# Idaho Film Incentives

Source: https://storiara.com/incentives/us/idaho
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Charles Hirschhorn, Storiara

> Idaho doesn't offer a state film production incentive. The Commerce Department chapter of the Idaho Code contains no film credit or rebate, and the sales tax chapter has no production exemption. Its general Idaho Reimbursement Incentive Act is built for permanent employers creating at least 20 full-time jobs in rural areas or 50 in urban ones, which a film shoot can't meet.

## What's in the Idaho Code

Idaho's Department of Commerce chapter (Title 67, Chapter 47) covers tourism grants, the Idaho Opportunity Fund, broadband, and the Idaho Reimbursement Incentive Act. None of those is a production incentive. The sales tax chapter lists exemptions for things like radio and TV broadcasting equipment, but nothing for film and TV production purchases or rentals.

The Reimbursement Incentive Act comes up when producers ask about Idaho, so it's worth being exact. It gives a refundable credit of up to 30% of new state tax revenue a business generates, over a term of up to 15 years, but only after the business adds at least 20 new nonseasonal, full-time jobs in a rural community or 50 in an urban one, paying at least the county's average wage, with a local government match. A feature that employs 60 people for eight weeks creates zero qualifying jobs under that definition.

So for budgeting, Idaho is a no-incentive state. There's no [qualified spend](https://storiara.com/glossary/qualified-spend) to track, no minimum, and nothing to audit.

## What the missing incentive costs: a $1,000,000 example

Take a contemporary western that needs Idaho's Sawtooth country on screen. The question is how much of it has to be shot there.

| Plan | Idaho spend | Spend in an incentive state | Incentive |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Whole shoot in Idaho | $850,000 | $0 | $0 |
| B. 5-day Idaho landscape unit, main unit elsewhere | $140,000 | $600,000 | Depends on the program |

For plan B to beat plan A, the incentive on the $600,000 has to exceed the extra costs of splitting: moving the company twice, a second set of location fees, and any VFX work to blend plates. If those extra costs come to $70,000, a program returning more than about 11.7% on that $600,000 ($70,000 divided by $600,000) makes the split worth it. Check the actual rate for the state you're weighing, and its [minimum spend](https://storiara.com/glossary/minimum-spend) in the [incentive calculator](https://storiara.com/tools/incentive-calculator).

At a $5,000,000 budget, the same logic usually favors the split more strongly, because the incentive grows with spend while the cost of moving a unit doesn't grow as fast.

## If you shoot in Idaho anyway

Some stories need real Idaho: the river, the snow, or a town that can't be faked. In that case:

- Budget full sales tax on rentals and purchases, since there's no exemption to apply.
- Start federal permits early. Much of the scenery producers want sits on national forest or BLM land, and those agencies run their own filming permit processes with their own timelines.
- State parks go through Idaho Parks and Recreation, and towns and counties handle their own streets and property.
- Price travel and lodging for any key positions you can't fill locally; Salt Lake City, Portland, and Seattle are the usual places to hire from.

## The neighbors that pay

Idaho borders six states, and several run incentives. [Utah](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/utah), [Montana](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/montana), and [Oregon](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/oregon) are the most common alternatives for Idaho-set scripts, with [Washington](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/washington), [Nevada](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/nevada), and [Wyoming](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/wyoming) also worth checking. For a sense of scale, [Colorado](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/colorado) pays a refundable credit of up to 20% of qualified local spend (22% in an Enterprise Zone) from a $5,000,000 yearly pool, and [Arizona](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/arizona) starts at 15% with a $125,000,000 yearly cap.

For how credits turn into cash once you've picked a state, read [how film tax credits work](https://storiara.com/blog/how-film-tax-credits-work). Every program we cover is on the [incentives hub](https://storiara.com/incentives).

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Idaho have a film tax credit?

No. Idaho has no film tax credit, cash rebate, or grant for film and TV production, and its sales tax law has no exemption aimed at productions.

### Can a film production use the Idaho Reimbursement Incentive Act?

In practice, no. The act gives a refundable credit on new state tax revenue to businesses that add at least 20 nonseasonal full-time jobs in a rural community or 50 in an urban one, over a term of up to 15 years. Shoots are temporary, so they don't fit.

### Why do films set in Idaho shoot in other states?

Mostly because neighboring states and provinces pay incentives and Idaho doesn't. A common approach is a short Idaho unit for landscapes and plates, with the main unit shooting where a credit applies.

## Sources

- [Idaho Code Title 67, Chapter 47, Department of Commerce (section index)](https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title67/T67CH47/)
- [Idaho Code 67-4738, Idaho Reimbursement Incentive Act definitions](https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title67/T67CH47/SECT67-4738/)
- [Idaho Code Title 63, Chapter 36, Sales Tax (section index)](https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title63/T63CH36/)