Arizona's Motion Picture Production Program (MPPP) is a refundable tax credit program that allows production companies the opportunity to recapture a percentage of qualified production expenses spent in Arizona to produce more than 50% of their movie, television show, commercial, or music video at a Qualified Production Facility and/or at a Practical Location beginning January 1, 2023.  

Overall, the program certification process involves (3) steps: applying for pre-approval, filing a 9th-month notification report, and applying for post-approval.

Links to the MPPP Rules & Guidelines and ACA Account Portal are provided below. We recommend that you REVIEW the HIGHLIGHTS section of the Motion Picture Production Program and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below, BEFORE APPLYING.

TAX CREDIT ALLOCATION

Base Credit for Qualified Production Costs
Up to $10M (15%)
$10M to $35M (17.5%)
Over $35M (20%)

Additional Credit Bumps
2.5% of Labor Costs (Use of Arizona Resident Labor (Below-the-Line) “Production Labor” means all laborers working on a production that are not talent, writers, producers, or management.

2.5% of Production Costs (Qualified Production Facility Use) One of the following must occur: 

• Use a Qualified Production Facility to produce the production in Arizona

• More than 50% of the production is filmed at a Practical Location in Arizona with all preproduction, postproduction, and editing completed at a Qualified Production Facility in Arizona

• Produced and filmed in association with a Long-term Tenant of a Qualified Production Facility in Arizona. “Long-Term Tenant” means a person that enters into a lease of at least five years for the use of a Qualified Production Facility.

Calendar Year 2024 - $100M
$75M (Qualified Production Facility)
$25M (Practical Location)

Calendar Year 2025 and each year thereafter - $125M
$100M (Qualified Production Facility)
$25M (Practical Location)

Film and television productions may qualify for:

• 35% rebate on payroll paid to Alabama residents.

• 25% rebate on other qualified production expenses.

• Incentives apply to the first $20 million in qualified production spending per project.

• A total of $20 million in funding is available each fiscal year (Oct. 1 – Sept. 30).

• Productions spending at least $150,000 in a 12-month period may also apply for exemption from the state portion of sales, use, and lodging taxes.

Qualified expenses include pre-production, production, and post-production costs incurred in Alabama. These may cover crew wages, equipment rentals, and local services. Marketing and distribution costs are not eligible.

Arkansas’ program is administered on a case-by-case basis. The Executive Director of AEDC retains sole discretion to determine which projects are selected and the amount of incentives available to each selected project.

Incentives:

The Arkansas Digital Product Motion Picture Incentive will either be in the form of a rebate or a tax credit. The two incentives mirror each other in percentages.

Requirements:

PRIOR to beginning preproduction activities in Arkansas, register with the film office and submit an application along with an estimate of expenditures; meet the minimum spending requirement of at least $50,000 within a six-month period in connection with a postproduction project, or $200,000 within a six-month period in connection with the production of one feature project; and apply for a production rebate certificate no later than 180 days after the last production expenses are incurred. Financial incentive approval must be given prior to incurring any expenses in Arkansas.

Qualified Spend:

Qualified spend includes: costs incurred in Arkansas in the pre-preproduction, production, or postproduction of a qualified production; the first $500,000 of wages or salaries paid to each resident and nonresident that are subject to Arkansas income taxes; pension, health and welfare contributions; and, stipends and living allowances. Payments for production and postproduction expenses are recommended (but not required) to be made from the checking account of an Arkansas institution. Cash payments to vendors may not exceed 40% of the total verifiable costs.

Summary:

The Arkansas Digital Motion Picture Incentive will be provided in the form of either a tax credit or a rebate. The two Incentives mirror each other in percentages: 25% base incentive for goods, services, and NR labor. An additional 10% incentive is available for payroll of below-the-line employees who are: Full-time certified residents of Arkansas; Veterans; expenditures paid to a veteran-owned small business for qualified production costs.  An additional 5% incentive for either: The payroll of below-the-line employees whose full-time permanent address is located in a Tier 3 or Tier 4 county in the annual ranking of counties established by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission under Arkansas Code §15-4-2704; or expenditures paid to a person or business for qualified production costs associated with a state-certified production project located in a Tier 3 or Tier 4 county in the annual ranking of counties established by the commission under Arkansas Code §15-4-2407; producing a qualified multi-project production.The incentive program is scheduled to sunset on June 30, 2031.

