Funding Austria

For projects with total production costs of less than EUR 1.8 million, funding of up to 20% of the total production costs can be applied for. If at least four of the criteria specified in the guidelines are met, the possible funding increases to up to 30%.

For productions with total production costs of more than EUR 1.8 million, the so-called excellence bonus is available. The prerequisites for this are a FISAplus commitment and the fulfillment of at least four excellence bonus criteria. Funding is available for television films, series, and documentaries with a total running time of at least 45 minutes; in the case of multi-part series, the lengths of the individual episodes can be added together. The funding amount is up to 10% of the eligible expenses in Austria.

The following are not eligible for funding: commissioned films, industrial films, advertising films, show formats, magazines, reports, pure theater, opera, or concert recordings, productions for which filming has already begun at the time of application, projects exclusively for non-linear providers, master's degree films, and all project developments. Productions with total production costs of less than EUR 80,000 are also excluded.

Only services that are relevant for tax purposes in Austria are considered expenses in Austria. Fees, wages, and salaries are recognized to the extent that they are taxed in Austria; for foreign team members, only social security contributions count. Company services are eligible for funding provided that the service provider can prove that it has an Austrian registered office, permanent establishment, or branch office and that the service is provided entirely in Austria. In the case of the excellence bonus, imputed transaction costs and producer fees are also included in Austrian expenses. In total, these expenses must amount to at least 1.6 times the amount of funding applied for.

It is possible to combine this funding with other regional or institutional funding. However, combining it with other federal funds is only permitted if this is expressly permitted by law—as is the case with FISAplus, for example.