Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief: Who can claim and what costs qualify?

Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) can provide valuable corporation tax relief for museums, galleries and some libraries, archives and cultural organisations that maintain a qualifying collection and create qualifying exhibitions for the public. With exhibition budgets under increasing pressure, understanding whether a project qualifies for MGETR can have a significant impact on overall project costs and future investment decisions.

What is MGETR?

MGETR is a corporation tax relief available to qualifying museum and gallery exhibitions. It is intended to encourage greater and more diverse exhibitions by helping eligible organisations recover a proportion of qualifying production costs.

The relief is calculated separately for each qualifying exhibition. The profit or loss of the exhibition is calculated before applying the additional deduction or payable credit.

Why organisations miss out on MGETR

Many organisations assume they are ineligible because they operate as a charity or do not pay significant corporation tax. Others fail to identify qualifying production expenditure until after an exhibition has closed.

In practice, relief can still be available where the qualifying conditions are met, making it worthwhile to assess eligibility early in the planning process.

Who can claim?

To qualify, the entity must maintain a museum or gallery and be a charitable company, a trading subsidiary of a charitable company or a company wholly owned by a local authority. Although many charitable organisations are exempt from tax on much of their income, they can still fall within the corporation tax rules and may be able to benefit from MGETR.

The claimant must also be a qualifying primary or secondary production company. This means it needs to be actively involved in planning, decision-making and producing or running the exhibition, rather than simply funding or hosting it at arm’s length.

Determining whether an organisation qualifies is often more complex than identifying whether an exhibition qualifies. The organisational structure, ownership arrangements and the role played in producing the exhibition can all affect eligibility.

What exhibitions qualify?

A qualifying exhibition must be a curated public display of an organised collection of objects or works that is open to the general public. The objects or works must be considered scientific, historic, artistic or of cultural interest.

At least 10% of the core expenditure on the exhibition must be used or consumed in the UK. Certain exhibitions are excluded, including those organised in connection with a competition, used to promote goods or services, focused on selling displayed goods, not held in person, or where anything displayed is alive, such as plants or animals.

Touring and non-touring exhibitions

The level of support available depends partly on whether an exhibition is touring or non-touring. A touring exhibition must be held at two or more geographically distinct venues, with at least 25% of the objects or works displayed at the first venue also displayed at each subsequent venue. The time between de-installation at one venue and installation at the next must not exceed six months.

The maximum repayable credit is £100,000 per exhibition for a touring exhibition and £80,000 per exhibition for a non-touring exhibition. Understanding whether an exhibition meets the touring conditions can therefore have a direct impact on the value of the claim.

Why early planning is important

The value of an MGETR claim is often determined long before an exhibition opens. Identifying qualifying expenditure during the planning and production phases can improve record-keeping, reduce the risk of missed costs and make the claims process significantly smoother.

Organisations that consider MGETR early are typically better placed to maximise eligible expenditure and support their position if HMRC requests further information.

What costs can be included?

Only certain phases of an exhibition qualify for enhanced relief. Costs incurred during the production phase can qualify, covering the planning, design and preparation of the exhibition. If the exhibition runs for less than 12 months, de-installing and closing costs may also qualify.

Common qualifying costs

Curator and research costs
Exhibition design and installation
Exhibit loan and transportation costs
Exhibition-specific venue set-up costs
Certain digital, insurance and other production costs directly attributable to an in-person qualifying exhibition

Costs that generally do not qualify

Marketing and advertising
Acquisition costs
Storage costs
General running costs and overheads
Legal and accounting fees
Financing costs
Infrastructure costs not solely related to the new exhibition

Unsure which exhibition costs qualify?

A review before or during the production phase can help identify eligible spend, improve record-keeping and reduce the risk of missing costs that could support a claim. Our Creative Sector Tax specialists can assess your exhibition plans and highlight where MGETR may apply.

How much relief is available?

The additional relief is based on the lower of 80% of qualifying core expenditure and the amount of expenditure used or consumed in the UK. Where the company has a loss, the amount that can be surrendered to HMRC for a repayable credit is restricted to the adjusted loss.

The repayable credit rates are 45% for touring exhibitions and 40% for all other qualifying exhibitions. The temporary higher rates that applied to exhibitions entering the production phase on or after 27 October 2021 ended on 31 March 2025.

How to prepare a Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief claim

MGETR can provide meaningful support, but claims need to be supported by clear evidence. Organisations should consider MGETR early in the exhibition planning process so they can identify qualifying expenditure, document the production phase, separate eligible and non-eligible costs, and evidence how the exhibition meets the qualifying conditions.

HMRC expectations are increasing

HMRC expects organisations to retain clear evidence supporting both eligibility and qualifying expenditure. Claims submitted without appropriate documentation or incomplete supporting information may be delayed or challenged.

For claims submitted after 1 April 2024, an additional information form must be submitted to HMRC before or on the same day as the company tax return. If the form is missing, incomplete or submitted late, HMRC may treat the claim as invalid. Keeping robust records of expenditure, income, exhibition phases and supporting evidence can help reduce the risk of delays or challenge.