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It's been a successful year for Irish film so far, with a number of wins during awards season; Benjamin Cleary won the Oscar for Best Short Film for Stutterer; actress Brie Larson picked up the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the Irish Film ROOM, directed by Lenny Abrahamson. And Brooklyn picked up the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Ireland also took centre stage as a filming location earlier this year with scenes from the latest Star Wars film, Star Wars; The Force Awakens, filmed on Skellig Michael.

A number of State supports are available to help the film industry, and more broadly the audiovisual sector, in developing and producing content. Check out our previous article on the range of funding supports provided through Screen Ireland, formerly the Irish Film Board. As of this week, there's another support to add to this list....

€70 million tax film credit

As of May 1st, the expenditure per film project which can be supported by the Film Tax Credit will increase by €20 million, to €70 million. The increase was announced as part of Budget 2016 and has now been provided for in the Finance Act 2015.

The tax credit - also known as 'Section 481' - incentivises film & TV production made in Ireland and is worth up to 32% of eligible Irish expenditure. We've answered three main questions about the scheme below...

What types of projects qualify?

The incentive applies to feature film, TV drama (singles or series), animation (excluding computer games), & creative documentary. Projects must either pass the Cultural Test or qualify as an official co-production under one of Ireland's Bilateral Co-Production Treaties or the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production.

Who is eligible to apply?

The application to Revenue is made by the Producer Company which must:

• — Be Irish resident or trading through a branch or agency
• — Make film and TV for cinema exhibition or broadcast or online
• — Be trading for at least 12 months and have filed with Revenue a corporation tax return
• — Not be connected to a broadcaster
• — Hold 100% shareholding in a "Qualifying Company" which is resident in Ireland or trading through a Branch or Agency, and exist as an SPV to make one film

Applications are made by e-mail to S.481relief@revenue.ie.

What is eligible expenditure?

The payable tax credit is based on the cost of all cast and crew working in Ireland, regardless of nationality, as well as goods, services and facilities purchased in Ireland.

For more information

See Screen Ireland's website for a brief overview of the scheme.

For detailed information, see the Revenue Commissioner's website.