UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FILMING INCENTIVES

The Pennsylvania Film Production Tax Credit

Overview

Type of incentiveTax Credit
Qualifying formats
  • - Feature film - fiction (theatrical)
  • - Feature film - documentary (theatrical)
  • - TV Film or TV series - fiction
  • - TV Film or TV series - documentary
  • - Commercials (TV, theatrical, online)
  • - Reality TV
Qualifying productions
  • - National productions
  • - Foreign productions

Specifics

Benefit as a % of spend25.00
Financial cap per production-
Do I have to register/set up a company?Yes
Does foreign cast/crew paid in their home country/region qualify as expenditure? No
Do foreign cast/crew have to pay tax in the host country/state/region? Yes
Does travel to/from country/region qualify as expenditure? No
Can a production qualify for other national incentives such as cultural programmes if it qualifies for this incentive? No
Criteria to access the benefit
  • - Minimum percentage of the film that must be shot in the region: 60.00%
When will the benefit/incentive be received?
  • - End of national fiscal year
Additional incentives or advantages
  • - Rece tour assistance, location finding service
  • - Free use of buidings/facilities/services within jurisdiction
  • - Pennsylvania offers up to a 30% transferable tax credit (25% base credit plus a 5% bonus), with a maximum of $60 million available per fiscal year. Pennsylvania has issued new guidelines, which are now in effect, and include, but are not limited to the following: - A non-refundable application fee of 0.2% of 25% of the estimated Pennsylvania expenditures capped at $5,000. - Limitations on the use of “Pass Through” companies. - An additional 5% of qualified expenses may be earned by production companies filming a feature film, television film or television series, which is intended as programming for a national audience and films at a qualified production facility which meets the minimum stage filming requirements. A third-party CPA is required; the audit may not begin until the completed film has been delivered and is ready for distribution! Pennsylvania offers free use of state-owned property. Except for extraordinary activities, no department or agency of Pennsylvania will charge a fee or other cost, except the actual costs incurred by the affected department or agency, for the use of state-owned property for the purpose of making commercial motion pictures. There is no hotel tax if you stay in a hotel for more than 30 consecutive days. There are no funds currently available.

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