New York State Film Production Tax Credit Program

The New York State Film Production Tax Credit Program is a refundable tax credit administered by Empire State Development (ESD) for film and television production companies that incur qualified production costs in New York State. Rather than a direct cash grant, this program works by reducing—or refunding—state tax liability equal to 30% of qualified production expenditures, with the possibility of additional credit amounts through Production Plus and regional labor incentives for productions filming outside the New York City metro area.

This program matters to small production companies and businesses in the film and TV industry because it can meaningfully offset the cost of shooting in New York State, making the state more competitive against other filming locations. To participate, a production company must meet the program's qualifying cost thresholds and file a diversity plan as part of the application process.

Because this is a tax credit rather than upfront cash, applicants typically need to have already committed to production activity in New York and be prepared to work through ESD's application and certification process. The program is state-level and limited to productions with New York-based qualified expenditures.

Award amounts, application rounds, and detailed eligibility thresholds change periodically, so businesses considering this program should confirm the current credit percentage, any caps, open application windows, and specific qualifying cost categories directly at the official ESD site before making production decisions. As of the last update noted here (2026), applicants are encouraged to verify all current details rather than relying on older program summaries, since state incentive programs are revised from year to year.