What counts toward your rebate.
What qualifies for Hungary's 30–37.5% film rebate: local Hungarian spend, up to 25% foreign costs, and foreign cast & crew rules — plus expenses that don't qualify. A producer's breakdown.
Three categories decide your rebate
The final rebate is built from three buckets of spend. Understanding what lands in each — and what falls out — is the difference between a 30% and a 37.5% result.
1 · Local Hungarian spend
- Local wages.
- Rental costs — equipment, set dressing and more.
- Set construction.
- Purchases and consumables used during production.
- Transport, travel, accommodation and catering.
- Post-production.
- A portion of financing, admin, insurance and completion bond, if invoiced from Hungary.
2 · Foreign, non-Hungarian spend (up to 25%)
Production outside Hungary can count for up to one quarter of total qualified expenses — 100 Hungarian units plus 25 foreign units produces the 37.5% rebate on the Hungarian budget. Eligible foreign costs, when paid by the Hungarian production company, include:
- Non-Hungarian shooting and post-production costs.
- Bond, insurance and legal fees tied to the Hungarian portion of the shoot.
- Non-Hungarian producer fees (up to 4% of the budget).
- Equipment or real-estate rental paid to non-Hungarian entities.
3 · Foreign cast & crew working in Hungary
- Qualify if the home country has a double-taxation treaty with Hungary.
- Salary up to $10,000 qualifies at 100%; above $10,000 qualifies at 50%.
- 15% Hungarian income tax; a Hungarian tax number is required.
- Proof of home-country social security (EU A1, US Certificate of Coverage, CA CoC).
What does not qualify
- Producer fees above 4% of the budget.
- Travel where Hungary is neither departure nor destination.
- Copyright fees or royalties for non-Hungarian films and series.
- Promo costs unless a production expense (stills, EPK) — capped at 2% or $30k.
- Costs incurred after production and post.
- Currency gains and losses.
100 Hungarian units + 25 foreign units = a 37.5% rebate on the Hungarian budget. Past that ratio, extra foreign spend stops earning.
Once the budget is mapped, the audit and payment process turns qualifying spend into cash — and the calculator lets you test the split yourself.
Questions producers ask us
How much foreign spend can count toward the Hungarian rebate?
How are foreign cast and crew treated?
What does not qualify?
Related insights
Bring your production to Hungary.
Tell us the budget and territory. We'll model the rebate and plan the floor — and we can arrange to monetize the rebate upfront.
Model Your Rebate