# Illinois Film Tax Credit

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

> Illinois offers a transferable film tax credit of 35% on Illinois vendor spend and resident wages (up to $500,000 per worker), plus 30% on a limited list of nonresident wages. Extra credits add 15% for workers from high-unemployment areas, 5% outside the Chicago-area counties, and 5% for certified green productions. Projects of 30 minutes or more need $100,000 in Illinois spend, and there is no annual cap.

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](https://dceo.illinois.gov/whyillinois/film/filmtaxcredit.html).

## What counts toward Illinois spend

The credit is earned on your [qualified spend](https://storiara.com/glossary/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

1. 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.
2. IFO issues an Accredited Production Certificate. That makes you eligible to claim, not guaranteed a credit.
3. Get IFO approval of your CPA engagement before the CPA starts work. Any licensed Illinois CPA independent of the production can be used.
4. File the claim within two years of the last Illinois qualified expenditure.
5. 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](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/indiana) offers up to 30% but caps each project at $250,000, which only works for small shows. [Missouri](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/missouri) starts at 20% with a $16 million annual cap split between film and series. [Iowa](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/iowa) and [Kentucky](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/kentucky) are the other close options; Kentucky's credit is refundable rather than sold. Run your own spend split through the [incentive calculator](https://storiara.com/tools/incentive-calculator), read [how film tax credits work](https://storiara.com/blog/how-film-tax-credits-work) if the transfer step is new to you, or compare every state on the [incentives hub](https://storiara.com/incentives). Storiara's [budgeting feature](https://storiara.com/feature/budgeting) is one place to build the budget before you run these numbers.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Illinois film tax credit 30% or 35%?

Both, depending on the line. Under the 2025 expansion, Illinois vendor spend and resident salaries earn 35%. Eligible nonresident salaries earn 30%. Older fact sheets still show 30% across the board, so check the date on anything you download.

### What is the minimum spend for the Illinois film tax credit?

$50,000 in Illinois production spending for a project under 30 minutes and $100,000 for a project 30 minutes or longer.

### Can you sell an Illinois film tax credit?

Yes. The certificate can be transferred to any taxpayer within one year of issuance, split among up to 10 buyers, and cannot be re-transferred. Unused credit carries forward 5 years.

### Is there a fee on the Illinois film credit?

There is no application fee. Since July 1, 2024, every awarded credit pays 2.5% of the portion earned on nonresident wages plus 0.25% of the rest, due before the certificate is issued.

### Does Illinois cap the film tax credit?

No. The Illinois Film Office states there is no cap on what a single applicant can earn and no cap on the program overall.

## Sources

- [Illinois Film Production Tax Credit (DCEO)](https://dceo.illinois.gov/whyillinois/film/filmtaxcredit.html)
- [Illinois Film Tax Credit FAQs (DCEO)](https://dceo.illinois.gov/whyillinois/film/filmtaxcredit/faqs.html)
- [Application Requirements and Process (DCEO)](https://dceo.illinois.gov/whyillinois/film/filmtaxcredit/applicationprocess.html)
- [Rules and Requirements, Illinois Film Tax Credit (DCEO)](https://dceo.illinois.gov/whyillinois/film/filmtaxcredit/rulesandrequirements.html)