Cross-border productions — Ireland + Northern Ireland + UK

A cross-border production is one where production activity, financing, talent or distribution spans the Ireland / United Kingdom jurisdictions. Most commonly Ireland and Northern Ireland, sometimes extending into Great Britain (Scotland / Wales / England) for additional funding.

Cross-border is one structuring pattern, not the default. Many Northern Ireland productions are NI-only (NI-shot, NI-financed via NI Screen Fund + sister funds + AVEC — UK Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit + BBC NI), and many Ireland productions are Ireland-only (Section 481 — the Irish scripted tax credit + Screen Ireland + a domestic broadcaster). Togra serves all-island producers — see Niall's project memory on Togra's all-island scope.

When producers structure cross-border

Reasons to structure cross-border include:

• Access two parallel tax credit regimes (Section 481 — the Irish scripted tax credit in Ireland + AVEC — UK Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit in the UK)
• Access additional funders (NI Screen Fund + sister funds / ILBF — Irish Language Broadcast Fund / USBF — Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund / BFI Production Fund / Screen Scotland / Ffilm Cymru)
• Use studio facilities or post-production capacity more available in one jurisdiction
• Reflect the story's setting (e.g. a Belfast-set drama with Dublin-side production support)
• Co-production with a UK broadcaster — e.g. BBC — British Broadcasting Corporation NI plus an Irish broadcaster co-commission
• Producer company has bases in both jurisdictions (Irish entity + NI entity under common ownership)

Stacking the tax credits

Each tax credit is calculated against expenditure in its own jurisdiction — no double-counting:

• Irish-side spend → Section 481 — the Irish scripted tax credit (32%, or 40% with Scéal Uplift — the enhanced Section 481 rate for lower-budget productions for qualifying feature films + animated feature films)
• UK-side spend → AVEC — UK Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (34% film/HETV · 39% animation + children's TV · 53% Independent Film Tax Credit for qualifying indies ≤ £15m · 39% VFX uplift on standard-rate productions)

Both credits can run on the same production provided the spend is cleanly attributed. The producer maintains separate Irish + UK cost accounting against the relevant credit's qualifying-expenditure rules.

State aid — the post-Brexit position

The EU state-aid framework that caps Section 481 — the Irish scripted tax credit and Section 487A — the Irish unscripted tax credit at 50% applies to EU Member State public funding. Post-Brexit, the UK is not a Member State.

UK public funding does not count toward the Irish state-aid cumulation cap. Concretely:

• AVEC, BFI Production Fund, NI Screen Fund + sister funds (+ ILBF — Irish Language Broadcast Fund / USBF — Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund / Documentary / NTF), Screen Scotland, Ffilm Cymru, Film London — excluded from the Irish S481 / S487A 50% calculation
• Irish state aid (the S481 / S487A credit itself, Screen Ireland funding, CnaM Sound & Vision, other Irish public funds) — counted
• EU Member State funding from any third country participating in the co-production — counted

The 60% cross-border allowance under the Cinema Communication applies only where more than one EU Member State funds the production. Ireland + UK does not get the 60% allowance.

See State Aid — the EU cumulation cap and its mitigations for the full rule and AVEC — UK Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit for the explicit position (UK funding is not EU state aid post-Brexit).

The state-aid arithmetic on the Irish side of a cross-border production therefore remains the standard 50% cap. Over 50% disqualifies S487A entirely (under Section 487A — the Irish unscripted tax credit). On S481, low-budget / "difficult" film certifications may permit higher intensity — see Low-budget and "difficult" film certifications — exceeding the 50% state-aid cap.

Corporate structure

A cross-border production typically uses:

• An Irish DAC — when required DAC (qualifying company) for the S481 side
• A UK SPV (qualifying company under AVEC rules) for the AVEC side
• A co-production agreement governing IP, recoupment, and the flow of funds between the two entities

Specialist legal advice is essential — this is not a structure to attempt without it.

Some producer companies have bases in both jurisdictions (Irish entity + NI entity under common ownership). Such a group can host the Irish DAC + the UK SPV under one slate, simplifying group-level reporting.

Common patterns

• Belfast-set drama: BBC NI commission + NI Screen Fund + sister funds + UK AVEC, with Irish co-production element + S481
• Animation co-production: UK + Irish animation studios working in parallel under a co-production treaty
• Cross-border documentary: split filming + post + financing across the two jurisdictions
• Cross-border drama with NI shoot + ROI post: NI Screen + AVEC on the shoot, S481 on the post

How Togra supports cross-border productions

A cross-border production can carry both an S481 readiness tracker and an AVEC tracker in parallel. State-aid cumulation is calculated across all funders and credits regardless of jurisdiction. Funder progress reports surface NI Screen + Screen Ireland + BFI deliverables side by side. Where the producer company group has bases in both jurisdictions, group-level reporting consolidates across the slate.