A lot happens in the world of film tax incentives, so we here at GreenSlate thought it might be a good idea to collect the most relevant updates, proposed bills, and additions to film and TV production tax incentive programs on a per state basis for 2024. 

*These are in alphabetical order and updated as of December 13, 2024.*

Without further delay, let's dive into the major film and TV tax credit and incentive news from the last year.

California

In October Governor Newsom announced a proposal to expand California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program to $750 million annually. This is a massive increase from the current $330 million annual allocation. 

Although data shows California lost production spending due to limited tax credit funding and increased competition in other states & countries, Newsom stated, “California is the entertainment capital of the world, rooted in decades of creativity, innovation, and unparalleled talent. Expanding this program will help keep production here at home, generate thousands of good-paying jobs, and strengthen the vital link between our communities and the state’s iconic film and TV industry.”

This ambitious expansion would position California as the top state for capped film incentive programs. California previously updated the program to include new workforce diversity provisions, more funding for the Career Pathways Training Program, and the nation’s first Safety on Production Pilot Program.

Colorado

Colorado passed House Bill 1358 in June which expands the tax incentive program for film, TV and commercial productions shooting in Colorado. The bill allocates $5 million per year over the next four years to productions filming in Colorado. HB 1358 also establishes payments to personal service corporations as qualified local expenditures.

Other program highlights are:

• Up to a 20% refundable tax credit on qualified expenses
• 2% uplift available when shooting in enhanced counties
• Required minimum spend of $100K for CO production companies
• Required minimum spend of $1M for non-CO production companies
• CPA audit required
• Screen credit required
• To apply, production must show proof of financing

Legislators expect the expanded tax incentive to be a huge financial boon for local businesses,  especially with additional incentives for productions that use local infrastructure, and film in rural regions or marginalized urban areas.

Connecticut

Proposed bill H.B. 5510 is still lurking in the Connecticut General Assembly that would eliminate the film tax credit in the state. 

The last action the bill saw was on March 20th for a public hearing where local filmmakers argued against the bill, and there are no new updates as of November, 2024.

According to the report, "Name brand media companies with significant operations in the state, including ESPN and NBCUniversal, also argued for keeping the tax credits in place."

Florida

A bill that was introduced in January by State Senator Linda Stewart which would have authorized proceeds of the Tourist Development Tax to be used toward funding incentives for the production of films and television series by certain production companies filming within the State, did not pass and died on March, 8 in Commerce and Tourism.

Since then, Florida has gone in the opposite direction with The House Appropriations Committee passing HB 5 in April, which overhauls state tax credits, including those for film and TV productions.

Also passed was bill PCB APC 23-05, which "wholly eliminates the tax rebate programs for film, TV, video games, music videos, commercials and other entertainment productions."

Hawaii

As of August 21, 2024, the State of Hawaii changed its application of the General Excise Tax (GET) relating to Motion Picture Payroll Services Companies processing payroll for productions in Hawaii. All Motion Picture Payroll Services Companies are now required to subject all employer costs on a payroll invoice to the 4.712% GET. 

Prior to this change the GET was only applied to GreenSlate’s payroll handling fees. 

This change is effective for all motion picture payroll services companies processing payroll as the Employer of Record on behalf of the production company. 

It is important to note, this change will only affect GS clients operating under an Employer of Record (“EOR”) services agreement.

Clients who utilize GreenSlate’s Agency payroll processing model (where the Production Company remains the EOR) will not be subject to this change and will continue to pay only the 4.712% GET on GreenSlate’s handling fees.

Illinois

A study completed earlier this year found that for every dollar Illinois spent on the tax credit nearly $7 was generated. The study also found that 93.5% of productions filmed in the state chose Illinois for their production tax incentives.

The Illinois Film Production Tax Credit offers a 30% transferable tax credit for qualified film, television, streaming, and commercials projects shot in the state, with an additional 15% credit available for salaries paid to crew who live in economically disadvantaged areas across the state.

The study showed how the Illinois tax credit program has been essential to economic activity and the creation of jobs within the state. The program also has a significant positive impact on attracting productions to film in Illinois.

Peter Hawley, director of the Illinois Film Office, has said that business is booming: “Right now, we’ve got nine TV shows in town. And we have a good pipeline of productions coming in.”

Iowa

Iowa hasn’t offered tax incentives to film & TV productions since 2009, but a new bill proposed earlier this year would create a two-year, 10-million-dollar pilot project to provide a 30 percent tax rebate for qualified expenses. As of November 2024, there is no movement on the bill.

Kansas

Despite filmmakers urging Kansas legislators to pass the Film Tax Credit Bill, it was vetoed in May. The bill would have created a Film and Digital Media Production program and offered a sales tax exemption and non-refundable tax credits to qualifying production activities in the state. Educational and economic development programs to incentivize and promote the growth of the film production industry in Kansas would also have been established.

➡️ Related: How To Choose The Best Production Tax Incentive Management Service For Your Film Or TV Show

Kentucky

Lexington’s convention and visitor’s bureau announced the creation of Film Lexington (Film Lex), a program aimed at capitalizing on Kentucky’s production tax incentives and attracting more filmmakers to shoot movies and TV shows in the city. FilmLEX will act as a concierge service for incoming filmmakers, connecting them with hotels, filming locations and local crews, plus streamlining the permitting process.

Currently Kentucky offers qualifying productions a 30-35% refundable tax credit on qualifying expenditures and has an annual funding cap of $75 million.

Louisiana

House Bill No. 2 was signed into law on December 5th by Gov Landry preserving film & TV tax incentives in the state after the Louisiana Senate voted in November to retain the tax incentive program. Rather than sunsetting the production tax credit, the legislation instead lowered the credit’s cap from $150 million to $125 million.

