Film and Television Production Incentive Updates: March 2026

United States Jurisdictions

Enacted U.S. Incentive Legislation

CALIFORNIA

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has signed legislation modernizing the city's outdated (2006) film incentive, boosting it to a 20% rebate on qualified spend above $1M (10% on the first $1M), plus 100% rebate on city fees (permits/police up to $1M total cap).  This stacks with California's expanded Program 4.0 and responds to productions leaving for richer incentives elsewhere. 

GEORGIA

Statewide: The newly reinstated stand-alone Georgia post-production tax credit is officially in effect. Post-production facilities can now claim a 20% base credit on a minimum of $500,000 in qualified local spend, even if the footage was shot outside of the state. There is an additional 10% uplift if the underlying project was filmed in Georgia, and an additional 5% uplift if the post-work is completed in a qualifying rural county. The post-production program is capped at $10 million annually through 2031. Additionally, for any ongoing payroll and compliance discussions, the state's loan-out withholding rate is currently 5.19%.

Savannah: The Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) finalized its 2026 guidelines, introducing a new Tier 1 local cash rebate to aggressively lure independent productions back to the city. The new tier offers a cash rebate of up to $100,000 with a minimum local spend of $1 million, plus an additional $10,000 to $25,000 bonus if a production meets specific local-resident crew-hire thresholds.

IOWA

The state launched a tightly controlled, two-year pilot program for 2026 and 2027, offering a 30% cash rebate on qualified in-state production spending, capped at a modest $4 million annually (with a $500K minimum in-state spend). The new pilot requires strict third-party CPA reviews and careful oversight by the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

This marks Iowa's return to the film incentive landscape after its previous uncapped program—originally launched in 2007—was suspended in 2009 and later repealed due to fraud, inflated expenditures, and mismanagement within the state's film office. 

NEW YORK

The state officially extended its post-production tax credit program through 2036 and launched the 2026 application window for its $100 million NYS Independent Film Production Tax Credit. This program is a vital cash-flow lifeline for New York's independent ecosystem.

Because the general NYS production credit faces a massive multi-year waitlist, this standalone fund allows indie producers to monetize their 30% credit (potentially up to 40%) in the year they complete their project, preventing homegrown jobs and infrastructure from fleeing to competitor states.

Allocations: The $100 million annual fund is divided into two distinct pools based on production size. Due to high demand, the status for 2026 applications is as follows:

• Pool 1 (Qualified costs less than $10M): This $20 million allocation saw immediate demand and closed to new applications on January 13, 2026.
• Pool 2 (Qualified costs > $10M): This $80 million allocation remains open for applications, pending the availability of funds.

Upcoming Window: A second application period for both pools is scheduled from July 13, 2026 (10 am EDT) to July 16, 2026 (4 pm EDT). This window is specifically for productions prepared to begin principal and ongoing photography within 180 days of their application submission.

OKLAHOMA

The city of Okmulgee launched a local film incentive to bolster its film-friendly status in Northeast Oklahoma. Designed to stack with state and tribal incentives, the program offers a 10% sales tax rebate on local spend with a low $10,000 minimum. A 5% uplift is also available for projects that utilize 50% local crew, 50% local filming days, or prominent city landmarks. With rolling deadlines, reduced permit fees, and location support, the program leverages Okmulgee’s proximity to Tulsa and builds on the success of past projects like Reservation Dogs.

WISCONSIN

The state officially rolled out Film Wisconsin and opened the application portal for its film tax credit program. This marks Wisconsin's official return to the incentive landscape after its previous program was sunset in 2009.

The new, highly targeted program offers a 30% transferable tax credit on qualifying in-state production expenditures (including resident labor). It is funded at $5 million annually, with a maximum allocation of $1 million per project. To qualify, productions must hit a minimum local spend of $100,000 (or $50,000 for projects running under 30 minutes). Veronica Pope was also recently appointed Director of the newly established film office to oversee the rollout and compliance.

Proposed U.S. Incentive Legislation

CALIFORNIA

• Post-Production: The state aims to establish a standalone tax credit for post-production services (VFX, editing, sound, and color) performed in California, regardless of where the project was filmed. The bill is supported by the California Post Alliance and a coalition of VFX/editorial houses. They argue that California is currently losing the "digital tail" of global productions to states like New York and New Jersey, which offer robust standalone post-production credits (up to 30%). By removing the requirement that a project must also film in California to qualify, the bill allows local post-production facilities to compete for the billions in technical spend currently flowing to locations like London and Vancouver.

• Commercial Production: A new bill proposes to create California’s first-ever tax credit for commercial production with a $15 million annual fund. The incentive structure suggests a 20% credit for qualified expenditures in major metropolitan "Studio Zones" (e.g., Los Angeles) and a 30% credit uplift, for filming in California regions outside the major metros, incentivizing statewide economic growth.
  
  This is the AICP’s primary legislative focus, highlighting that commercials provide the essential bridge of employment for California’s crew base between major film/TV projects. Without this credit, the AICP notes that the workforce is forced to relocate to follow the steady, year-round volume of advertising shoots now moving to other tax-incentivized jurisdictions.  

