Written by on May 4, 2015. Posted in Incentive News

North Carolina issues $60m in filming tax credits for 2014

North Carolina paid out USD 60 million in filming tax credits in 2014 and made over USD 240 million in direct production spending, according to official figures. At the height of its filming incentive popularity, North Carolina hosted the first Hunger Games movie and Iron Man 3.

The figures for 2014 come four months after the state downgraded the filming incentive to a grant system offering just USD 10 million a year.

Television drama Sleepy Hollow spent the most money locally – around USD 43 million – in exchange for filming incentive payments of USD 11 million. However, the show is relocating to Atlanta now that North Carolina has downgraded its filming incentive.

Three separate projects have claimed North Carolina’s USD 10 million funding for 2015. Half the money has been allocated to the Stephen King drama series Under the Dome. The next biggest recipient is a TV miniseries adaptation of the classic 80s movie Dirty Dancing (above), which will get grant support worth USD 4 million.

Productions supported by the state this year are expected to deliver around USD 60 million in direct spending, marking a sharp decline since the filming incentive change.

“Our first grant recipients will make their presence felt across the state and will give us a chance to leverage some partnerships to further promote North Carolina,” said Guy Gaster, director of the North Carolina Film Office within the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, last month.

“The grant recipients reflect a good mix of productions that will film on our coast, in our mountains and in a major metropolitan area,” added John E Skvarla III, the North Carolina Commerce Secretary: “These productions will showcase our state’s amazing diversity of resources.”