US Lawmakers Unveil 20%-30% Federal Film Incentive to Keep Shoots at Home
Filmmakers shooting in America could soon get money back from Washington for the first time.
Bipartisan lawmakers in the US Congress unveiled legislation on 24 September 2026 to create a federal film and television incentive worth 20% to 30% of labour costs, according to Variety. The credit would sit on top of existing state tax credits.
The plan starts with a 20% base credit on wages paid to US residents. It would apply to all labour, from below-the-line crew such as camera operators, carpenters and editors to above-the-line talent such as actors, writers and directors.
That federal credit would stack. A production could claim a state incentive and then claim the federal credit as well. It would be structured as a transferable tax credit, meaning a production company that owes little US tax could sell the credit to another business for cash, as reported by Politico.
Then come the extras. Filming in a rural area would add 5%. Qualifying as an independent production would add another 5%. Los Angeles County would qualify for a 5% bonus for the next five years as a federal disaster area. Combined, the bonuses lift the possible maximum to 30% of labour costs.
The sponsors include Rep. Nathaniel Moran, a Texas Republican, and Rep. Laura Friedman, a California Democrat whose district includes Hollywood. In the Senate, Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, and Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, have publicly backed the effort. Schiff described a credit of about 20% in a Senate press release published on 24 September.
The bill follows a two-year effort by Hollywood unions and the Motion Picture Association, the trade body for the major studios.
Supporters point to jobs and spending. An MPA study cited in the coverage found a federal incentive could double the $20 billion US film and TV production industry by 2032 and create 143,500 jobs. For comparison, California offers 35% to 45% through its own state programme but caps awards at $750 million a year.
The push has been building for months. Schiff held a hearing in Burbank in March with industry leaders on protecting American production and jobs, where he said California's state credit had generated more than $29.1 billion in production wages and supported more than 220,000 jobs. On 31 August, President Trump urged Congress to pass tax incentives for the entertainment industry, according to Reuters reporting.
For viewers, nothing changes on screen yet. No money flows until Congress passes the bill and the president signs it. The proposal would need to move through committees, win votes in both chambers and survive negotiations over cost.
What makes this stand out is the structure. The United States has long left production incentives to individual states. A federal credit that sits above those state deals would be new for crews looking for work and for producers deciding where to shoot.
