Film and Entertainment Tax Credits
Take advantage of this special tax for entertainment companies in Georgia
Jeff Glickman
State and Local Tax Leader | Tax Partner
Aprio Advisory Group, LLC
How we can help
Do you run a business in the film and entertainment industry in Georgia? Whether you shoot feature films, produce a television series, make commercials or music videos, create animated films or documentaries, develop video games, or produce music, you may qualify for tax relief through the state’s film and entertainment tax credits. Georgia’s entertainment-related tax credits include the following:
- Georgia Film Tax Credit (up to a 30% credit for the production of projects approved by the Georgia Film Office);
- Interactive Entertainment Tax Credit (up to a 30% credit for the production of interactive entertainment projects approved by the Georgia Digital Entertainment Office);
- Post-Production Tax Credit (up to a 30% credit for companies that perform post-production services in Georgia); and
- Music Production Tax Credit (up to a 20% credit for certain musical touring or recorded musical performances in Georgia).
Each of these tax credits (except the music production tax credit) may be sold to other taxpayers with Georgia income tax liabilities, which allows the production company to immediately monetize these tax credits even if it is in a loss position.
Your business may be eligible for one or more of these tax credits if your business develops and produces any of the following types of productions in Georgia:
- Feature length films
- Made-for-television films
- Series, episodes, or pilots
- Documentaries
- Commercial advertisements
- Music videos
- Video games (computer or console)
- Mobile game applications for smartphones and tablets
- eSports entertainment
- Post-production of content
- Touring musical or theatrical productions (such as concerts, ballets, operas)
- Recorded musical performances
If your business produces any of these types of content (or other similar content), reach out to Aprio for help in determining whether your business qualifies for any of these credits and the maximum amount you’re owed, as well as assistance with the claims process. We can even help with document preparation and submissions for your company.
Aprio’s unique tax solution for Georgia film and entertainment companies
Aprio has helped companies claim tens of millions of the various types of film and entertainment tax credits that the state provides each year. We’ve helped production companies claim tax credits for full-length feature films, television series, commercials, filmed e-sports entertainment, and interactive entertainment productions.
Work with us to receive comprehensive services for entertainment and film tax credits in Georgia. This includes:
- Determining production and project eligibility for the tax program.
- Assisting with regulatory applications and approvals.
- Advising on eligible versus ineligible activities during production.
- Performing tax credit studies with summary reports.
- Advising on the best utilization strategy of claimed tax credits.
- Assisting with the sale of claimed tax credits.
We’re also able to scale these services based on the needs and size of your company as well as your productions. We have experience working with businesses throughout the year as a project is in production— assisting with activities along the way that will help you maximize your potential credit benefit — or we can work with businesses after productions have wrapped. If you go with the latter option, we’ll analyze your credit potential for a completed production.
In addition to comprehensive services and scalability, these are a few of the reasons why Aprio is such an important partner for film and entertainment companies in Georgia:
- Filing credit pre-approvals: If the credit applicable to your company has annual statewide limits, we’ll assist with the filing of any pre-approvals required by the Department of Revenue in order to secure and maximize your credits.
- Help with project approval applications: If the credit applicable to your company requires project approvals, we can help prepare, review, and submit any project approval applications that the Department of Economic Development requires.
- Tax credit studies: We’ll conduct a tax credit study of your enterprise to review certain qualifying production expenditures. This will help us determine the qualifying nature of the expenses in your production company’s financial statements.
At the conclusion of our engagement, we can prepare any necessary tax return attachments. We’ll provide your production company with a summary report as well. If you’d like to sell your credits, we can even work with tax credit brokers to facilitate the sale of tax credits to third-party purchasers.
Why should you take advantage of these Entertainment Tax Credits?
Whether you’re an out-of-state business searching for your next project or a business already located in the state, Georgia provides a credit for the qualifying production expenditures that your company will incur. Aprio can efficiently and effectively help maximize these benefits based upon the type of credit available to your business.
Our service is unique in that we’ve been on the forefront of tax claim support for these film and entertainment tax credits as they have evolved over time. We’re also in a one-of-a-kind position to work with your company and identify all other types of credits that you might be eligible for as a business in the state.
Do you know what other tax credits your Georgia business is eligible for?
Since the entertainment and film credits continue to evolve and attract new businesses to Georgia, it’s easy for creative enterprises to overlook other available credits. Of course, these film and entertainment credits are only few of the dozens of potential credits available to you.
We’ve connected businesses like yours with tens of millions of dollars in tax credits. In the case of mutually exclusive credits, such as the Georgia’s Investment Tax Credit and the Jobs Tax Credit, we’re even able to assess your investment, wage expenses, total employees, and total hours worked to determine which credits are most worthwhile for your company. We can also look at projects you’re considering undertaking, such as adding new equipment or technology, and identify whether it’s worth your investment from a tax credit perspective.
Get started with Aprio’s Entertainment and Film Tax Credit Services today
While the film tax credit is not subject to an annual statewide cap, the Department of Revenue allocates interactive entertainment, post-production, and music production tax credits on a first-come, first-serve basis up to each credit’s annual statewide cap. Therefore, it’s important to not only act quickly but also to file your information accurately. A denied claim can lead to a delay that could prove costly.
If you’re already engaging in film or entertainment production (or plan to do so), contact the Aprio SALT group to get started with our film and entertainment tax credit services. We’ll determine if you qualify for credits through this program, and we can help you estimate your potential credit benefits. If you’re planning on a production in the future, this assessment can help you accurately determine the cost of your project once you successfully claim tax credits.
Film and Entertainment Tax Credits
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