Illinois rewrote its film credit in 2025 (SB 1911). The headline change was the rate on Illinois vendor spend and resident payroll, which went from 30% to 35%. Nonresident wages stayed at 30%, but the list of nonresidents who can count got longer. The Illinois Film Office still hosts an older PDF fact sheet showing 30% everywhere and a nine-person nonresident list, so if a financier quotes you from that sheet, send them the current DCEO program page.
What counts toward Illinois spend
The credit is earned on your qualified spend, which Illinois defines narrowly:
| Spend category | Rate | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Goods and services from Illinois vendors | 35% | Vendor must be domiciled in Illinois and in good standing with the Secretary of State |
| Illinois resident wages and employer-paid benefits | 35% | $500,000 per worker |
| Nonresident crew wages | 30% | $500,000 per worker, up to 13 people (actors not included) |
| Nonresident actor wages | 30% | 4 actors under $20M Illinois spend, 5 at $20M to $40M, 6 above $40M |
| Workers from high-unemployment census tracts | +15% | Worker must earn at least $1,000 on the show |
| Resident wages, filming outside the six Chicago-area counties | +5% | Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will are excluded |
Only two executive producers per production can go into labor spend. Line producers don't count against that limit. For a series, the nonresident limits apply per episode across the season.
The 15% bump is checked person by person. You look up each worker's census tract on the FFIEC geocoder and compare the tract's unemployment rate with the state average using the spreadsheets IFO posts. Payroll companies can pull addresses from start paperwork, but somebody in the accounting office still has to run the list.
A $1,000,000 feature in Chicago
Say the budget is $1,000,000 and the production accountant's forecast of Illinois spend looks like this:
- Illinois vendors (grip and electric package, stages, catering, hotels): $430,000
- Illinois resident wages and fringes: $360,000, of which $60,000 goes to crew living in qualifying tracts
- Nonresident wages: $90,000 (the DP and one lead actor)
- Everything else ($120,000) went to vendors outside Illinois and earns nothing
The math:
- 35% x ($430,000 + $360,000) = $276,500
- 30% x $90,000 = $27,000
- 15% x $60,000 = $9,000
- Total credit: $312,500
The post-award fee is 2.5% of the $27,000 earned on nonresident wages ($675) plus 0.25% of the remaining $285,500 ($713.75), so $1,388.75 comes off before the certificate is issued. If the same show moved to Peoria, add 5% of the $360,000 resident payroll, another $18,000.
Because there's no program cap, a $5,000,000 show runs the same arithmetic at a larger scale. The practical ceiling is the $500,000-per-worker wage limit and the nonresident head count, which bite on shows carrying expensive out-of-state cast.
Applying and getting paid
- Submit the application at least 5 business days before principal photography (24 hours for commercials). Include the diversity plan and proof of copyright or a signed contract. You have 30 days after filing to supply missing documents.
- IFO issues an Accredited Production Certificate. That makes you eligible to claim, not guaranteed a credit.
- Get IFO approval of your CPA engagement before the CPA starts work. Any licensed Illinois CPA independent of the production can be used.
- File the claim within two years of the last Illinois qualified expenditure.
- IFO reviews costs and your good-faith diversity efforts, you pay the fee, and the certificate is issued.
Put the Illinois Film Office logo in the end credits. Since December 12, 2025, the state also requires 4.95% Illinois income tax withholding on compensation to anyone named in the credits or working as crew, whether they are paid through payroll, on a 1099, or through a loan-out.
Where productions lose money
Expenses from the final script stage through post can count even if incurred before the certificate, but anything bought from an out-of-state vendor does not, and that includes rentals shipped in from Atlanta or Los Angeles. The certificate can only be sold within one year of issuance, so line up a buyer before IFO finishes review.
Illinois against its neighbors
Indiana offers up to 30% but caps each project at $250,000, which only works for small shows. Missouri starts at 20% with a $16 million annual cap split between film and series. Iowa and Kentucky are the other close options; Kentucky's credit is refundable rather than sold. Run your own spend split through the incentive calculator, read how film tax credits work if the transfer step is new to you, or compare every state on the incentives hub. Storiara's budgeting feature is one place to build the budget before you run these numbers.