Tax credit for theatrical performances of dramatic works

• Enterprises in the culture sector

Businesses wishing to benefit from the tax credit must have obtained two approvals from the Ministry of Culture:

• An interim approval certifying, in the light of the evidence submitted in support of the request made by the undertaking, that the work will fulfil the conditions enabling it to benefit from the tax credit. The application for accreditation must be sent, by e-mail or by post, by the company to the Direction générale de la création artistique, in charge of monitoring the tax credit within the Ministry of Culture.
  The date of receipt of the application for provisional approval by the Ministry shall mark the beginning of the consideration of expenditure eligible for the tax credit. The application for provisional approval must be accompanied by the supporting documents mentioned in Article 4 of the implementing decree. The provisional approval decision shall be notified to the undertaking and shall indicate that, on the basis of the information and supporting documents submitted, the show concerned fulfils the conditions for benefiting from the tax credit, subject to obtaining final approval.
• A final approval, issued within 36 months, attesting that the work actually meets the eligibility conditions for the tax credit. The application for final approval must be sent to the Direction générale de la création artistique, accompanied by the supporting documents mentioned in Article 8 of the implementing decree. The purpose of final approval is to establish that the performance has in fact satisfied the conditions for the application of the device.

Both approvals shall be issued after an expert committee has delivered its opinion.

The tax credit is for businesses that create a theatre show. The companies concerned must comply with the following conditions:

• be a live entertainment contractor
• be subject to corporation tax
• be responsible for the performance, including that of the artist’s employer
• bear the costs of creating the show
• comply with legal, tax and social obligations

The basis of the tax credit is the following expenses:

• Costs of creating and running the show within the limit of 60 dates (costs of permanent staff of the company directly concerned by the show, costs of non-permanent staff of the company, costs of renting rooms, costs of purchasing small equipment, insurance costs, expenses necessary for the promotion of the show, etc.)
• Expenses related to the digitization of the show (costs of acquiring copyrights, costs of capturing, costs of acquiring pre-existing images, sales of rights invoiced by rights holders, post-production expenses, remuneration and social charges necessary for carrying out these operations, etc.)

Expenses incurred are only eligible for the tax credit from the date the Ministry of Culture receives an application for provisional approval.

Are eligible for the «theatre» tax credit, performances whose action is organized around a central theme and which concern the registers of comedy, tragedy, drama and vaudeville as well as the categories of puppet theatre and mime and gesture theatre. They can concern a text previously written (whatever its date of writing), an adaptation of texts, a writing on the tray without prior text.

Improv show cannot be eligible for tax credit.

Performances must include a performance with the following characteristics:

• Present creation costs mainly incurred in France
• Constitute the first exploitation of a show characterized by a new direction and scenography and which has not yet given rise to any public representation
• Be performed by a team of artists composed of at least 90% professionals
• Have at least six artists on stage, each with at least 20 rehearsal services
• To be scheduled for more than twenty dates, of which at least half on French territory, over a period of twelve consecutive months in at least two different locations.

Eligible expenditure is limited to €500,000 per show.

The tax credit rate is equal to 15% of eligible expenditures incurred in the year in which the tax credit is calculated. This rate is increased to 30 % for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The tax credit is capped at €750,000 per company per fiscal year. Where the financial year is less than or more than 12 months, the amount of the ceiling shall be reduced or increased in the same proportion as the financial year.

The following are deducted from the tax credit calculation bases:

• Aid directly allocated to the show supported by the tax credit: public grants and grants paid by the Association pour le Soutien au Théâtre privé (ASTP)
• Other non-refundable public subsidies received by enterprises, calculated on the basis of the ratio of the amount of eligible expenditure to the total amount of the enterprise’s expenses shown in the income statement

NB: Expenditure eligible for the tax credit is taken into account only from the date of receipt by the Ministry of the application for provisional approval.

Performances must include a performance with the following characteristics:

• Present creation costs mainly incurred in France
• Constitute the first exploitation of a show characterized by a new direction and scenography and which has not yet given rise to any public representation
• Be performed by a team of artists composed of at least 90% professionals
• Have at least six artists on set
• Be scheduled for more than twenty dates over a period of twelve consecutive months in at least two different locations

1. Download the form below.
2. Fill out the form and return it by email by clicking on the "Submit my file" button at the bottom of the pageor by mail to:

Ministry of Culture
Directorate-General for Artistic Creation
Delegation to Theatre and Associated Arts
182, rue Saint Honoré - 75001 Paris