Portugal film incentives now run under SCRI.PT. The programme was created by Decree-Law 57/2026 in February 2026, and the RIPAC production-incentive rules were published in June 2026. RIPAC incorporates the incentives formerly known as the cash rebate and cash refund as two non-combinable tracks: medium-budget and large-scale production.
This page covers the current rules: the two RIPAC tracks and their rates, who can apply, the cultural eligibility test, what counts as eligible Portuguese expenditure, the regional treatment for Madeira, the Azores and the low-density interior, and the application, assessment, audit and payment sequence. Madeira’s International Business Centre is covered only as a separate corporate-tax structure. Crew, locations, permits and on-the-ground execution are covered once, on the line producer Portugal page.
SCRI.PT and RIPAC: What Changed in 2026
Until 2025, Portugal ran two programmes side by side: the FATC cash rebate administered by ICA and the Cash Refund for large productions. Both names still circulate in older guides. SCRI.PT was created by Decree-Law 57/2026 in February 2026, and once the RIPAC rules were published in June 2026 the two former programmes stopped applying to new applications. SCRI.PT carries a total budget of €350 million for 2026 to 2029 and is managed by the Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual (ICA) in cooperation with Turismo de Portugal and the #PortugalMediaLab task force. Within it, RIPAC allocates €200 million in non-repayable production support over the four years, and a Mutual Guarantee Scheme run by Banco Português de Fomento provides €150 million to support production credit.
The detailed rules sit in the RIPAC regulation (Ordinance 276-B/2026 of 26 June) and on the Portugal Film Commission SCRI.PT page, which publishes the application rounds, ranking lists and forms. Everything below follows those two sources as published in September 2026; rates, rounds and budgets are re-checked at the start of each project.
The Two RIPAC Tracks: Medium-Budget and Large-Scale
Portugal film rebates under RIPAC are divided by eligible expenditure rather than producer type. The Portugal film rebate on offer therefore depends on the size of the eligible expenditure in Portugal. Projects with eligible spend below €2.5 million use the medium-budget incentive; projects at or above €2.5 million use the large-scale incentive.
| Medium-budget incentive | Large-scale incentive | |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible spend in Portugal | Below €2.5 million; minimum €500,000 per project, or €200,000 for documentaries and work without filming | €2.5 million or more per film, work or series season |
| Rate | 30% | 30% on the first €2 million; up to 25% on the remainder |
| Low-density territories, Azores, Madeira and crew with disabilities | 40% | 30% |
| Maximum support | €1 million | €6 million per work, €3 million per episode, €6 million per project |
| Application | Two rounds a year | Rolling from 29 June 2026, first come first served |
| Annual budget | €15 million | Up to €35 million |
| Payment | Four instalments from contract signature | By the end of April of the year after completion |
Medium-Budget Incentive
The medium-budget track carries a flat 30% reimbursement of eligible expenditure, with a maximum support of €1 million per project and an annual budget of €15 million. Applications open in two rounds a year; in 2026 the second round runs from 28 September at 10:00 Lisbon time to 12 October at 18:00. Because rounds are ranked rather than first come first served, the cultural, audiovisual and promotional score matters for position in the list, and ICA publishes the final ranking of admitted and excluded applications after each round. Payment is made in four instalments starting from contract signature.
Large-Scale Incentive
The large-scale track requires at least €2.5 million of eligible expenditure per film, audiovisual work or series season. The reimbursement is 30% on the first €2 million and up to 25% on the remainder, capped at €6 million per work or €3 million per episode, with a €6 million ceiling per project. The annual budget is up to €35 million, applications are assessed first come first served subject to available funding, and the intake has been open on a rolling basis since 10:00 Lisbon time on 29 June 2026. Payment is made by the end of April of the year following completion of the production.
How the Regional Rate Applies to Each Track
Both tracks carry a higher rate for eligible expenditure incurred in low-density territories and in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira, and for eligible expenditure relating to crew members with disabilities. On the medium-budget track that rate is 40%; on the large-scale track it is 30%, which means regional spend on a large production is not stepped down to 25% above the €2 million threshold. The list of low-density territories is on pages 35 to 37 of Resolution of the Council of Ministers 72/2016. The higher rate attaches to eligible expenditure classified as incurred in the relevant territory, so the mainland and regional calculations are modelled separately in the eligible-expenditure budget.
Eligible Projects and Applicant Rules
Eligible Formats and Project Conditions
- feature-length fiction, documentary or animation films intended for initial theatrical release;
- fiction, animation or documentary audiovisual works, standalone or episodic, intended for initial release on television or on-demand services;
- works of those types incorporating interactive, augmented-reality or virtual-reality features.
Two project conditions apply on both tracks. At the time of application the applicant must demonstrate confirmed financing covering more than 50% of the projected eligible expenditure, and the project must have secured commercial exploitation. Shooting, or key animation, must begin within six months of the application date or of the prior registration of the aid request; for productions without filming, the Portuguese activities must start within six months.
