ato logo
Search Suggestion:

Division 10B

Last updated 12 March 2020

Division 10B is available to both residents and non-residents and has potentially broader application than Division 10BA. Division 10B applies to a film certified for Division 10B purposes as an 'Australian film', whereas Division 10BA only applies to a film certified for Division 10BA purposes as a 'qualifying Australian film'. Under Division 10B you may be entitled to a deduction for the capital cost of producing an Australian film or the capital cost of acquiring the copyright in an Australian film. If you invest in a 'qualifying Australian film', Division 10B can apply to you if you elect that Division 10BA not apply.

You have two methods of claiming a deduction under Division 10B:

  • you can deduct the costs incurred over two years, or
  • you can elect to deduct the costs of the unit over the effective life of the copyright.

If you deduct the costs over two years, half the cost of acquiring the interest in the copyright is deductible in the year of income during which the film was first used to produce assessable income. The other half is deductible in the following year.

If you elect to claim deductions over the effective life of the copyright and you acquire the copyright for a specified period, the effective life is the shorter of that specified period or the period ending at the time the copyright terminates. If you elect to claim deductions over the effective life of the copyright and you do not acquire the copyright for a specified period, the effective life is the shorter of 25 years or the period ending at the time the copyright terminates.

QC83478