According to a government decree issued on 5 June 2025, the annual rebate amount to be deposited to the collection account for supporting Hungarian film productions increases from HUF 69 billion to HUF 81 billion in 2025. The rebate remains unchanged at 30%, however, an annual cap of HUF 407 billion for new registrations has also been introduced.
The boom in film production in Hungary in the years following the Covid epidemic has led to a steadily increasing demand for the 30% rebate. Even though the amount made available on the collection account has increased from HUF 33 billion to HUF 44 billion, and then to HUF 69 billion in 2022, there is still an increasing waiting time to receive the rebate by the film producers.
The increase to HUF 81 billion was therefore long time expected and should allow film producers to access the funds sooner.
The government decree, however, not only increased the amount of collection account but also introduced a cap for new registrations of eligible costs in 2025; the cap that has just been announced is HUF 407 billion and it has already been fully exhausted for 2025.
The reason for introducing this cap was most likely because in December 2024, due to a change in the Film Law, there was a big campaign of last-minute registrations to enjoy still the old rules. The National Film Office (NFO) processed the big volume of new registrations throughout Q1 2025 and by the end of the quarter, the NFO has already registered new projects almost as much as throughout in 2024 in total, prompting the decision makers to cool down the industry.
For the moment, new film registrations are not accepted and processed by the NFO until new legislative changes occur. It is our understanding that productions initiating their registrations before 5 June should be green lit without change.
Importantly, there is a Film Law amendment being discussed by the Hungarian Parliament that is scheduled to be voted this week. This law amendment would entitle the government to make a new decree on the procedures of the NFO how to manage the situation and verify what is to be spent in 2025 and what is allocable to future years. Hopefully, these new procedural rules would then allow the Film Office to reopen registrations even within the newly set HUF 407 billion annual cap.
By Karoly Radnai, Managing Partner, Szabo Kelemen & Partners Andersen Attorneys
