment and violence in the workplace in the film and audiovisual sector signed by the largest employer and trade unions.
• Payment for the process costs is now required.

News June 2025:

• Mandatory viewing of the finished work by DGCA: The producer must allow the DGCA to view the completed work (at a time agreed upon with the DGCA, based on the specific distribution timeline). Without this viewing, the tax credit transfer cannot be approved.
• Cost verification: the Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual (DGCA) may request, also for the purposes of transferability of the tax credit, a certification of the declared eligible costs. This verification must be carried out by a third and independent party, previously agreed upon with the DGCA.
• Hiring and third-party services: rules already in force regarding staff recruitment and outsourcing of services are strengthened.

Funding opportunities