Museums & Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief: An Overview

From blockbuster touring exhibitions to permanent local collections, museums and galleries across the UK could be benefiting from a generous government tax relief scheme — and many aren't claiming their full entitlement.

Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief, or MGETR, supports eligible organisations by reducing their Corporation Tax bill or paying out a cash credit. Here's everything you need to know.

What is Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR)?

Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief was introduced in 2017 to support museums and galleries in developing new permanent and temporary exhibitions for the benefit of the general public. It allows eligible production companies to claim back a portion of their exhibition costs, either as a reduction in their Corporation Tax bill or as a cash credit paid directly to them.

Who Can Qualify for MGETR?

MGETR is designed for the companies that actually produce and deliver exhibitions, known as production companies.

Unlike some other creative tax reliefs, MGETR has some specific structural requirements around who can claim. To qualify, your company must:

• Be a charitable company, or a company wholly owned by a charity or local authority
• Maintain a museum or gallery
• Be responsible for producing and running an exhibition at a venue, and be actively engaged in the decision-making process
• Be registered for UK Corporation Tax and be a going concern at the time of the claim

Individuals, partnerships, investors, financial institutions, charitable trusts and unincorporated associations cannot claim — even if they meet all other requirements.

Primary and Secondary Production Companies

One important distinction with MGETR is that it allows both primary and secondary production companies to claim, which is particularly relevant for touring exhibitions.

The Primary Production Company (PPC) is responsible for the exhibition at the first or only venue, including all creative and technical decisions. If the exhibition then tours, a Secondary Production Company (SPC) takes responsibility at each subsequent venue.

Both the PPC and SPC can claim the higher touring rate of relief, but an SPC can only make a claim if a PPC exists.

What Exhibitions Qualify for MGETR?

MGETR supports a wide range of exhibitions, from art exhibitions to historical displays, but all of them must meet HMRC’s requirements.

The scheme is focused on curated public exhibitions of genuine cultural, scientific, historic or artistic significance. To qualify, an exhibition must meet all three of the following conditions:

• It is a curated display of a collection (or single object) considered to be of scientific, historic, artistic or cultural interest
• It is intended to be open to the general public, ticketed or not
• It meets the minimum core expenditure requirement: at least 10% of core costs must be UK-based expenditure for accounting periods ending on or after 1 April 2024 (previously 25% European expenditure)

Ineligible Exhibitions

Even if an exhibition meets the above criteria, it will not qualify if:

• Anything on display is for sale
• One of its primary purposes is to advertise or promote goods or services
• It includes a live performance by a person as its main focus (though incidental live elements, such as a living sculpture within a larger exhibition, may be acceptable)
• It is connected with a competition of any kind
• Anything on display is alive

Touring Exhibitions

Exhibitions that tour between venues can get a higher rate of relief. To qualify as touring, the exhibition must be held at two or more venues, with at least 25% of the objects displayed at the first venue also appearing at subsequent venues, and no more than six months between deinstallation at one venue and installation at the next.

What is MGETR Worth?

The value of your claim depends on your company's profitability, its accounting period, the location of your costs and whether the exhibition is touring.

You can claim on the lower of:

• 80% of your core costs, or
• the amount of your UK core costs (or EEA core costs for accounting periods ending before 1 April 2024).

For example, Company A’s costs are entirely based in the UK. Company A can only claim 80% of its core costs. However, Company B spent 50% of its core costs in the US and the rest in the UK. Company B can claim 50% of its core costs (the UK portion).

Profit-making companies use the additional deduction to reduce their Corporation Tax liability. With the 80% cap, this means that your claim is worth roughly 20% of your core costs.

Loss-making companies can surrender their losses for a cash credit, which is the most attractive feature of the scheme. The rate depends on when the expenditure was incurred and whether the exhibition tours:

This means the overall potential benefit — assuming 100% eligible core costs — looks like this:

It's worth noting that the payable tax credit is capped at £100,000 per touring exhibition and £80,000 per non-touring exhibition.

What Costs Are Eligible for MGETR?

As with other creative tax reliefs, MGETR can only be claimed on "core costs".

Core costs are expenditure directly related to producing the exhibition, not running it or speculatively developing it.

Core Costs & Phases of Production

HMRC recognises four phases of an exhibition: development, production, running and closing. Only the production and closing phases generate eligible core costs.

