Tax credits and incentives are a powerful way to maximize your production’s budget. Below are the latest film and TV production tax incentive highlights for May 2025.
New York
Film tax credit enhancements to take effect with FY2026 budget
On May 9, New York’s Governor Hochul signed the FY2026 budget, which includes multiple changes to the state’s film tax credit programs, to encourage ongoing business and multiple productions and reinforce the state’s dedication to the film and TV industry.
Key changes include:
- Production Plus Program added: A new initiative to incentivize recurring business and multiple productions.
- Empire State Independent Production Program added: An innovative new program designed to accelerate credit monetization for independent projects.
- Above-the-Line eligibility individual cap removed: The individual cap has been eliminated while maintaining the limit to not exceed 40% of all other costs.
- Multi-year payout tiers removed: Multi-year payout tiers were removed for new applicants.
- Uplifts for scoring added: Uplifts for scoring completed in New York were added.
- VFX and animation thresholds reduced: Reduced from 20% to 10% or a minimum spend of $500,000.
- Added post-production incentive flexibility: Enables productions to either reach a minimum of $1 million in qualified costs or the existing 75% of total qualified post-production costs.
More →
Georgia
Post-production tax credit program reinstated
On May 14th, Georgia’s Governor Kemp signed House Bill 129, an initiative to reinstate a post-production tax credit program.
The program will apply to all taxable years starting on or after January 1, 2026, and will allow post-production companies to earn the following:
- A 20% tax credit if they spend at least $500,000 on qualified project expenditures.
- An additional 10% credit if the project is filmed in Georgia.
- A further 5% credit if post-production work is completed in a rural Georgia county.
More →
New Jersey
Netflix breaks ground on state-of-the-art production facility
On May 13th, Netflix commenced construction on its Fort Monmouth studio in New Jersey. The project will unfold in two phases, kicking off with a campus for actors and production crews alongside four soundstages.
This development underscores New Jersey's increasing importance in the film and television industry and is expected to generate significant economic advantages for the state through job creation and increased revenue for local businesses.
More →
Other updates to keep an eye on
California: In a push to keep productions in the state as competition increases across the country (and the world), California is considering increasing the film tax credit per project from 20% to 35% and doubling the annual cap from $330 million to $750 million. More →
Nevada: Nevada lawmakers are weighing Assembly Bill 238, which would expand the state’s film tax credit program by authorizing up to $1.8 billion in tax breaks over 15 years. The bill is designed to support the build and operation of the proposed 31-acre Summerlin Production Studios project in Las Vegas. More →
Kansas: Aiming to attract more filmmakers and media professionals to the state with tax exemptions for film and media productions, the Kansas Film and Digital Media Industry Production Development Act is currently in review. More →
Wisconsin: One of the few states in the country currently without film tax credits, Wisconsin’s Senate introduced a new bill to start up film tax credits again for the first time since 2013. More →
Want the latest updates on film and television tax incentives?
Follow GreenSlate and our VP of Production Tax Incentives, Michele Miller, on LinkedIn, and check out the GreenSlate State Incentives Tax Map.
This information in this communication is general in nature, and is not intended, nor should it be construed, as legal, accounting, tax or other professional advice rendered by GreenSlate, LLC. The reader should contact his or her attorney, CPA, or tax professional prior to taking any action based upon this information.
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