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Sweet Home Alabama: Deep South State Lures Filmmakers With Hefty Incentives

With southern hospitality, Alabama has catered to everything from small, independent short films to massive Hollywood productions.

It’s easy to see why Alabama is a popular destination for filmmakers. It easily doubles for multiple North American locations. The past still lives in the Southern state’s cities and towns, while Huntsville is home to rocket technology and an incubator of the space age. Plus, the state offers filmmakers lots of forests, beaches, and rolling hills. Regions include the Tennessee Valley and the Appalachian plateau.

But there are even better reasons for shooting in Alabama. Producers are drawn by the state’s refundable tax credit of up to 25% of production expenditures – and 35% of payroll to state residents.

Specifically, the incentive offers a 25% refundable tax credit on qualified spend – including non-resident above-the-line and below-the-line payroll.

In addition, the benefit provides for a 35% tax credit on payroll to residents. Here are the details:

Alabama offers a 35% refundable tax credit on payroll to residents.

There’s a per-project cap of $20 million, and a minimum spend of $500,000 is required.

Recent projects shot in Alabama include “Vice” (2015), “Extraction” (2015), “Heist” (2015), “Convergence” (2015), “Rage” (2014), “Selma” (2014), “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (2014), “42” (2013), and “Oculus” (2013),

Incenitves

25%

Refundable credit on qualified spend, including non-resident above- and below-the-line payroll

$20m

Project cap

$500k

Minimum spend

35%

Refundable credit on resident pay

Information courtesy of EP Financial Solutions, a production incentive consulting and financial services company.

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