Mendocino County Film Office
Monterey County Film Commission
Free assistance to productions and prompt response to inquiries.
Placer – Lake Tahoe Film Office
Placer County has free film permits and county locations from 90’ to over 9000’! You can film all four seasons within only film friendly county! At the Placer-Lake Tahoe Film Office we will help with scouting as well as crew.
For more details Contact Placer-Lake Tahoe Film Office: www.placer.ca.gov/films.
Ridgecrest Regional Film Commission
Ridgecrest roads and property, Kern County roads and property are permitted at no charge, Charges are applicable for items such as ITC and staff displacement.
San Diego Film Commission
No permit fees
Free public properties
discount police
24/7 service
location library
free production guide
hotel discount program
San Francisco Film Commission
Qualifying Features, Television Movies, Episodes, and Pilots are eligible for a refund of all city fees, all local payroll taxes and a portion of hotel and sales tax during production.*
For projects with budgets less than $3 million, 55% of principal photography must take place in San Francisco to qualify.**
For projects with budgets of $3 million or more, 65% of principal photography must take place in San Francisco to qualify.**
Please visit our website for the application and guidelines to the “Scene in San Francisco Rebate Program.”
*The total dollar amount eligible for a rebate for any single production may not exceed the total amount paid in taxes while filming in and/or working in San Francisco.
**Days filmed on a soundstage or other equivalent in San Francisco, Alameda, Marin or San Mateo counties qualify towards days filmed in San Francisco. However, your production office must be located in the City and County of San Francisco.
Santa Clarita Valley Film Office
The City of Santa Clarita’s Film Incentive Program (FIP) is part of an Economic Development 21-Point Plan for Progress and consists of three components.
The FIP will be offered during Fiscal Year 09-10 (July 1, 2009-June 30, 2010) and will be capped at $150,000 (all incentives combined).
Applications will be accepted and subsidies will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
Incentive 1: City will subsidize most film permit fees (including road and public property use) for feature and television productions that base in Santa Clarita, have a $1 million budget or more, film 65% locally, and hire 15% local crew.
Incentive 2: City will refund/subsidize basic film permit fees for feature, television, commercial, and music video productions that: a) pull six or more film permits during the fiscal year -OR- b) base at a local sound stage/movie ranch for four or more consecutive weeks.
Incentive 3: City will refund/subsidize portion of Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) to production companies who purchase five or more room nights in a calendar month at a City hotel.
Please visit www.FilmSantaClarita.com for more details and application procedures.
Tulare County Film Commission
No fees to Film in Tulare County! AND
Tulare County and its eight cities make up California’s only Targeted Tax Area. This tax incentive program is designed to stimulate business development and employment growth.
Qualifying businesses locating, expanding or continuing to do business in the Zone can take advantage of special State tax credits and streamlined local fees and approval processes.
Colorado
Colorado Office of Film, Television & Media
Significant changes to the incentive program will take effect July 1, 2010. Please check with the office directly to learn more about the upcoming changes.
10% CASH REBATE
A production company can qualify for a 10% cash rebate on spending if at least 75% of below the line spending is with Colorado businesses and 75% of cast and crew are Colorado residents. To qualify an in-state production company must spend at least $100,000 and an out-of-state production company must spent at least $1 million (rebate applies to first dollar spent once the minimum is met). Production companies must fill out a “Statement of Intent” and receive written approval before principle photography begins.
HOTEL SALES TAX WAIVER
Colorado state sales tax is waived on all hotel stays of 30 days or more if a contract is signed with the hotel before the stay begins.
PERMITS
Most cities, towns and counties in Colorado do not charge for, or have, film permits. In most locations permits are only required for street closures or when requests are made to control public facilities such as streets or parks.
Colorado Springs Film Liaison Office
Please refer to the Colorado Film Commission website link, www.coloradofilm.org, for more details on Colorado’s film incentive.
Connecticut
Connecticut Office of Film, Television and Digital Media
- 30% DIGITAL MEDIA & MOTION PICTURE TAX CREDIT. Production companies receive a tax credit on a sliding scale of up to 30% on qualified digital media and motion picture production, pre-production and post production expenses incurred in the state.
• Connecticut hotel tax is waived for days beyond 30. - ctfilm.com
D.C.
Washington, DC – Office of Motion Picture & TV
In December 2006, the Council of the District of Columbia passed the Film DC Economic Incentive Grant Fund creating incentives for motion picture and television companies that film all or part of their project in the District of Columbia. The purpose of the incentives is to encourage the use of the District as a site for film and television production, to encourage the hiring of District residents as cast, crew and staff and to support and encourage the use of other District services and equipment companies by the entertainment industry in these productions.
The Office of Motion Picture & Television Development determines whether particular motion picture and television productions and the expenditures associated with those productions qualify for incentives under the Act. All production companies that receive grant funds must expend at least $500,000 in the District and film for 5 or more days in the District of Columbia. The recipient of the grant will receive an amount not to exceed the lesser of 10 percent of qualified expenses or 100 percent of the sales and use taxes paid to the District on the qualified expenses.
Delaware
Delaware Film Commission
Easily accessed from New York, Baltimore, and Washington D.C., Delaware’s small size makes filming in a variety of locations more convenient. The length of the entire state can be traveled in approximately two hours.
Delaware has NO state or local general sales tax. A low accommodations tax of only 8 percent is ideal for large crews. Other fees associated with production — property rental, lodging, support services – are very reasonable when compared with other areas of the country.
With the film and video industry expanding rapidly, and with the need to find cost-effective locations that offer high production value, the Delaware Film Office is available to meet on-location needs, providing the production industry with many services, all cost-free.