Who Can Apply
Applications may be submitted by corporate taxpayers resident in Portugal, by non-resident entities with a permanent establishment in Portugal, and by companies headquartered in another EU or EEA state, which can apply through the special registration route without an existing Portuguese branch but must establish a Portuguese company or branch with tax status in Portugal before eligible production expenditure begins. In every case the applicant must be entered in the ICA register of film and audiovisual companies. A foreign production therefore accesses the Portugal film cash rebate either through its own Portuguese company or branch, or through a Portuguese executive producer; the regulation treats the second route as a foreign production carried out through an executive producer in Portugal, with its own cultural-test threshold. The Portuguese entity that applies is the entity that signs the contract, receives the support and carries the audit.
The Cultural Eligibility Test
Every project is scored against a grid covering cultural value (Part A), audiovisual and cinematographic value, and promotional value. Unlike the pre-2026 system, where the score moved the rate between 25% and 30%, the test under RIPAC is an eligibility gate and, on the medium-budget track, a ranking tool. The thresholds are:
- standard projects: at least 45 points overall, including at least 18 points under Part A;
- foreign productions carried out through an executive producer in Portugal, or through a non-official co-production: at least 20 points overall, including at least 8 points under Part A;
- projects whose Portuguese activity does not involve filming: at least 25 points overall, including at least 9 points under Part A.
The published assessment table sets out the criteria, and the Portugal Film Commission publishes a self-assessment version of the grid alongside the honour declaration and state-aid registration form. Portuguese creative participation, Portuguese locations and distribution reach all carry points, so the Portuguese leg is designed with the grid in hand rather than scored after the fact.
Eligible Portuguese Expenditure
Eligible expenditure is production expenditure relating to personnel and to goods and services carried out and taxed in Portugal, actually paid, supported by fiscally valid original invoices or receipts issued in the name of the beneficiary entity, and relating to the project’s implementation period. Eligibility is judged on the nature of the cost, its reasonableness and its relationship to the project. Expenditure counts only from the date the application for admission is submitted; the one exception is development expenditure, which is eligible up to twelve months before the application date.
- Production activities carried out in Portugal but contracted with service providers established in other EU or EEA states are eligible up to 20% of the eligible expenditure in Portugal.
- Above-the-line costs are eligible up to 35% of total eligible expenditure in Portugal, with a 10% sub-limit for each of five categories: producers and production companies including executive producers; directors; screenwriters, adaptation and dialogue writers; other authors including authors of pre-existing works and composers; and lead actors.
- For productions carried out in Portugal without filming, the above-the-line limit falls to 20% overall with a 5% sub-limit per category.
Application, Assessment, Audit and Payment
Applications on both tracks are filed through the ICA application platform with the eligible-expenditure budget template, the cultural self-assessment, the honour declaration and the state-aid registration form. The published assessment sequence is the same shape on each track: ICA has 10 working days to assess the application and prepare a proposal for admission, applicants then have 10 working days to submit observations, and ICA has a further 10 working days to assess those submissions. On the large-scale track the proposal and final list then go to the Selection Committee, which has 10 working days to issue its opinion; on the medium-budget track a final 10-working-day period covers the decision on the evaluation and ranking of the round.
After admission the applicant signs a contract with ICA, incurs and documents the eligible expenditure, and files the final accounts for audit. Medium-budget support is paid in four instalments from contract signature; large-scale support is paid by the end of April of the year following completion. Where the Mutual Guarantee Scheme is used, the guarantee facility is arranged through Banco Português de Fomento under the scheme’s technical specifications, and it is also open to RIPAC applicants with a positive evaluation who could not be funded because the budget was exhausted.
Location Scouting Support
The medium-budget incentive also funds scouting missions by foreign producers considering Portugal. Missions involving the director, producer, director of photography or location manager are eligible, ICA assesses the producer’s track record and the relevance of the project, a maximum of two missions per project can be supported, and eligible costs are meals, travel and accommodation for up to four members of the foreign team and four members of the Portuguese production team, up to €15,000. If the project later receives production support, the scouting support is folded into the final accounts for the aid-intensity calculation.
Regional Treatment: Madeira, the Azores and Low-Density Territories
For film incentives in Portugal, regional classification is one of the most planning-sensitive calculations, and it is where the Portugal film incentives and rebates picture is most often misread. On a medium-budget production, spend incurred in Madeira, the Azores or a designated low-density territory is reimbursed at 40% rather than 30%; on a large-scale production it is reimbursed at 30% rather than stepping down to 25% above the first €2 million. The designation is administrative and covers much of the Alentejo, the Beiras, Trás-os-Montes and the inland north, so a schedule that pairs Lisbon studio days with interior or island location days is modelled as two separate calculations before the budget is locked.