Other U.S. Incentive Updates

CALIFORNIA

California Tax Credit 4.0 Film and TV application windows open soon: 

• The next application window for TV will open from April 6th (12am PDT) to April 8th, 2026 (5pm PDT). 
• The application window for Features will run from May 11th (12am PDT) to May 13th, 2026 (5pm PDT).

MONTANA

The Media Tax Credit application process has been temporarily suspended. Despite recent improvements to its legislative incentives (including increased annual funding), the high volume of production tax credit claims in 2024 and 2025 resulted in the state hitting its statutory cap early. The suspension, however, isn't a sign the program is failing; rather, it’s a result of the program’s success. The Montana Legislature is actively working to fix this bottleneck through new legislation (SB 326), which aims to expand and extend the program through 2045.

TEXAS

Backed by a massive $300 million biennial funding allocation, the enhanced Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP) now offers a base cash grant of up to 25%, which can reach a maximum of 31% by stacking uplifts for rural filming, veteran hires, or local post-production. The financial pull of these stable, enhanced incentives is actively luring major productions across state lines. For example, Paramount+'s highly anticipated Tulsa King spinoff starring Samuel L. Jackson. Originally slated to shoot in New Orleans, the project has been completely uprooted and relocated to the Fort Worth area, further consolidating Taylor Sheridan's massive production footprint in his home state. 

International Jurisdictions

Enacted International Incentive Legislation

BULGARIA

The individual project cap in Bulgaria was recently increased to $5 million, making it a strong draw for mid-tier shoots. However, the overall annual program budget remains highly restrictive at just $10 million. This means the entire yearly fund can be completely wiped out by just two or three qualifying projects, making it a highly competitive, first-come, first-served landscape.

 CANADA

The British Columbia Provincial Budget 2026 was released, introducing significant administrative shifts for the film and television sector. These proposals aim to reduce red tape while adjusting the cost of entry for major productions.

1. Streamlined Certification & Filing

• Elimination of Pre-Certification: For productions incurring accredited B.C. labor expenditures on or after October 20, 2025, the requirement to obtain pre-certification has been removed.
• Extended Filing Deadlines: Providing more breathing room for accounting, the filing deadline has been doubled from 18 months to 36 months after the end of the tax year (effective for tax years ending on or after August 17, 2024).
• Simplified CRA Submissions: For the Film and Television Tax Credit, corporations are no longer required to submit a completion certificate to the CRA with their returns for the year of completion.

2. Updated Fee Structure (Effective March 1, 2026)

• Accreditation Fee Increase: For productions that started principal photography after December 31, 2024, the application fee for an accreditation certificate rises from $10,000 to $19,000.
• New Major Production Fee: A flat fee of $5,000 is now set for major production certificate applications.

COSTA RICA

While Costa Rica established its initial film framework a few years ago, the government recently enacted a sweeping expansion (Law 10657) to capture a greater share of the Latin American production boom. The core financial incentive is a cash return of 90% of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) paid on local goods and services, which nets out to an effective 11.7% cash rebate on local spend.

To qualify, projects must hit a minimum local spend of $500,000. However, the true draw of the revamped package lies in its substantial tax and logistical sweeteners: it completely exempts foreign cast and crew from local income taxes, entirely suspends import duties, and guarantees deposits for temporary production equipment. It also mandates fast-tracked work visas for international personnel.

FRANCE

The French government recently revamped its Tax Rebate for International Productions (TRIP) specifically to court big-budget Hollywood shoots. France officially expanded eligibility to include above-the-line costs—specifically the salaries of non-EU actors—which were previously excluded. This 30% (or up to 40% with VFX) rebate now makes France significantly more attractive and financially viable for major U.S. star-driven vehicles.

MEXICO

Mexico has announced the launch of a new national film and television incentive framework, targeting a headline benefit of up to 30% on qualified production spend. The program is expected to be capped at approximately $2.3M USD (40 million pesos) per project, with a total annual allocation of roughly $23.3M USD, and includes a 70% local spend requirement.

While the initiative marks a significant policy shift after years of development, implementation details and access mechanisms are still being finalized, and the program is expected to roll out in phases.

Proposed International Incentive Legislation and Other Updates

HUNGARY

The region remains extremely busy. The strict 140 billion HUF funding limit for the first half of the year has already been exhausted, so incoming projects are being added to the waitlist. To maintain a spot in this queue, it is now legally required that principal photography strictly begins within six months of project registration, with the second-half funding cap expected to be announced around June.

UNITED KINGDOM

Final guidance on the UK’s new Enhanced VFX Incentive under the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) is now actively rolling out for 2026 claims. The program offers a massive double benefit for visual effects: it increases the effective net credit rate for VFX work to 29.25% (up from the standard 25.5%), and crucially, it entirely removes the UK’s standard 80% cap on qualifying spend, meaning 100% of allowable UK VFX spend now qualifies.

Furthermore, the final guidance explicitly confirmed that costs for generative AI, motion capture, and color correction are all eligible. This creates a highly lucrative, uncapped draw for global post-production budgets—providing a stark competitive contrast and a major talking point for the urgency of California's proposed stand-alone post-production bill.

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