# Croatia Film Incentive: 25% Cash Rebate, 30% in Less Developed Areas

Source: https://storiara.com/incentives/croatia
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Charles Hirschhorn, Storiara

> Croatia's Filming in Croatia program, run by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), pays a 25% cash rebate on qualifying Croatian spend, excluding VAT, with 5% more for filming in regions with below average development. Minimum local spend is EUR 250,000 for features and EUR 100,000 per TV episode. Applications are first come, first served, and the current programme runs to December 31, 2026.

## How the Croatian rebate works

Croatia pays a [cash rebate](https://storiara.com/glossary/cash-rebate) to the applicant's Croatian bank account after the production finishes and the accounts are audited. The legal basis is the Law on Audiovisual Activities and HAVC's rules, and the current state aid programme covers 2024 to 2026 with a planned EUR 30,000,000 for 2026. HAVC processes applications first come, first served.

The rate is 25% of qualifying Croatian spend with VAT stripped out. Productions filming in regions HAVC classes as having below average development get 5% more. Qualifying spend is simple to define: goods and services bought in Croatia, and wages paid to Croatian tax residents (cast and crew) for work done in Croatia. A foreign DP flown in from London doesn't count, but the Croatian gaffer, the Split hotel and the Dubrovnik location fee do.

One ceiling sits underneath: the Croatian spend used as the base can't exceed 80% of the total production budget. For a service production that shoots only a few weeks in Croatia that almost never bites, but a local co-production spending most of its money at home will hit it.

## Minimums by format

| Format | Minimum Croatian spend, net of VAT |
|---|---|
| Feature film | EUR 250,000 |
| Television film | EUR 150,000 |
| TV series | EUR 100,000 per episode |
| Documentary, animated film, documentary episode, animated series of 24+ minutes total, post-only | EUR 60,000 |

Commercials, reality TV, game shows and soaps are excluded.

## The qualification test and the hiring rules

Every project passes a points test in three blocks: cultural content, Croatian and EEA creative contribution, and use of Croatian production capacity such as studios and locations. A service production needs 14 of 36 points (at least 4, 6 and 4 in the three blocks), and a co-production 22 of 44 (at least 6, 10 and 6). A higher score doesn't get you money faster or a better rate. If you haven't filled one of these in before, [the cultural test explained](https://storiara.com/blog/the-cultural-test-how-to-qualify-for-international-film-incentives) covers how these tests work in general.

The hiring rules are pegged to the size of the rebate itself:

| Rebate amount | Extra requirement |
|---|---|
| Over EUR 500,000 | At least one Croatian trainee in each main production department |
| Over EUR 1,000,000 | The trainees, plus at least three Croatian co-heads or heads of department, plus 50% of crew Croatian tax residents |

## Worked examples

A US thriller spends EUR 1,000,000 net of VAT in Zagreb and Istria.

| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Qualifying Croatian spend | EUR 1,000,000 |
| Rebate at 25% | EUR 250,000 |

If the same shoot moved its main unit to a region with below average development, the rate becomes 30% and the rebate EUR 300,000.

A streaming series spends EUR 5,000,000 across eight episodes (EUR 625,000 each, above the per-episode minimum). At 25% the rebate is EUR 1,250,000, which triggers the over EUR 1,000,000 rules. The line producer now has to fill three HOD or co-HOD slots with Croatians and staff half the crew with Croatian tax residents. That's normal for a service show built on a Croatian crew base, but it should be in the crew plan before the budget is locked, because the auditor checks it at the end.

## Applying

1. Contract a Croatian production services company, or co-produce with a Croatian company. A foreign applicant without a Croatian office needs a subsidiary or branch in Croatia by the time the rebate is paid.
2. The applicant needs at least one publicly shown production in the last three years (festival, cinema, TV or VOD).
3. Show proof that 70% of the Croatian production costs are financed.
4. Email the electronically signed application in Croatian to filmingincroatia@havc.hr at least 8 days before production starts in Croatia, with the local budget, the qualification test, a statutory declaration, tax clearance and the service or co-production contract.
5. The five-member Incentive Committee meets at least every three months.
6. After wrap, submit audited accounts. HAVC publishes auditor guidelines in Croatian.

The programme text runs until December 31, 2026. Ask HAVC about the successor programme before planning a 2027 shoot around these terms.

Storiara's budget can pull in an incentive estimate from its Funding page, which checks programs against the story's locations, shoot days and budget. The estimate treats 60% of the gross total as qualifying spend and doesn't apply uplifts or hiring conditions, so swap in the net-of-VAT Croatian spend from the local budget before it goes into a finance plan.

## Croatia next to its neighbors

[Serbia](https://storiara.com/incentives/serbia) also pays 25%, rising to 30% above EUR 5,000,000 of Serbian spend, with a EUR 300,000 feature minimum. [Hungary](https://storiara.com/incentives/hungary) to the north and [Italy](https://storiara.com/incentives/italy) across the Adriatic run their own programs, covered on their pages. Croatia's 80% of budget ceiling on [qualified spend](https://storiara.com/glossary/qualified-spend) and the EUR 1,000,000 crew rules are the two numbers that change a finance plan, so model them in the [incentive calculator](https://storiara.com/tools/incentive-calculator) and compare the region on the [incentives hub](https://storiara.com/incentives).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is Croatia's film rebate?

25% of qualifying Croatian spend excluding VAT, paid in cash after an audit. Productions filming in regions with below average development get an extra 5%.

### What is the minimum spend to qualify in Croatia?

EUR 250,000 for a feature, EUR 150,000 for a TV film, EUR 100,000 per TV episode, and EUR 60,000 for documentaries, animation and post-only applications.

### When do I have to apply for the Croatian rebate?

At least 8 days before production starts in Croatia, by email to HAVC, with the application and documents in Croatian and electronically signed.

### Do bigger productions in Croatia have extra hiring rules?

Yes. Above EUR 500,000 of rebate you need a Croatian trainee in each main department. Above EUR 1,000,000 you also need at least three Croatian heads or co-heads of department and 50% Croatian tax resident crew.

## Sources

- [Filming in Croatia (HAVC): The Incentive Programme](https://filmingincroatia.hr/the-incentive-programme/)
- [HAVC: Programme of Incentives for Investment in the Production of Audiovisual Works 2024-2026](https://filmingincroatia.hr/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Program_HAVC_Poticaji-2024-2026_EN.pdf)