The development phase covers all speculative activity undertaken to assess whether the exhibition is commercially viable. These costs are not eligible. Indicators that a project has moved beyond development and been "green-lit" include ticket sales, hiring venues, or acquiring items for display.

The production phase begins at the green-light and ends when the exhibition opens. Eligible activities include production team meetings, hiring venues, acquiring works for display (other than purchases), venue preparation, travel and transport (where the UK/EEA is at least one end of the journey), and security and storage for items before display.

The running phase — from opening to the final day — is not eligible. Ongoing staff salaries, venue costs, maintenance, and administration are all ineligible during this period.

Closing costs — deinstallation, vacating the venue, and moving or returning items — do qualify. Storage between venues can also qualify for up to four months, provided the exhibition is touring and the exhibits are not stored at a venue at which the exhibition has been or is to be held.

Some costs are always ineligible, regardless of when they occur:

• Financing, sales and distribution costs
• Advertising and marketing
• Legal, accountancy and audit fees
• Bank interest and charges
• Completion bonds and other insurance
• Capital expenditure, including purchasing exhibits or permanent infrastructure

Where costs span multiple phases, like the salary of a production team member involved from development through to closing, they must be apportioned on a "just and reasonable basis."

Location of Expenditure

For accounting periods ending on or after 1 April 2024, only UK expenditure qualifies. This is expenditure on goods and services used or consumed in the United Kingdom. Workers must be physically based in the UK; their nationality and company location are irrelevant.

Where individuals or costs split time between qualifying and non-qualifying locations, expenditure must be apportioned on a just and reasonable basis.

How Do You Make a Claim?

Each exhibition must be treated as a separate trade for tax purposes, with its own profit and loss account reported to HMRC. A new trade begins on the earliest of the commencement of the production phase or the receipt of income for the exhibition.

For the PPC, the trade ends at the closure of the exhibition at the last venue. For any SPC, it ends at the closure at the venue for which they are responsible.

Because MGETR is cumulative, you can choose to claim the full production costs in the final accounting period, though most organisations claim annually to access the tax benefits sooner.

Setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for each exhibition is also worth considering — it simplifies cost and revenue allocation, making HMRC reporting more straightforward and maximising the benefit if the trade makes a loss.

The Additional Information Form (AIF)

From 1 April 2024, all MGETR claims must be accompanied by an Additional Information Form (AIF), submitted to HMRC before your Corporation Tax Return (CT600). Each accounting period requires its own AIF.

The AIF requires key details including:

• VAT registration and PAYE reference numbers
• Exhibition name, status (ongoing, complete or abandoned), and key dates
• Total expenditure and core costs per exhibition
• Amount of credit being claimed
• Details of any connected party transactions

Outside of the AIF, you must also provide a breakdown of expenditure by category, a split between UK (or European) and non-UK costs, and the computations showing how your additional deduction and any credit were calculated.

The Deadline

You have up to two years from the end of your accounting period to make a claim. Claims can be amended, resubmitted or withdrawn within this window. As claims are cumulative, you can choose to claim for the entirety of the exhibition in your final accounting period, if it’s a multi-period exhibition.

For example, Company A’s exhibition closed in the accounting period ending 31 December 2025. It can submit its claim for the exhibition until 31 December 2027, no matter what the start date of the exhibition was.

What Evidence Do You Need to Make a Claim?

Robust record-keeping is essential, both to prepare your claim accurately and to withstand any HMRC compliance check. We strongly recommend keeping evidence of:

• Active involvement in the exhibition. A contract labelling your company as a "production company" is not sufficient. Internal correspondence, invoices for subcontracted staff, and timesheets for internal staff are all appropriate forms of evidence.
• Sufficient records of costs incurred. A breakdown of expenditure by category per exhibition, including a clear split between UK (or European) and non-UK costs. These are crucial for your own claim preparation, as well as in the event of a compliance check from HMRC.
• Computations showing how the additional deduction and any credit were calculated.
• Any methods of apportionment or assumptions used in producing your figures.

HMRC compliance checks are on the rise across UK tax relief incentives, so thorough documentation is more important than ever. For charitable organisations in particular, it's worth seeking specialist advice to assess any potential impact on charity status or VAT position.

Need help with your MGETR claim?

Myriad are specialist creative tax relief consultants with a strong track record with MGETR claims for UK museums and galleries. With a few hours of your time, we handle everything from identifying eligible costs to working with HMRC to agree your claim.

Get in touch with the expert team for a free, no obligation discussion of your claim.