Creative industries · Official co-productions

UK Official Co-Productions for Film and Television

Official UK co-production status allows an eligible film or television programme to be treated as British under an international agreement, rather than through the points-based cultural test. Formal certification by the BFI, on behalf of the Secretary of State, is required.

That status may support a claim for the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit, an enhanced AVEC rate such as the Independent Film Tax Credit where the additional conditions are met, and other national-status benefits outside our tax scope. It does not by itself guarantee any credit: the production must still satisfy the relevant tax conditions, and treaty certification and the UK expenditure-credit calculation use different tests. Only the qualifying UK production company can claim the UK expenditure credit.

Our focus is the UK accounting, expenditure, reconciliation and Corporation Tax side of a co-production. We are a boutique, owner-led practice and we coordinate with the BFI, legal advisers, overseas advisers and eligible statutory auditors rather than replacing them.

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Reviewed: August 2026 — technical guidance reviewed by Singletree Accountants Ltd. For the wider picture, see our creative industry tax reliefs overview. The BFI publishes its official co-production guidance and HMRC sets out its co-production guidance in the expenditure credit manual.

Official co-production compared with the Cultural Test

Both are routes to British certification. They are assessed by different criteria and are applied for in different ways.

Comparison of the official co-production route and the cultural test route to British certification.
Feature	Official co-production	Cultural Test
Basis of qualification	Qualification under a bilateral treaty or the European Convention	Points-based British cultural qualification
Treaty partner	A qualifying partner country is required	No treaty partner required
Assessment	Contributions and participants assessed under the chosen agreement	Scored against the published cultural test criteria
Where applications go	Applications made to the competent authorities in each participating country	Application made to the BFI on behalf of the Secretary of State
Cultural test	No separate cultural test is required for British certification	The cultural test is the qualification route itself

The correct route depends on the production structure, the countries involved and the financing, and it should be settled before production begins. Detailed guidance on the points-based route, including the scoring areas, evidence and application process, sits on our BFI Cultural Test support page. HMRC explains the British certification requirement in its manual.

Which productions can be official co-productions

Official co-production treatment can apply to qualifying films, high-end television, animation programmes and children’s television programmes, provided the chosen agreement covers that production type.

Treaty coverage varies. Some agreements cover both film and television, some cover film only, and some countries have separate film and television agreements. The European Convention applies to cinematographic works and does not provide a television co-production route. There are no qualifying official co-production provisions for video games, so the video games expenditure credit is unaffected by this route.

Current BFI-listed bilateral partners

The following partners appear on the BFI’s current published list, alongside the European Convention.

Current BFI-listed bilateral partners — reviewed August 2026
Partner	Current BFI-listed coverage
Australia	Film and television
Brazil	Film and television
Canada	Film and television
China	Separate film and television agreements
France	Film
India	Film
Israel	Film and television
Jamaica	Film
Morocco	Film
New Zealand	Film and television
South Africa	Separate film and television agreements
Palestine	Film and television

Check the current treaty documents first

Agreements can change. Coverage and the detailed contribution conditions differ between agreements, and this table summarises coverage only rather than reproducing treaty percentages. The current BFI treaty documents must be checked before a production is structured or an application is made. This table is not treaty-specific legal advice. The BFI maintains the current list of co-production agreements.

The European Convention

The UK participates in both the original and the revised European Conventions on Cinematographic Co-production. The version selected must be in force in every participating co-production country, and productions involving countries operating under different versions need careful review before an application is made.

The Convention applies to cinematographic works and does not provide a television co-production route. The applicable points, contribution and competent-authority requirements depend on the relevant Convention, so the correct version has to be identified at the outset. The BFI publishes its current European Convention information alongside its bilateral treaty guidance.

Selecting the right agreement

Treaty selection is a structuring decision taken early. The following factors normally matter.

Production type, and whether the agreement covers film, television or both
The participating countries and their current treaty position
Minimum and maximum contribution requirements under the agreement
The financial contribution made by each co-producer
Creative, technical and artistic participation
Nationality or residence requirements for personnel
Rights ownership and revenue participation
Competent-authority approval in every participating country
Timing requirements, including deadlines before production starts

Legal and treaty-specific advice may be required. We do not select or approve the treaty and we do not give foreign legal opinions; our role is the UK accounting and tax analysis that follows from the structure chosen.

Application timing

The BFI currently states that co-producers must apply at least four weeks before principal photography or key animation starts. Partner co-producers should normally apply to their own competent authorities at the same time, because approval is needed in every participating country.

The BFI’s general published certification turnaround is currently six to eight weeks, so productions should begin earlier where possible. These are current published timeframes and general guidance rather than guarantees, and we cannot promise certification timing. The BFI answers common questions in its certification FAQ.

