California
Incentive:
20% - 25% Tax Credit
Counties:
Los Angeles County
San Bernardino County
Santa Barbara County
Cities:
Santa Clarita Valley
Riverside County
Hemet
San Francisco
San Jacinto
Temecula
Credit:
25% Non-Transferable Tax Credit for Relocating TV Series
Requirements:
Relocating Television Series that filmed its most recent season outside California. $1 million minimum budget per episode.
Rebate:
25% Transferable Tax Credit for Independent Films
Requirements:
$1 million minimum budget. Credits apply only to the first $10 million of qualified expenditures.
Rebate:
20% Non-Transferable Tax Credit for Feature Film, MOW & Mini, New TV Series & Pilots
Requirements:
Feature Film: $1 million minimum budget. Credit allocation applies only to the first $100 million in qualified expenditures, plus uplifts.
Movies-of-the-Week and Miniseries: $500,000 minimum budget.
New television series for any distribution outlet: $1 million minimum budget per episode.
TV Pilots: $1 million minimum budget.
Rebate:
5% Credit Uplift for Out-of-Zone Filming, Music, Visual Effects
Requirements:
Projects eligible for a 20% tax credit may receive an additional 5% credit for the following expenditures:
Out-of-Zone Filming: Expenditures relating to original photography and incurred outside the 30-Mile Studio Zone.
Eligible expenditures include qualified wages paid for services performed outside the Zone, and expenditures purchased or leased and used outside the Zone.
Music Scoring and Music Track Recording by musicians.
Visual Effects: To qualify, visual effects work must represent at least 75% of the VFX budget or a minimum of $10 million in qualified VFX expenditures incurred in California.
Note: The maximum credit a production can earn is 25%.
Program:
Annual Funding Cap: $330,000,000
Loan-out Registration: No
CPA Audit: Yes
Carryforward: Yes
Screen Credit: Yes
Sunset Date: June 30, 2020
A minimum of 75% of total "Principal Photography" days must occur wholly in California.
A minimum of 75% of the "Production Budget" must be incurred and used for goods, services and/or wages within California.
Website: http://film.ca.gov/tax-credit/the-basics-2-0/
Legislation: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_1801-1850/ab_1839_bill_20140918_chaptered.pdf
California Film Commission
7080 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 900
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) 860-2960
(800) 858-4749
filmca@film.ca.gov
Colleen Bell
Executive Director
(323) 860-2960 x 102
Eve Honthaner
Deputy Director
(323) 860-2960 x 136
Nancy Rae Stone
Program Director
(323) 860-2960 x 118