AT A GLANCE: FILMMAKING TAX INCENTIVES
Alabama – depending on the size of your budget, sales and use tax exemptions are available
Alaska – spend more than 100K in “qualified” purchases and you start with 30% base. Get an additional 10% credit if you hire an Alaskan crew and yet another 4% if you shoot rurally and/or during a specific season.
Arizona – 10-20% income tax credit & use exemptions
Arkansas – state sales and use taxes are refunded
California – 20-25% in credits with a $100 million cap. Individual cities also offer incentives.
Colorado – hotel tax refund
Connecticut – 30% for budgets over $50K
Florida – 15% cash reimbursement
Georgia – sales and use tax exemptions
Hawaii – 15-20% refundable production credits
Idaho – rebate of 5% sales tax for budgets of $200K or higher
Illinois – 20% tax credit on Illinois salaries; 20% of production spending
Indiana – 15% tax credits; fee-free locations
Kansas – 4.9% reimbursement; no taxes on hotels/motels
Kentucky – 6% sales and use refunds
Louisiana – 30% base on anything spent in the state; additional 5% for Louisiana hires
Maine – rebates on wage and income taxes; no state sales tax on “qualified” items; no taxes on gas; reimbursement on hotel tax
Maryland – 5% sales tax exemption
Massachusetts – 20-25% in tax credits
Michigan – new in 2012 is $25 million in incentives; 9% tax credit for films under $15 million; no taxes on hotels/motels/lodging; up to 20% tax rebate for films $5-10 million with a reducing scale system down to $200K budgets
Minnesota – sales tax exemption; free office space
Mississippi – 10% rebate; 10% tax credit; miscellaneous exemptions
Missouri – 35% credit capped at $4.5 million pending legislative amendment to $10 million
Montana – 12% on Montana labor; 8% on “qualified” expenses
New Hampshire – no permits, no sales tax, no personal income tax, no capital gains or use tax
New Jersey – 20% tax credit
New Mexico – 25% tax rebate; loans available for films budgeted $2 million and up
New York – 30% production credit; 10% post-production for “qualifying” projects
North Carolina – 25% tax credit for in-state spending for goods, services and labor. Minimum budget of $250K
Ohio – 25-35% credit with restrictions
Oklahoma – 17% cash back on productions over $500K
Oregon – 20% rebate with additional cash payment up to 16.2% of wages paid
Pennsylvania – 25% credit to films that spend at least 60% of total budget in PA. Additional incentives from individual cities such as Philadelphia.
Puerto Rico – 40% transferrable tax credit; hotel tax waivers; free locations; $50 million in tax credits for $125 million of capacity of payments to PR residents. No caps. Any compensation paid to an actor qualifies.
Rhode Island – 30% transferrable credit. Minimum budget of $300K
South Carolina – state, local use and sales tax exemptions for budgets $250K and higher; incentives for post-production; 20% off labor and 30% off supplies for budgets of $1 million and higher
South Dakota – sales tax exemption
Tennessee – 13/15/17% tiers
Texas – 5-15% refunds; sales tax exemptions
Utah – up to 25% tax credit rebate or cash rebate
Vermont – sales, use and hotel tax exemptions
Virginia – tax credit program that is capped at $2.5 million
Washington – no state income tax, sales tax exemptions on rentals and service, tax exemption for 30+ days hotel/motel/lodging
West Virginia – 31% transferable tax credits are available – 27% base, 4% for 10 or more resident crew/talent hires. $250K minimum with no cap. Sales and hotel/motel/lodging tax exemptions, fee-free locations
Wisconsin – 25% tax credit; 15% state income tax credit; sales and use tax exemptions
Wyoming – rebates up to 15%
GOING GLOBAL
BRAZIL – A grant is available for approximately $700K for 2 to 4 individual projects. Non-repayable.
CANADA
Alberta – guaranteed government grant that can be used to raise production money; no sales tax
British Columbia – 18% base; 15% for VFX or digital animation
Manitoba – potential for 65% credits based on various incentives
New Brunswick – up to 40% of salaries paid to NB residents; 10% rural shooting bonus
Northwest Territories/Yukon – up to 25% of wages paid to residents
Nova Scotia – 50-65% tax credit; sales tax rebates
Ontario – 35% tax credit on eligible Ontario based labor; 40% credit on first $240K for first-time producers
Quebec – 25% cash back on all expenses plus 20% bonus on all VFX shots on extended eligible labor; federal tax credit of 16% on labor for total available of 44%
Saskatchewan – 45% base tax credit plus 5% rural bonus (shoot 50% of principal photography within 25 miles of Saskatchewanfs two major cities) and 5% for hiring local talent (hire 6 residents for every 10 below-the-line jobs)
CROATIA – 20% tax rebate
FIJI – 47% rebate for qualifying Fiji production expenditures. Per the Fiji Audio Visual Commission, “whatever you pay out of a Fiji bank account qualifies as a Fiji production expenditure, including wages to crew brought in.”
MEXICO – direct reimbursement of up to 17.5% of money spent in the country
UNITED KINGDOM – 25% cash rebate on expenditures under 20 million pounds/$30 million USD; 20% cash rebate on expenditures over 20 million pounds/$30 million USD. Cap at 80%