Build the certification timetable into the production schedule rather than treating it as an administrative step after the shoot. Late applications and uncoordinated partner filings are among the most common practical problems on co-productions.

Interim and final certification

Interim certification may support claims while the production is incomplete, and final certification is required after completion. A valid certificate must accompany the relevant claim evidence.

Failure to obtain a final certificate can invalidate credits claimed using an interim certificate, and previously paid amounts may need to be repaid. Certification information must remain accurate throughout production, so material changes to the structure, financing or contributions should be reviewed against the application as they happen. The BFI sets out the overall certification process.

Records typically required for a BFI application

Requirements vary by agreement and by production. The following records are commonly involved.

Application form
Co-production agreement
Financing documents
Rights and chain-of-title information
Creative, technical and artistic contribution details
Production schedule
Split budget
Cast and crew information
Statutory declaration
Other competent-authority applications or approvals
Interim and final cost information
Auditor's report where required

This is an indicative list rather than an exhaustive checklist for every treaty. The current BFI application guidance for the relevant agreement governs what is actually required.

The auditor requirement

The BFI currently requires an auditor’s report for final official co-production certification where applicable. Television programmes not seeking tax relief may have different requirements.

Reports received from 1 July 2025 must be administered by an accountant on the statutory auditor register. Where an official co-production is also seeking the Independent Film Tax Credit, verification of the low-budget condition is required as directed by the BFI.

Singletree must not be described as signing that report unless our eligibility has been separately confirmed. What we do provide is the underlying accounting: production-level records, expenditure analysis and reconciliations prepared so that the eligible statutory auditor can carry out their work.

The modified UK production-company test

An official UK co-producer does not have to satisfy the complete ordinary film or television production-company test. Instead it must be a co-producer under the qualifying agreement and make effective creative, technical and artistic contributions to the production.

A nominal, passive or contract-only role may be insufficient. The contribution has to be real and evidenced in the production records, not simply asserted in the co-production agreement. HMRC sets out its position on production companies in the expenditure credit manual.

Where there is more than one UK co-producer

There can only be one qualifying UK production company for a production. Where several UK companies are co-producers, the company making the greater creative, technical or artistic contribution will generally be treated as the production company.

Only the contributions of the UK co-producers are compared for this purpose; overseas co-producers are not part of that comparison. The conclusion depends on the production’s facts and the evidence available, so the analysis should be documented at the time rather than reconstructed at claim stage.

Unofficial commercial co-productions

A collaboration described commercially as a co-production is not automatically an official co-production. Where the arrangement falls outside a qualifying agreement, the modified production-company test does not apply.

In that case the UK company must meet the ordinary film or television production-company conditions in full, and British certification has to be achieved through the cultural test. Branding or contractual terminology alone does not determine the tax result.

The BFI split budget

The BFI split budget generally allocates expenditure according to where personnel, goods and services are sourced. It is prepared for treaty purposes, to show how each co-producer’s contribution is made up.

Using the official example at a high level, a Canadian director working in the UK may be allocated to the Canadian contribution in the BFI split budget. That allocation reflects where the personnel are sourced from, and it does not determine HMRC UK expenditure.

HMRC UK expenditure is a different test from the split budget

This is the distinction that causes the most difficulty on co-productions. HMRC’s AVEC test concerns goods and services used or consumed in the UK.

Supplier nationality is not decisive. The co-producer’s country is not decisive. What matters is where the relevant production activity takes place, and mixed activity may need a just and reasonable apportionment. Returning to the earlier example, a Canadian director allocated to the Canadian contribution in the split budget may still be working in the UK for HMRC purposes.

The BFI treaty classification and the HMRC tax classification must therefore be reconciled rather than assumed to match. HMRC sets out the meaning of UK expenditure and of eligible expenditure in the expenditure credit manual.

The combined 10% UK core-expenditure test

At least 10% of total core expenditure across the full co-production must be UK expenditure. Expenditure incurred by every co-producer is considered for this threshold, so UK expenditure incurred by an overseas co-producer can contribute to satisfying it.

Claims made before completion may rely on reasonable forecasts, and the completion-period return must contain the final position. If the finished production does not satisfy the threshold, earlier claims may be revised. HMRC explains the minimum UK expenditure condition in its manual.

Which expenditure enters the UK claim

Passing the combined 10% test does not allow the UK claimant to claim on expenditure borne by overseas co-producers. The two points are often confused.

The UK production company’s AVEC calculation is based on qualifying expenditure attributable to and incurred for its own separate production trade. Co-producers should bear the expenditure for which they are ultimately responsible, and artificially routing another co-producer’s costs through the UK company can be challenged.

