Incentive for International Productions

The Reimagined System of 2023

The nature, architecture and cultural heritage of Austria has attracted many productions in the last decades. This is why Austria has followed the trend of the EU that started in the early 2000s and developed its own funding system for international productions and rethought it several times throughout the years. However, these first iterations of the program did not have their desired effects, so the Austrian state decided to create a much simpler and more broadly available tax rebate system by 2023.

The primary aim of the 2023 system is to strengthen Austria’s global position as an international filming destination, but also to develope tourism, promote sustainability, increase tax incomes and broaden the work possibilities of film industry workers.

The Foundation of the Program

One of the program’s cornerstones is that the projects don’t have to meet a minimum overall production cost to be eligible for the grant. The only minimum requirement regards the Austrian spendings, which also varies depending on the project’s type. Furthermore, the yearly budget of the program is unlimited. This ensures that if a production is eligible for the funding, it will be funded regardless of the time of the year, as well as the previously supported projects’ number and scale.

While similar incentives of other countries only support content made for cinema or television distribution, Austria has also extended the support scheme  for content intended for streaming platforms. Moreover, next to typical live action productions (fiction, non-fiction and documentaries alike), animation films, VR content, VFX projects, film music production and postproduction projects are also eligible for the funding. For these cases, special categories were made with a lower requirement of minimum local spendings, opening the door to an even broader range of sizes and types of projects.

Technical Details of the System

The entire program’s framework is set by Law No. 219 of 29th December 2022 (originally named: “219. Bundesgesetz, mit dem ein Filmstandortgesetz 2023 erlassen wird und das Filmförderungsgesetz und das KommAustria-Gesetz geändert werden”), which is an amendment to the Austrian Film Law’s 7th paragraph of 2023 (originally named: “§ 7 Filmstandortgesetz 2023 des Bundesministers für Arbeit und Wirtschaft”). These two laws set the general directives but provide the program named FISA+ the right to define the specific procedure and specify the system’s details in the guidelines published by them.

A unique aspect of the Austrian system is that in every justified case, the production has to comply with the Austrian film crew unions' regulation, the so-called “Kollektivvertrag” for a cost to be eligible for the funding. It is a yearly revisited workers union agreement that defines the details of Austrian crew members’ employment (rights, wages, work hours, etc.).

Furthermore, it is important to mention the duration of evaluation which is generally 30 workdays, the scale of the funding which is typically 30% and also the process of the payment. The payment happens in installments. 30% of the requested funding is given to the production at the beginning of their shoot, while the remaining 70% (adjusted to the finalized budget) is provided at the end.

As mentioned earlier, a local production company is required to apply for the tax rebate. Not only does Progressive Productions meet all the requirements for submitting an application for the fund, but also has in-depth knowledge and experience regarding the tax incentive as well as the entire Austrian film industry.

Green Filming Bonus & Gender Gap Financing

Next to the standard categories of eligible costs, the Austrian system has two completely unique incentives. One is the Gender Gap Financing, which offers funding of 25,000 euros on top of the basic 30% tax rebate. This can be requested if a given amount of female employees take part in the production as members of the main departments. The other is the Green Filming bonus, which offers an additional 5% tax incentive on top of the 30% rebate.
 

Austria is a forerunner of sustainability on a global level, so they strive for “green” solutions both in everyday life and in business. The Green Filming Bonus is a result of this mentality. Its aim is to support and motivate companies and productions to choose more environmentally-friendly solutions rather than trying to cut down on their costs. This is the reason that this extra 5% was chosen to be offered on top of the basic 30% funding in order to cover the extra costs of “green” services and solutions.

Both the production companies and the productions themselves have to meet strict requirements to be eligible for this additional 5%. These requirements cover the equipment used by the various departments, the transport of the cast and crew, their accommodation, the meals as well as most aspects of the production process. The evaluation is done based on a plan that has to be attached to the application when applying and has to include which of the sustainability steps defined in the guide will be taken and how they will be executed. A Green Officer, appointed by the production, will be responsible for the production’s compliance, while the organization providing the funds will monitor the completion of the goals.