The total qualifying incentive amount for each expenditure is 30%.

$50,000 minimum in-state expenditure requirement for Louisiana screenplay productions. $300,000 minimum in-state expenditure requirement on all other eligible productions.

The maximum amount of credits that can be issued is $150 million per fiscal year. The maximum amount of credits that can be claimed is $180 million per fiscal year.

Tax credits may be used to offset personal or corporate income tax liability in Louisiana.

Tax credits may be transferred back to the State for 90% of face value (requires a 2% transfer fee which results in an 88% net).

Application Process

Complete application form online. In order for the application to be considered  received, ALL information and fees (application and expenditure verification report deposit) must be submitted.

If approved, LED issues Initial Certification.

Track production project's expenses.

Submit a cost report to the office online.

An expenditure verification report is performed by an independent CPA selected by Louisiana Economic Development.

If approved, LED issues Final Certification for the amount of the tax credit.

Claim credits on Louisiana tax return or elect transfer back to State for 90 percent of face value (requires a 2% transfer fee which results in an 88% net).

Film Tax Credit Overview

Eligible projects include feature films; television films, pilots or series; televised commercials; and music videos that are distributed outside of Georgia. The $500,000 annual minimum expenditure threshold can be met with one project or the total of multiple projects produced by the same production company aggregated in a single tax year.

Only production companies are eligible to apply. Production companies do not have to be incorporated or headquartered in Georgia or hold a Georgia bank account to qualify for the tax credit.

For a project to be eligible for the 20% transferable tax credit, the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) must certify the project. Certification for live-action projects will be through the Georgia Film Office. For Projects with estimated Project budgets under $100 Million, the Completed Application must be submitted electronically not earlier than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the Principal Photography Start Date and no later than seven (7) calendar days after the Principal Photography Start Date in Georgia. For Projects with estimated Project budgets over $100 Million, the Completed Application must be submitted electronically not earlier than one hundred eighty (180) days prior to the Principal Photography Start Date and no later than seven (7) calendar days after the Principal Photography Start Date in Georgia. The best time to submit the application is when the project is greenlit, fully funded, and ready to open a production office.  

Once the project meets the criteria for certification, the production company will receive a base certification letter from GDEcD at the 20% level. For feature films, television films, pilots or series and music videos, the production company will receive an additional certification letter when the production company has distributed the project and met the 10% GEP Logo Uplift or Alternative Marking Opportunity requirements. If the project does not begin filming within thirty (30) days of the date of the certification letter, amendments to the application must be made in writing to GDEcD.

The Georgia Entertainment Promotion (GEP) logo uplift tax credit is a 10% uplift on the base tax credit (20%) earned for approved projects. Applicants may choose to either include an embedded Georgia logo within the completed project as legislated in the Georgia Code Section 48-7-40.26 and a link to www.georgia.org/film on the project’s promotional website, OR complete Alternative Marketing Opportunities of equal or greater marketing value to the State that have been pre-approved by GDEcD. Projects must be commercially distributed in multiple markets within five (5) years from the date that the first Base Certification Letter was issued. Both the logo option (GEP) and Alternative Marketing Opportunities must continue for the life of the project, beginning with any public screening.

The decision to include the GEP Logo or pursue the Alternative Marketing Opportunities must be made when the production company electronically submits the 10% GEP Logo Uplift application. The GEP Logo cannot be used in a project without prior approval of GDEcD.

For the 10% uplift to be awarded, the production company must electronically submit a completed GDEcD-D Distribution form when the project is distributed.

Qualified expenditures include materials, services and labor. The credit applies equally for Georgia residents and non-residents. There is a salary cap of $500,000 per person, per production, when the employee is paid by “salary,” which is defined as being properly paid by W2. If the production company pays an individual for services as a loanout, via a personal services contract, or a 1099, Georgia income tax must be withheld and remitted by the production company.

The income tax credit may be used against Georgia income tax liability or the production company’s Georgia withholding, or it can be sold or transferred to one or more Georgia taxpayers. Once the base investment requirement has been met, the film tax credit can be claimed following a mandatory audit.

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