Corporation Tax Act 2009 section 1216AG

"Production expenditure" and "core expenditure"

Section 1216AG defines the meanings of "production expenditure" and "core expenditure" in relation to a television programme, which are important categories for determining tax relief eligibility.

• Production expenditure covers all costs incurred on the television production activities associated with a TV programme.
• Core expenditure is a narrower category within production expenditure, limited to costs of pre-production, filming, and post-production.
• The distinction between the two types of expenditure matters because tax relief calculations depend on the proportion of core expenditure to total production expenditure.
• Costs that fall outside pre-production, filming, and post-production — such as development or distribution costs — would count as production expenditure but not as core expenditure.