Grants for international productions
International productions are eligible for a cash grant of 20 per cent of Qualifying New Zealand Production Expenditure (QNZPE). If you can show that your production will bring significant economic benefits to New Zealand, you could also get an extra 5 per cent uplift.
Grants for New Zealand productions and co-productions
New Zealand productions are eligible for a cash grant of 40 per cent of QNZPE. To qualify for this grant, your production must have significant New Zealand content or be an official co-production.
New Zealand currently has co-production agreements with these countries:
- Australia
- Italy
- Canada
- Republic of Korea (film only)
- People’s Republic of China (film only)
- Singapore
- Denmark
- Spain
- France
- South Africa
- Germany
- Chinese Taipei
- India
- UK
- Republic of Ireland.
No fringes
New Zealand crew members are generally self-employed contractors. There are no compulsory union fringe obligations or personal benefits such as holiday pay and health, government levies or union dues.
This can be an advantage to New Zealand’s competitiveness over other territories such as Australia, Canada and the US, where these add-on costs apply.
Tax
New Zealand has a relatively simple, low-cost tax system with no regional or state taxes. Guidelines for the screen industry are available from the New Zealand Inland Revenue.
We also recommend you seek advice from a New Zealand tax professional to make sure your production meets New Zealand’s income tax, Goods and Services Tax (GST) and grant requirements.
Key documents
- The New Zealand Screen Production Grant for New Zealand Productions
- The New Zealand Screen Production Grant for International Productions