What the statute says now
The Alaska Statutes still list section 43.98.030, "Film production tax credit," but the text is a single bracketed line: repealed by section 7, chapter 35, SLA 2015. No successor program has been enacted since. There is no minimum spend to hit, no application window, and no audit, because there is nothing to claim.
That makes Alaska simple to budget. Every dollar you spend there is a full dollar, with no qualified spend calculation at the end.
What a $1,000,000 shoot looks like without a credit
Take a 15-day documentary-style feature with a crew of 18, flying in from Seattle.
| Budget line | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Airfare and excess baggage, crew and gear | $62,000 |
| Lodging, 18 rooms for 17 nights | $110,000 |
| Per diem and catering | $58,000 |
| Grip, electric, and camera rental, including freight | $95,000 |
| Payroll and fringes | $480,000 |
| Locations, permits, insurance, contingency | $195,000 |
| Total | $1,000,000 |
| State incentive | $0 |
These are planning numbers, not quotes. Whatever the real figures turn out to be, an Alaska shoot recovers nothing from the state, so the travel and freight lines have to be justified by what the locations give you on screen.
The split-unit approach
Most productions that need Alaska on screen don't need the whole company there. A common plan sends a small second unit (DP, AC, drone operator, a local fixer, maybe a photo double) for two to five days of establishing shots, aerials, and plates, and brings the main unit's dialogue scenes to a jurisdiction with an incentive.
Here's the break-even check. Suppose the main unit's $600,000 of local spend would qualify somewhere paying 25%. That's $150,000 back. Moving the dialogue work is worth it if the extra costs of the split (the second unit's travel, VFX work to marry plates to stage footage, and any look-alike location scouting) stay under $150,000. The 25% here is a placeholder; plug in the real rate from the program you're comparing with the incentive calculator.
If the story needs actors in the actual landscape for weeks, the split falls apart and you shoot in Alaska and carry the cost.
Help that still exists
Without a film office program, the practical help comes from land managers and local governments:
- The Alaska Department of Natural Resources handles land-use permits on state land.
- National parks, national forests, and wildlife refuges each have their own federal filming permit processes, and they take time. Start those applications when you start scouting.
- Cities and boroughs permit street work and municipal property, and many levy their own sales and bed taxes, so check the local rate for each town on your schedule.
Alaska doesn't levy a statewide sales tax, which helps a little on purchases, but it doesn't come close to what a credit would return.
Nearby programs that pay
Hawaii is the other noncontiguous state, and it runs a refundable credit of 22% on O'ahu and 27% on the neighbor islands, with a 5% uplift for an 80% local workforce. It won't pass for Alaska, but it matters if you're choosing where to put a Pacific-based series. Washington is the closest contiguous state with a program, and British Columbia, covered on the Canada page, is where many northern-set productions end up.
For how credits and rebates turn into cash, see how film tax credits work. The full list of programs is on the incentives hub.