Kentucky offers aggressive tax incentives for film production, making it one of the more affordable film production locations in the United States.
Below are some highlights of what we offer in Kentucky:
Qualified productions can take advantage of a refundable income tax credit of up to 30% of approved expenditures or,
35% incentive for Kentucky resident labor
35% incentive for filming in an enhanced incentive county.
Film production incentives are available to companies that spend at least $250,000 to produce feature films or television shows in Kentucky. Commercials are eligible with required expenditures of $100,000.
Documentaries and Broadway productions are eligible with an expenditure minimum of $20,000, for a Kentucky based company the threshold would be $10,000.
Applications for film production incentives will be reviewed and approved by the Kentucky Film Office, Secretary of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, the Finance and Administration Cabinet and the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority. The Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority meets once a month to approve incentive requests. The meetings are held at 1:00 p.m. the second Wednesday of every month at 100 Airport Road, Frankfort, KY 40601. Below are a list of dates:
June 14, 2017
July 12, 2017
August 9, 2017
September 13, 2017
October 11, 2017
November 8, 2017
December 13, 2017
January 10, 2018
February 14,2018
March 14, 2018
April 11, 2018
May 9, 2018
June 13, 2018
July 11, 2018
August 8, 2018
September 12, 2018
October 10, 2018
November 14, 2018
December 12, 2018
Click here for a list of qualified expenditures including, but not limited to, the following items:
Production script and synopsis
Set construction and operations
Wardrobe, accessories, and related services
Lease or rental of real property in Kentucky as a set location
Photography, sound synchronization, lighting, and related services
Editing and related services
Rental of equipment
Vehicle leases
Food
Accommodations
Ready to apply? Fill out the Kentucky Film Office Tax Credit Application here.
Have a question about tax incentives for film production? Download our program summary here.