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Division 7A: What Filmmakers Running a Company Need to Know

You set up a company for your production business. It’s a smart move. Asset protection, investor flexibility, a professional structure for grants and funding. All good things. But there’s a piece of tax law that comes with the territory, and if you haven’t heard of Division 7A yet, it’s worth getting across. It’s not complicated […]

Why We Support Ones To Watch: 5 Reasons We Back Emerging Producers

At Above The Line Accounting, we've always believed that the strength of Australia's screen industry lies in its community. It's a community built on creativity, resilience, and diversity, and one with a proud history of supporting each other.

What Filmmakers Need To Know About Special Professional Income Averaging

Had a big year financially? It can be great: until tax time, when you not only need to pay more, but may also get slugged with a PAYG instalment for next year based on that big income. It’s enough to make you cry into your popcorn.

What Filmmakers Need to Know About the New 2025 Screen Australia Guidelines

Screen Australia introduced a major overhaul to its funding guidelines, marking one of the biggest updates in years. Now in effect as of July 2025, the changes will impact your budget, production timeline, and funding strategy if you’re looking for financial support from Screen Australia. We’ve broken down the key elements that impact filmmakers of […]

Managing Your Production Expenses in order to claim QAPE

Depending on whether you have an SPV, and the timing of expenses, spending money on a film can take several forms...

Do I Need to Pay Superannuation to Sole Traders? A Guide for Aussie Film Productions

Making a film is the ultimate act of creative collaboration. We know that filmmaking requires a whole crew of people: actors, directors, producers, production designers, editors, and more - all collaborating on the one vision.

Preparing for Producer Offset and Production Audits

A Producer Offset claim requires a Producer Offset audit before you submit your application to Screen Australia. This is an independent audit of your Qualifying Australian Production Expenditure, or QAPE, spreadsheet. The Producer Offset audit is a legal requirement, separate from a production audit (which some investors request to confirm spend against their investment). Both […]

The benefits of hiring a production accountant

A generalist accountant isn’t set up for the reporting deadlines, cost monitoring and industry timelines unique to film and TV production. Production accountants are financial specialists who understand production cycles, keep cast and crew paid on time, prepare regular cost reports against budget, and set up reporting from day one to align with Producer Offset […]

How do I apply for the Producer Offset?

Applying for the Producer Offset comes down to two certificates and one tax return. You can start with a Provisional Certificate from Screen Australia before production begins, which confirms you’re on the right track. Once your film’s done, you apply for a Final Certificate, which locks in your QAPE and confirms you’ve met the Australian […]

Business Structures for Filmmakers

There will come a time in the life-cycle of your business when you may need to reconsider the legal structure under which your business operates. Such considerations and restructuring can be prompted by new business opportunities for growth and development, or you may wish to take advantage of lower company tax rates, perhaps you want […]

ASIC: Do you know your requirements?

Starting and managing your own business is a steep learning curve, and all the bureaucracy involved is often overwhelming. As a creative, all the paperwork can feel like a frustrating distraction from what you want to be working on. But, once registering a company with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, otherwise known as ASIC, […]

Income averaging: The concessional tax treatment every creative should understand

You may be eligible for Special Professional income averaging if you work in a creative decision-making role, such as a director, writer, performing artist or other production associate, and have earned more than $2,500 from that creative work. It’s an opt-in system based on your rolling five-year average income, and eligibility is assessed case by […]

At what stage do you need a production accountant?

Numbers aren’t for everyone. Which is why the benefits of using a production accountant can be obvious to many. But when should you call us in? While we can get started at any stage, it is best that we come in as early as possible, at least during production. And here’s why: It’s cheaper. […]

Crowdsourcing and equity in the film industry – the new frontier

We’ve previously written about the different ways you can fund your production. Most common are loans, a distributor advance or through equity. Alongside grants and any money borrowed against the Producer Offset, equity also includes independent investment. Now, Australian legislation allows you to give equity on crowdfunding, opening up the doors on ‘independent investment’ to […]

Using a substituted accounting period to access your Producer Offset sooner

When you look to access your Producer Offset, you usually have two options. Get your Producer’s Offset with your Tax Return. This can be almost a year later, leaving a large gap (especially if you’re looking to fund your next production). Or Liquidate your production company. This is a reason why people often set up […]

Using Special Purpose Vehicles for filmmaking in Australia

For a production accessing the Producer Offset, the preferred structure is usually the combination of a production company and a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The SPV is a Pty Ltd company established specifically for an individual production. Using an SPV keeps the production’s finances and activities separate from those of the broader production company, including […]

What is the Producer Offset? A guide for new producers

The Producer Offset is a refundable tax offset for money spent in Australia (or by Australian companies) making an Australian film. Because it’s refundable, you can receive a tax refund even where no tax has been paid. It’s worth 40% of your company’s total Qualifying Australian Production Expenditure (QAPE) if distribution is commercial release in […]

Common production funding options – and the traps to look out for

Money makes the world go around – and it makes productions happen. With each potential funding option, there are a few distinct things you should look out for. Make sure you go into any project with your eyes open to First things first. No matter how you intend to fund your next project, it’s important […]

[Series] Tax, accounting and filmmaking – Production and Post

If you’re reading this, you’re probably asking yourself “what do I do to better manage the money of my next – or current – production?” This is our third and final post in this series, all geared toward answering that question. In the first two posts of this series, we walked through the ‘pre-pre’ and […]

[Series] Tax, accounting and filmmaking: Pre-production

You’ve made it through all the ‘pre-pre’ stages, and we’re ready to say this is a real project, greenlit and 100% ready to go ahead. It’s time to really get started. It’s time to dive into pre-production. If you read Part 1 of this series, you already know all about the ‘pre-pre’ production stages. If […]

[Series] Tax, accounting and filmmaking: Pre-Pre-Production

What is the lifeblood of filmmaking? Is it the story? The craft? The magic that happens when a group of skilled individuals come together to make something great? I really wish it was any of these things. But here’s the sad reality: it’s money. Money is the thing that enables us to bring our ideas […]

Getting Your Producer Offset Money Out Of Your Special Purpose Vehicle

When setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to use in the Producer Offset, you need to give some thought as to how you get the Offset out of the SPV to a relevant entity once it is paid. The Producers Offset comes back to the SPV in the form of a tax rebate, and as such there is no tax payable on it. The issue is how to get the rebate from the SPV to an entity where you can actually make use of the rebate.

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