A cast budget on the MPA
A 20-day feature with two leads on weekly contracts for four weeks, four supporting actors at 6 days each, and 12 day players at 1 day each:
| Line | Math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Leads, weekly | 2 x 4 x $1,560 | $12,480 |
| Supporting, daily | 4 x 6 x $449 | $10,776 |
| Day players | 12 x 1 x $449 | $5,388 |
| Subtotal | $28,644 | |
| Pension and health, 22% | $28,644 x 0.22 | $6,301.68 |
| Total before payroll taxes | $34,945.68 |
Look at the supporting actors again. If five of an actor's 6 days fall in one studio week, a weekly contract at $1,560 for that week beats 5 x $449 = $2,245. Run the day out of days before choosing contract types; see weekly rate for the break-even.
The incentives
The MPA has two ways to raise the $700,000 ceiling. The Diversity-in-Casting Incentive lifts it to $950,000 if the cast meets the agreement's protected-group requirements. The Background Actor Incentive adds $112,000 to the maximum if the producer covers an average of three SAG-AFTRA background actors per day in a background actor zone. Background actors covered under the incentive are paid at the Basic Agreement's Schedule X-I and X-II rates, $231 a day from July 1, 2026.
Working conditions
- Taft-Hartley applies, so hiring a non-member triggers the union's reporting rules. See Taft-Hartley.
- Overtime for day and weekly performers is time and a half through the 12th hour and double time from the 13th, in tenths of an hour.
- With written consent and at least 36 consecutive hours off in each seven days, a performer can work a sixth day without a premium, limited to eight straight-time hours.
- Weekly performers are employed in units of at least one week; extra days in a final partial week are prorated at one-fifth of the weekly rate.
- Total production cost includes deferred compensation.
Where people get caught
The MPA sits between two much cheaper and much more expensive tiers. Going from $449 to the Low Budget agreement's $834 nearly doubles the day rate, so a budget that drifts over $700,000 in prep without an incentive is an expensive problem. Keep the production budget you submit to SAG-AFTRA and the one you track in the cost report reconciled. The SAG-AFTRA tiers table compares all three agreements.