The reversal on the initial proposal by the LA House of Reps to eliminate the tax incentives paves a hopeful future for production in Louisiana.

Michigan

In May, the Michigan House Committee approved House Bills 4907 and 4908, which aim to resurrect a film incentive program (check out the proposed details in the below post). The bills now move on to be presented to the full House.

The incentives would have positive impacts throughout other industries in the state, including in Northern Michigan according to (R) Rep. John Roth, who introduced the bill.

“Yes, there’s actors that make big money. There’s also a ton of people behind them doing the production, the filming — everything that goes behind the scenes, the electricians. Those people are trying to make a living and stay in their own state,” he said.

Details of the package include:

• The bills would create a transferable tax credit administered by the state’s Film and Digital Media Office, for companies producing qualified productions in Michigan.
• The Michigan Film and Digital Media Office could approve credits for 30% of the qualified production expenditures if the proposed production includes approved logos or 25% if it does not.
• Credits for 30% of the qualified personnel expenditures for employees who are Michigan residents when they begin work on the production and 20% for employees who are not.
• 10% credit on expenditures for probationary Michigan vendors that would have qualified as a production expenditure if the vendor was a qualified Michigan vendor.
• Additional 5% credit for expenditures for a certified minority or woman-owned business, a certified business owned by persons with disabilities, or a veteran-owned business or for employees who are part of a minority group, have a disability or are veterans.
• Productions must be created wholly or partially in the state for exhibition or distribution, in any digital format, film or videotape in order to qualify for the credit. *With exceptions.
• The new credit is issued as a transferable tax credit voucher, which would ensure the credit remains in the state.
• A minimum spend of $300,000 per project 20 minutes or longer, and $50,000 per project under 20 minutes or for commercial photography would be required in order to qualify for the credit.
• Safeguards to address issues with the old program, including a credit cap and a 10-year sunset on the program.
• Cap on compensation of more than $500,000 per person, versus the previous incentive’s $2 million salary cap.

Minnesota

The Explore Minnesota Film Office was created this summer. The office is dedicated to attracting film and TV productions, and "promote(s) Minnesota to Hollywood producers and administer(s) tax credits already in place for incentivizing production."

Missouri

Last year Missouri made moves to attract filmmakers to the state following the reinstatement of a film and TV tax incentive program in October, 2023. Kelley Hiatt, hired on as the St. Louis Film Office's Manager acknowledged that there is still work to be done on St. Louis and Missouri's infrastructure for "big filming" projects, "...we are absolutely working on that and at some point, I hope I can get some sort of permitting process together so that the production is protected, they have gone through all their due diligence and make sure it is a safe and effective filming space."

Just one year into Missouri’s revived film and TV tax credit and they are already seeing a “huge uptick” in production according to Hiatt. As of September, 12 productions have been approved for the program.

Missouri’s tax credit is proving to be essential to attracting filmmakers to not only film there, but bring post production back to the State.

In addition, training and mentorship classes for those wanting to become part of production are offered through organizations such as Continuity, alongside the Film Office. If you're interested in attending a future workshop you can send an email to info@continuitystl.org

Nevada

Over the summer it was announced that Warner Bros. Studios Chief Operating Officer Simon Robinson pledged that the media company would commit to a minimum of $500 million in annual content spending, totaling $8.5 billion over the next 17 years, contingent on state lawmakers approving a massive expansion of the state’s film tax credit program next year.

In addition, Warner Bros. would partner with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Birtcher Development to fully occupy Nevada Studios. Nevada Studios would be renamed Warner Bros. Studios Nevada and would feature full-service film & television studios along with film & television educational and vocational training centers.

To sweeten the deal even further, the studio in Nevada will also include attractions similar to the ones Warner Bros. operates in Hollywood, London and Tokyo. Currently Nevada offers up to a 15% transferable tax credit to qualifying productions , with uplifts for shooting in rural counties and hiring over 50% of NV resident crews.

The program is limited to providing no more than $10 million in transferable tax credits for all film productions in a single year, and credits are capped at $6 million per production.

Ohio

On February 14, 2024 Ohio's Department of Development shared the productions awarded a combined total of $44 million dollars. The program "provides $50 million annually, evenly divided between the two rounds, plus any rollover amounts from the proceeding period and any recaptured funds from previous productions."

Wisconsin

A bill introduced last February in Wisconsin would establish a state film office under the Department of Tourism to manage income and franchise tax credits for film production companies.

The measure creates a 25% tax credit for salaries and wages paid to employees for film production services and offers a similar 25% credit for production costs and investments. Those credits would be capped at $5 million a year.

Offering these incentives would allow Wisconsin to compete with neighboring states that already offer production incentives.

*Individual state Loan Out withholding requirements to be aware of in 2025

• Colorado 0% *note, proof of 1099 filing required
• Georgia 5.39%
• Hawaii 4.5% GET *rate may vary depending on shoot location
• Kentucky 4%
• Louisiana reduced to 3% starting 1/1/25
• Massachusetts 5% *9% for wages over $1M
• Minnesota 9.85% *backup withholding
• Mississippi 4.7%
• Montana 5.9%
• New Jersey 6.37%
• New Mexico 5.9%
• North Carolina 4%
• Pennsylvania 3.07% *required for non-resident disregarded entities
• South Carolina 2% *unless the Loan Out submits Form I-312
• Utah  4.55%

✅ You can follow VP of Production Tax Incentives Michele Miller on LinkedIn for these updates as they happen, or drop her an email directly here.

✅ We’re here for you with our production tax incentive management service if you need help navigating this complicated landscape.