The higher rate attaches to eligible expenditure classified as incurred in the relevant territory. The applicant should confirm the treatment of payroll, equipment, travel, accommodation and location costs through the eligible-expenditure budget and supporting records rather than assume that every cost associated with an island or low-density shoot day receives the regional rate. The line producer Portugal engagement prepares that classification, and the location, camp and travel decisions behind it, before the application is filed.
Madeira IBC: Separate Corporate-Tax Structuring, Not a Production Incentive
The Madeira International Business Centre (IBC, or CINM) is a corporate-tax regime for companies licensed in the Madeira Free Trade Zone, administered through the Sociedade de Desenvolvimento da Madeira. It is not part of SCRI.PT and it is not a film incentive. Licensed entities that meet the job-creation and investment substance requirements may access a 5% corporate income tax rate on qualifying income, with new licences currently issued until 31 December 2026 and the regime extended to 31 December 2033 for qualifying entities licensed by the end of 2026. Whether a Portuguese production vehicle registered under the IBC should also be the RIPAC applicant, and what the corporate-tax treatment of the support would be, are questions for Portuguese tax counsel on the specific structure. This guide does not treat the IBC as part of the incentive calculation.
Illustrative Calculations Under the 2026 Rules
The following examples apply the published rates to notional spend and are illustrative only; eligibility, the eligible-expenditure review and the final figure are decided by ICA on the actual file.
- Medium-budget feature with €1.5 million of eligible Portuguese expenditure, all incurred in Lisbon: 30% of €1.5 million gives €450,000, within the €1 million cap.
- The same feature with €600,000 of that spend incurred in the Alentejo low-density territory: 30% of €900,000 plus 40% of €600,000 gives €510,000.
- Large-scale series season with €4 million of eligible expenditure, all in Lisbon: 30% of €2 million plus 25% of €2 million gives €1.1 million.
- The same season with €1.5 million of the spend incurred in Madeira: 30% of €2 million plus 25% of €500,000 plus 30% of €1.5 million gives €1.175 million, within the €6 million project cap.
Because the two tracks cannot be combined and the medium-budget cap is €1 million, a project close to the €2.5 million threshold is modelled on both tracks before the eligible-expenditure budget is finalised.
Crew, Locations, Permits and Line Production
The incentive is only one input to a Portuguese schedule. Filming permits in Lisbon run through the municipal licensing process and are covered on the Lisbon film permits page. Crew depth in Lisbon and Porto, the Algarve, Madeira and the Azores, equipment, ATA Carnet handling, municipal permit tracks outside the capital and the day-to-day execution model sit on the line producer Portugal page linked in the opening, which is the operating owner for the territory.
Indian and International Productions Using SCRI.PT
Indian-language features and series have used Portugal for Atlantic-coast, historic-city and island registers, and the RIPAC rules apply to them in the same way as to any other foreign production: the Portuguese applicant is the company or branch registered with ICA or the Portuguese executive producer, the cultural test is scored on what is hired and filmed in Portugal, and Schengen visa sequencing for cast and crew is planned in the standard way. The foreign producer’s nationality does not affect eligibility.
Portugal Film Incentives FAQs
What replaced the Portugal cash rebate and cash refund?
SCRI.PT, created in February 2026 with the RIPAC rules published in June 2026, and within it RIPAC, which carries the two former schemes as a medium-budget incentive and a large-scale incentive. The old programme names no longer apply to new applications.
What is the rate under the medium-budget incentive?
30% of eligible Portuguese expenditure, or 40% for spend incurred in low-density territories, the Azores and Madeira and for crew members with disabilities, with a maximum of €1 million per project.
What is the rate under the large-scale incentive?
30% on the first €2 million of eligible expenditure and up to 25% on the remainder, with regional and disability-related spend at 30%, capped at €6 million per work or €3 million per episode and €6 million per project.
Can a production use both RIPAC tracks?
No. The two incentives cannot be combined for the same production.
Does the cultural test change the rate?
Not under RIPAC. It is an eligibility threshold, with lower minimum scores for foreign productions working through a Portuguese executive producer, and it ranks applications in the medium-budget rounds.
When must filming start?
Within six months of the application date or of the prior registration of the aid request; for work without filming, the Portuguese activities must start within six months.
Does spend before the application count?
No, apart from development expenditure incurred up to twelve months before the application date.
Is the Madeira IBC part of the incentive?
No. It is a separate corporate-tax regime with its own licensing and substance rules and is confirmed with tax counsel independently of RIPAC.
Portugal film incentives are planned on the current SCRI.PT rules: the track is chosen from the eligible-expenditure forecast, the applicant is registered with ICA before the application is filed, financing and exploitation are confirmed, the cultural grid is scored with the Portuguese leg designed around it, and the six-month start window, the regional split and the payment timetable are built into the cash-flow plan before the schedule is locked.
