There are provided methods and apparatus for artifact removal for bit depth scalability. The method and apparatus utilize an encoder for encoding an enhancement layer for at least a portion of a picture. A deblocking filter is applied at the enhancement layer for bit depth scalability. A decoding method and apparatus are described for decoding an enhancement layer for at least a portion of a picture, wherein the during the decoding process, a deblocking filter is applied at the enhancement layer for bit depth scalability. Furthermore, an encoder and method are described for encoding image data for at least one block of a picture, wherein a deblocking filter removes coding artifacts caused by local inverse tone mapping for intra-layer texture prediction for bit depth scalability. A decoding method and apparatus are described for decoding image data for at least one block of a picture, wherein a deblocking filter removes coding artifacts caused by local inverse tone mapping for intra-layer texture prediction for bit depth scalability.