Budgeting
You can enter the DFFF parameters of the 2026 guidelines, switch the calculation on per account, cap the fees that carry a limit, and build the remaining checks as variables.
The German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) refunds 30 % of the German production costs it recognizes. KOSMA calculates that share per account, adds up what is recognized and derives the grant. This article enters the values of the 2026 guidelines. See [calculate the DFFF subsidy](/kb/article/calculate-the-dfff-subsidy) for what each field in the account does.
This article is not legal advice. The guidelines run from 1 January to 31 December 2026 and change from year to year.
Select any account, open **DFFF** in the account details and click **Settings**. Enter the four values of the 2026 guidelines and click **Ok**.
| Field | Value | What it is | | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Required Minimum German Spend in Percentage of Total Budget | 25 | the German spend quota; 20 above a 20 million € budget | | Maximum Recognized Percentage of Foreign Shooting Days (λ) | 40 | the limit for shooting abroad | | Threshold of Recognized Maximum of Total Budget | 80 | the recognized maximum of the total costs | | DFFF Grant Share | 30 | the grant rate |
Enter **Total Shooting Days**, **Shooting Days Not in Germany** and **Shooting Days Not in Germany in a Studio** in the same dialog. These counts are project-wide. In an account they are read-only.
The **Status** panel below them shows Total Budget, the required minimum, ADHK, the threshold, the grant base and the grant. The grant base stays 0 while ADHK is below the required minimum.
Select a wage or cost account and open **DFFF**. Clear **Do not calculate**, then enter the German share in **German Spend in % (DHK)**, usually `100`.
KOSMA ticks **Do not calculate** on every account, so an account you never open stays out of the calculation.
For a person, tick **Employee** and choose **abroad** or **hired in Germany**. For someone without a residence in Germany who is hired here, tick the third line instead. Then enter **Employment in Days** and **Thereof Not in Germany**.
KOSMA picks its formula from these three fields. **Calculations** shows which one applies and the result of every step.
Leave **Do not calculate** ticked on the cost types the guidelines exclude:
- advance costs, rights and material, legal and tax advice, insurance, financing costs - travel and transport for actors - overhead, contributions in kind and deferred fees - shooting abroad, unless the script requires it and it stays under 40 % of the shooting
Open **DFFF** in the account, click **Set ADHK Limit**, enter the values and click **Ok**. Write a decimal with a dot, for example `2.7`.
| Account | Max. % of DHK sum | Max. Amount | Applies when | | -------------- | ----------------- | ----------- | ------------------------------------ | | Producer fee | 5 | 250,000 € | total costs above 500,000 € | | Line producer | 2.7 | 270,000 € | only when the producer holds the job | | Director | 4 | empty | only when the producer holds the job | | Screenplay fee | 3 | 150,000 € | always |
The field is called **Max. % of DHK sum**, but KOSMA measures it against the project-wide sum of recognized spend (ADHK). The two are the same only while every account counts fully as German spend.
Open **Notes** in the account details and record why the limit is there and when to reset it. A limit that applies only in one case needs its reason next to it. See [add notes to accounts](/kb/article/add-notes-to-accounts).
Click **Variables** in the toolbar. Under **Groups**, click **+** and name the group `DFFF checks`. Then click **+ Variable** once per row below and fill in three cells: **Shorthand Name**, **Comment** in your own words, and **Calculation Formula**.
| Short name | Formula | What the number tells you | | ------------------------- | ----------- | ----------------------------------------- | | `DFFF_Grant` | `DFFF*0.3` | the grant, before the maximum is applied | | `DFFF_Maximum` | `5000000` | the maximum grant under DFFF I | | `DFFF_MinimumGermanSpend` | `GT*0.25` | the German spend the application needs | | `DFFF_Threshold` | `GT*0.8` | the highest amount that can be recognized | | `Actors_Maximum` | `DFFF*0.15` | the ceiling for all actors' fees together | | `Overhead_Maximum` | `NPC*0.1` | the overhead that is recognized | | `Overhead_Cap` | `650000` | the absolute ceiling for overhead | | `Contingency_Maximum` | `NPC*0.08` | the contingency that is recognized | | `OwnFunds_Minimum` | `GT*0.05` | the producer's own contribution |
Three short names appear in the formulas. `GT` is the grand total of the budget. `NPC` is the production costs without the markups. `DFFF` is the recognized German spend from the DFFF calculation. You do not have to remember them: the formula field offers them in a list while you type.
Click **Ok**. The **Value** column now shows a figure for each row, and it follows the budget from then on.
The formula field does not accept `min()`. It shows *Invalid* instead. That is why the value and its ceiling are two separate rows, and you read which one is lower.
Read the rows in pairs before you submit the budget:
- `DFFF_Grant` against `DFFF_Maximum`: the lower of the two is what the fund pays. - The total of the actors' accounts against `Actors_Maximum`. - The overhead markup against `Overhead_Maximum` and `Overhead_Cap`. - The contingency markup against `Contingency_Maximum`. - Your own funds in the financing plan against `OwnFunds_Minimum`.
Two rules stay outside the budget. The first is the minimum production costs: 1 million € for a feature, 200,000 € for a documentary, 2 million € for animation. The second is the 65 % of the financing that has to be evidenced before the grant is awarded.
A budget of 4,000,000 € with 3,200,000 € of recognized German spend.
| Step | Amount | | ------------------------------------- | ----------- | | Required minimum, 25 % of 4,000,000 € | 1,000,000 € | | ADHK | 3,200,000 € | | Threshold, 80 % of 4,000,000 € | 3,200,000 € | | Grant base, the lower of the two | 3,200,000 € | | Grant, 30 % | 960,000 € |
**If every DFFF figure shows 0.** The account still has **Do not calculate** ticked, or the budget is empty. Open **DFFF** in the account and clear the box. With an empty budget the settings are kept, and the figures follow as soon as the account carries an amount.
**If the grant base stays 0.** Recognized German spend is below the required minimum. The grant only applies once ADHK clears that minimum. Check the **Status** panel: it prints both figures above the grant base.
**Sources.** - Rates, ceilings, ineligible cost types and the fee limits: DFFF guidelines of the BKM, in force from 1 January 2026, published at ffa.de. See § 4, § 8, § 12, § 16 and Annex 1. - DFFF II thresholds: the same guidelines, § 22 and § 27. - The German Motion Picture Fund has its own guidelines for high-end series.
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