The accounts and the co-production agreement should reflect the same economic allocation. Where they diverge, that difference should be explained and evidenced rather than left for HMRC to find.

Separate production trade and reconciliation

The UK company is treated as carrying on a separate trade for the production. In practice that means the following records.

Separate production-level accounting for the UK production trade
Clear income and expenditure attribution between co-producers
Reconciliation between the co-production agreement and the ledger
Core and non-core expenditure analysis
UK and non-UK expenditure analysis
Connected-party disclosure
Currency conversion records and the rates applied
Accounting-period calculations
Reconciliation to the additional information form and Company Tax Return

HMRC sets out the separate production trade rules and the supporting evidence expected with a claim. We do not provide foreign tax or transfer-pricing advice; overseas positions should be taken with local advisers.

How official co-production status interacts with AVEC

Official co-production status provides the certification route. It does not determine the AVEC rate.

The rate and the other conditions depend on whether the production is a standard film, high-end television, animation, children’s television or a qualifying independent film. For the detailed eligibility, expenditure and calculation rules, read our guide to the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit.

How official co-production status interacts with the IFTC

An official co-production satisfies the IFTC creative-connection condition. It does not remove the budget condition.

Total core expenditure across all co-producers must be considered against the £23.5 million certification ceiling, and the £15 million cap on relevant global expenditure entering the calculation remains. Principal photography and the other IFTC commencement conditions continue to apply, and a specific low-budget certificate is still required.

For the detailed budget, certification and calculation rules, read our guide to the Independent Film Tax Credit.

A cautious working sequence

Every co-production differs, but the following order of work reduces the risk of a late or unsupported position.

1.Identify the production type and the partner countries.
2.Identify a potentially applicable treaty or Convention.
3.Obtain treaty-specific legal or BFI guidance.
4.Agree the co-production structure and the responsibilities of each party.
5.Identify the proposed UK production company.
6.Prepare the split budget and supporting records.
7.Apply to the relevant competent authorities in time.
8.Obtain interim certification where required.
9.Maintain separate production accounting.
10.Reconcile treaty and HMRC expenditure classifications.
11.Test the combined 10% UK expenditure condition.
12.Calculate the UK company's own qualifying expenditure.
13.Prepare AVEC or IFTC calculations.
14.Submit the additional information and the Company Tax Return.
15.Obtain and submit final certification after completion.

Common risks

Most co-production difficulties fall into a small number of recurring categories.

Treating a commercial collaboration as an official co-production
Selecting the wrong treaty or Convention
Applying too late for the relevant deadlines
Partner authority applications not coordinated
Treaty contribution conditions not met
A nominal UK co-producer without an effective contribution
The incorrect UK production company selected
More than one UK company attempting to claim
The BFI split budget confused with HMRC UK expenditure
Overseas co-producer expenditure included in the UK claim
Co-production agreement and ledger not aligned
The combined 10% threshold incorrectly calculated
A forecast threshold not met at completion
A missing final certificate
Auditor requirements not met
The IFTC budget condition overlooked
A treaty change not reflected in production records
Missing connected-party or additional information

How Singletree supports official co-productions

We are a boutique, owner-led practice. Our scope is the UK accounting, expenditure and Corporation Tax work, alongside the specialists a co-production already has.

Initial UK tax and accounting scoping
Identifying information needed for BFI and legal advisers
UK production-company analysis
Split-budget and ledger reconciliation
Core and non-core expenditure analysis
UK and non-UK expenditure analysis
Production-level accounting records
AVEC or IFTC calculations
Forecast and completion-period reconciliations
Corporation Tax return and CT600P
Additional information requirements
Coordination with the BFI, lawyers, overseas advisers and eligible statutory auditors
Routine HMRC information requests within the engagement scope

We do not select or approve the treaty, provide foreign legal opinions, certify the production or guarantee tax treatment, and we do not sign the statutory auditor’s report unless our eligibility has been separately confirmed. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the BFI or HMRC.

Official co-production questions

What is a UK official co-production?

A UK official co-production is a film or television production made under a qualifying bilateral co-production treaty or under the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production. Where the conditions of the chosen agreement are met and the competent authorities in each participating country approve the production, it can be treated as British without a separate cultural test. Formal certification by the BFI on behalf of the Secretary of State is required, and official co-production status is a certification route rather than an automatic entitlement to any expenditure credit.

Is official co-production an alternative to the Cultural Test?

Yes, it is an alternative British-certification route. A production qualifying under a treaty or the European Convention does not additionally need to pass the points-based cultural test. The two routes are assessed differently: the cultural test scores the production against published criteria, while an official co-production is assessed against the contribution, participation and approval conditions of the chosen agreement. Which route is appropriate depends on the production structure, the countries involved and the financing.

