Up to 40% back
VFX vendor in France
The French tax rebate (TRIP) pays back up to 40% of an international production’s spend in France. A French production services company claims it and hires studios like FAKE IT, a VFX and 3D animation studio established in France, in Roubaix, near Lille. The work made in our studio counts in your eligible spending. We don’t file the application.
The key numbers
Rebate
30% of eligible spending in France
VFX bonus
40% on all eligible spending, for live-action fiction with more than €2M of VFX in France
Minimum spend
€250,000 in France, or 50% of the budget when it is under €500,000
Cap
€30M per project
Who claims it
A French production services company, hired by the foreign production
Our role
VFX and 3D vendor in France. Our work counts in the eligible spending.
Our role on a TRIP project
We are a vendor. A French production services company files your TRIP application with the CNC and receives the rebate. We make part of the work it includes in that application.
We make VFX, 3D animation and post-production in our studio in France, with a team based in France. We don’t subcontract anything abroad.
Our quotes list each task and where it is made, so the production services company can include them in the application.
We don’t file the application and we don’t run shoots in France. We don’t receive the rebate, and we don’t advance it either. The CNC decides whether a project qualifies, with its cultural test.
Which projects qualify
The TRIP is for scripted fiction, in live action or animation. That includes feature films, series (single episodes, several episodes or a whole season), TV and web projects, VR, shorts and TV specials. The project must not receive CNC production funding. A live-action project must shoot at least 5 days in France, unless most of its French spend goes to VFX. Every project must also pass a cultural test specific to its genre (live action, VFX or animation), with elements linked to French culture, heritage or territory.
Documentaries, commercials and reality TV are not eligible.
VFX-only projects without a shoot in France
A project can qualify without filming in France if two conditions are met:
at least 15% of the shots, or on average one and a half shots per minute, are digitally processed over the whole film;
more than 50% of the French spend goes to VFX and post-production.
The 40% VFX bonus
When a live-action fiction project has at least 15% of its shots digitally processed and spends more than €2M on VFX in France, the rebate rises from 30% to 40%. The 40% then applies to all of the project’s eligible spending, including live-action costs that have nothing to do with VFX.
VFX expenses count when the work is carried out by a service provider established in France, for the digital processing of shots. That means adding characters, set elements or objects that take part in the action, or changing the rendering of the scene or the camera’s point of view. It is the work of a VFX studio. The VFX you make with us count toward the €2M, along with those of the other French studios on the project.
What counts as eligible spending
salaries of writers, directors and production staff who are French, EU or EEA nationals or residents in France, with social contributions;
actors’ fees, up to collective-agreement minimums;
technical goods and services bought from companies established in France: VFX, animation, post-production;
transport, travel, accommodation and catering, within limits;
depreciation of equipment used for the project.
Since the 2026 reform, actors no longer need to be EU nationals or residents, and their fees count up to 30% of the production budget. Rates and the cap do not change, and the scheme runs to the end of 2028. Expenses count only from the date the CNC receives the application.
Who files the application
The CNC grants the TRIP to a French production services company, hired under contract by the non-French production. It can be an established company, a subsidiary of the production or a company set up for the project. That company files the application and manages the work made in France. Once the project is finished, it gets the final certificate and receives the rebate through its yearly tax return. When the rebate is higher than the tax it owes, the French State pays the difference.
If you do not have a production services company yet, Film France–CNC keeps a directory of them (see the sources below). We work with the one you choose.
French productions too
For a French producer, the work made in our studio also counts in the French tax credits for film and TV (crédit d’impôt cinéma and crédit d’impôt audiovisuel). As with the TRIP, the work has to be made in France. Here too, the producer claims the credit, not us.
Why Northern France
FAKE IT is in Roubaix, in the Lille metropolitan area. By high-speed train, it is 1 h from Paris, 1 h 20 from London and 35 min from Brussels. We make VFX, 3D animation and post-production in the same studio. The region also has its own image agency, Pictanovo, based in Tourcoing. It supports live-action, animation, video-game and immersive projects. Its schemes have their own conditions.
How to work with us
Tell us about your project as early as you can, ideally before the application is filed. We look with you at which share of the VFX, 3D animation and post-production can be made in our studio. Then we send you a quote broken down by task, which your production services company can use. Our VFX and game cinematics pages have more details. You can also send us a brief.
Questions
How much is the French tax rebate?
It is 30% of eligible spending made in France. It goes up to 40% for live-action fiction with at least 15% of its shots digitally processed and more than €2M of VFX spending in France. The cap is €30M per project.
Does FAKE IT file the TRIP application?
No. A French production services company hired by your production files the application and receives the rebate. We work as a VFX and 3D vendor, and the work made in our studio counts in the eligible spending.
Does work made at FAKE IT count towards the French tax rebate?
Yes, if your project qualifies. Our studio is established in France and we do the work there. Our VFX work also counts toward the €2M of French VFX spending needed for the 40% rate.
Can a VFX-only project get the French tax rebate?
Yes, without any shoot in France, if at least 15% of the shots are digitally processed and more than 50% of the French spend is VFX and post-production.
Are commercials eligible?
No. Commercials, documentaries and reality TV are not eligible. The TRIP is for scripted fiction and animation.
What changed in the French tax rebate in 2026?
Actors no longer need to be EU nationals or residents, and their fees count up to 30% of the production budget. The scheme is extended to the end of 2028. Rates (30% and 40%) and the €30M cap stay the same.
Sources
We last checked these rules on 13 October 2026, against Film France–CNC, the CNC website and the BOFiP. TRIP rules can change, so always confirm your project’s eligibility with Film France–CNC.