Hungary reopens the film incentive.

For a brief window, Hungary's outgoing administration introduced a cap on new registrations for the country's 30% cash rebate — the mechanism international productions use to enter the program. It created uncertainty at exactly the moment Hungary had become continental Europe's most sought-after production hub. On 16 July 2026, the new government under Péter Magyar reversed that decision. The cap on new registrations is gone. The incentive is open again.

What actually changed

• The cap on new registrations has been removed. Applications for the 30% incentive have resumed, without a ceiling on how many projects may register.
• The rate is unchanged. Hungary continues to pay a 30% cash rebate on qualifying local spend, extendable to 37.5% by including up to 7.5% of non-Hungarian eligible costs.
• The program is secured to 2030. The European Commission's approval for the six-year scheme, granted in 2024, remains in force.
• The 2026 collection account is HUF 70 billion. The National Film Institute continues to guarantee payment through its Collection Account.
• The six-month rule stays. Principal photography must begin within six months of registration approval.

Why the reversal matters

Ervin Nagy, state secretary for culture, framed the decision in the industry's own language: "Today, we have opened a new chapter in our cooperation with the film industry by lifting the blockage on the tax incentive system that ensures the smooth and predictable operation of the Hungarian film industry." For international producers, that predictability is the point. Hungary has hosted F1: The Movie, the Dune films, The Brutalist, Poor Things, 3 Body Problem and The Day of the Jackal. Registration capacity — not stages, not crew, not the rate — had become the constraint. That constraint is now gone.

The rate stayed at 30%. The infrastructure stayed world-class. What changed is that the door is open again.

What producers should do now

1. Register early. With the cap removed, the practical bottleneck is the six-month principal-photography clock. Time your registration to your greenlight, not to a hoped-for start date.
2. Structure to 37.5%. The 30% rate becomes 37.5% by adding qualifying non-Hungarian costs, up to a 7.5% uplift. Structuring this correctly is the difference between leaving nothing and leaving millions on the table.
3. Consider upfront monetization. The rebate is post-financed by default. Through several partner lenders and banks in the US, UK and Hungary, we can arrange to monetize it upfront so it funds the shoot during production.
4. Model the co-production. Stack Hungary with Canada, Spain, Saudi Arabia or another partner and the blended return can climb past 40%.

Sources

Reporting on the reform was covered by Variety, Screen International, Budapest Reporter and Cineuropa. Program mechanics are published by the National Film Institute.