Which productions can use an official co-production agreement?

Official co-production treatment can apply to qualifying films, high-end television, animation programmes and children's television programmes, but only where the chosen agreement covers that production type. Treaty coverage varies: some bilateral agreements cover both film and television, some cover film only, and some countries have separate film and television agreements. The European Convention applies to cinematographic works and does not provide a television route. There are no qualifying official co-production provisions for video games.

Which countries have UK co-production agreements?

The BFI currently lists bilateral agreements with Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Israel, Jamaica, Morocco, New Zealand, South Africa and Palestine, alongside the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production. Coverage differs by agreement, with some covering film and television and others film only. Agreements, signatories and detailed contribution conditions can change, so the current BFI treaty documents should be checked before a production is structured or an application is made.

When should co-producers apply to the BFI?

The BFI currently states that co-producers must apply at least four weeks before principal photography or key animation starts, and partner co-producers should normally apply to their own competent authorities at the same time. The BFI's general published certification turnaround is currently six to eight weeks, so productions should begin the process earlier where possible. These are current published timeframes and general guidance, not guarantees, and certification timing is a matter for the BFI and the partner authorities.

Which UK co-producer can claim AVEC?

There can only be one qualifying UK production company for a production. Where more than one UK company is a co-producer, the company making the greater creative, technical or artistic contribution will generally be treated as the production company, and only the contributions of the UK co-producers are compared for this purpose. The conclusion depends on the facts and the supporting evidence. An official UK co-producer does not need to satisfy the complete ordinary production-company test, but it must be a co-producer under the agreement and make effective creative, technical and artistic contributions; a nominal, passive or contract-only role may be insufficient.

How does the 10% UK core-expenditure test work for a co-production?

At least 10% of the total core expenditure across the full co-production must be UK expenditure. Expenditure incurred by every co-producer is considered for this threshold, so UK expenditure incurred by an overseas co-producer can contribute to satisfying it. Claims made before completion may rely on reasonable forecasts, and the completion-period return must contain the final position. If the finished production does not satisfy the threshold, earlier claims may need to be revised.

Is the BFI split budget the same as HMRC UK expenditure?

No. The BFI split budget generally allocates expenditure according to where personnel, goods and services are sourced, so a Canadian director working in the UK may be allocated to the Canadian contribution. HMRC's test for AVEC concerns goods and services used or consumed in the UK, so supplier nationality and the co-producer's country are not decisive and where the relevant production activity takes place is important. Mixed activity may need a just and reasonable apportionment. The two classifications must be reconciled rather than assumed to match.

Can an official co-production qualify for IFTC?

An official co-production satisfies the IFTC creative-connection condition, but it does not remove the other conditions. The budget condition still applies, and total core expenditure across all co-producers must be considered against the £23.5 million certification ceiling. The £15 million cap on relevant global expenditure entering the calculation remains, the principal-photography and other commencement conditions remain, and a specific BFI low-budget certificate is still required.

Can an unofficial commercial co-production qualify for AVEC?

A collaboration described commercially as a co-production is not automatically an official co-production. If the arrangement falls outside a qualifying agreement, the modified production-company test does not apply and the UK company must meet the ordinary film or television production-company conditions in full, alongside British certification through the cultural test and the UK expenditure conditions. Branding or contractual terminology alone does not determine the tax result.

What interim, final and accounting records are required?

Interim certification may support claims while the production is incomplete, and final certification is required after completion, with a valid certificate accompanying the relevant claim evidence. Failure to obtain a final certificate can invalidate credits claimed using an interim certificate and previously paid amounts may need to be repaid. Alongside certification records, the production needs separate production-level accounting, clear expenditure attribution between co-producers, reconciliation between the co-production agreement and the ledger, core and non-core analysis, UK and non-UK analysis, connected-party disclosure, currency conversion records and reconciliation to the additional information form and Company Tax Return.

Next step

Discuss the UK accounting for an official co-production

It helps if you can bring the following to the conversation.

Production type
Co-producing countries
Proposed treaty or Convention
UK co-producer
Other UK companies involved
Contribution split
Principal-photography or key-animation date
BFI application status
Split budget
UK and non-UK expenditure
AVEC or IFTC position
Accounting period and filing deadline

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Reviewed: August 2026. This page provides general information only. Co-production agreements, signatories, certification processes and tax rules can change, and coverage differs between agreements. Qualification and treatment depend on the production, the participating countries, the agreement selected, the contributions made, the certification position, the expenditure, the accounting period and the legislation and guidance in force at the time. Production-specific BFI, legal, overseas tax and UK tax advice may be required. The BFI decides certification and HMRC determines tax claims.