South Africa pays film makers back 20% to 30% of what they spend here

Method and sources

Each bar is a headline rebate rate under the South African production and post-production incentive, expressed as a share of qualifying local spend refunded, as reported in the article.
Post-production only 20%. Production 25%. Production with a further R10 million of post-production 27.5%. Production with a further R15 million of post-production 30%.
Each rate depends on minimum spend thresholds and compliance conditions, and the article stresses these are the published structure rather than a guaranteed outcome. The article's worked example is a series spending R100 million locally, returning R25 million at the base rate and roughly R30 million at the top rate.
The article gives no dates for the rate schedule, so the period is approximated as the 2026 calendar year, the year the article describes.
Sources: Department of Trade, Industry and Competition incentive guidelines (https://www.thedtic.gov.za/)

Figures as published in our article on Cape Town's film economy (chart last checked 14 September 2026): DTIC production and post-production incentive guidelines. The link is to the publisher, not the exact guideline document.

Chart updated · 31 Oct 2026. The observation dates above describe the data, not today’s conditions.