Louisiana's program is older and more mechanical than most, and producers who shot there before 2025 will recognize almost all of it. The part that changed is under the hood. Act 44 of 2025 took the rate schedule out of the statute for applications approved on or after July 1, 2025, authorized "a tax credit of up to forty percent" under LED program rules, and told LED to weigh economic impact, statewide distribution, available funding, and the state's interest when approving projects. LED adopted emergency rules in June 2025 that mirror the old structure, and that structure is what the LED program page shows today.
The rate stack
| Credit | Rate | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Base | 25% | Qualified Louisiana spend above $300,000 |
| Resident payroll | +15% | Paid directly to Louisiana residents, not through loan-outs |
| Out of zone | +5% | Production office and at least 60% of principal photography outside the New Orleans MSA |
| Louisiana screenplay | +10% | Screenplay by a Louisiana resident, $50,000 to $5 million in spend |
| VFX | +5% on VFX spend | 50% of VFX budget spent with an approved Louisiana QEC, or $1 million of qualified VFX in state |
| Ceiling | 40% | Of base investment |
Nonresident labor earns the 25% base. Transferable credits can be sold to Louisiana taxpayers or back to the state.
What changed in 2025
LED's overview of Act 44 lists three changes for applications after July 1, 2025. The $20 million per-project cap (and $25 million per season for scripted episodic) is gone. The $3 million per-person payroll cap is gone, though above-the-line pay still can't exceed 40% of Louisiana spend. And the annual caps dropped: LED can issue no more than $125 million in credits per fiscal year, and claims plus buybacks are also limited to $125 million. The Department of Revenue confirms the change and adds that unused cap no longer carries over. Parts of the LED page still quote the old $150 million and $180 million figures, so rely on the statute and LDR for the cap.
$1,000,000 feature shot in Shreveport
A $1,000,000 feature spends all of it in Louisiana, with its production office in Shreveport and every shoot day outside the New Orleans MSA. Of that spend, $350,000 is payroll paid directly to Louisiana residents.
- Base: 25% x $1,000,000 = $250,000
- Resident payroll: 15% x $350,000 = $52,500
- Out of zone: 5% x $1,000,000 = $50,000
- Total: $352,500 (35.25% of spend, under the 40% ceiling)
Sold back to the state at 90% of face value, that's $317,250. The 2% transfer fee brings the net to 88%, or $310,200. Selling to a private Louisiana taxpayer might net more or less depending on the market.
Up front you pay the application fee and a $7,500 expenditure verification deposit (the tier for $300,000 to $25 million in spend).
$5,000,000 series pilot in New Orleans
The same math on $5,000,000 of Louisiana spend in New Orleans, with $1,600,000 in direct resident payroll:
- 25% x $5,000,000 = $1,250,000
- 15% x $1,600,000 = $240,000
- Total: $1,490,000
No out-of-zone uplift, and no per-project cap to worry about after July 1, 2025. If a star's fee pushes above-the-line pay past 40% of Louisiana spend ($2,000,000 here), the excess drops out of qualified spend.
Filing through final certification
- Submit the application in FastLane with all fees and the verification deposit. LED doesn't treat it as received until everything is in.
- LED reviews eligibility and issues an Initial Certification letter. It doesn't certify any expenditures yet.
- Shoot, keeping residency declarations for Louisiana hires.
- A qualified CPA prepares the production expenditure verification report after wrap.
- LED issues final certification, and you claim the credit on a Louisiana return, sell it, or transfer it to LDR.
Credits can be carried forward five years. Applications received on or after July 1, 2031 get nothing under the current statute.
Spend that won't count
Airfare, salaries for work outside Louisiana, gear rented from out-of-state vendors, marketing and distribution, state and local taxes, and most bond, insurance, and finance fees (with narrow exceptions for Louisiana companies). Related-party above-the-line deals are limited to 12%. Catering only counts if it comes from an in-state source.
Compared with nearby states
Mississippi pays a cash rebate of 25% on spend and up to 30% on resident payroll, with a $10 million per-project cap. Texas and Arkansas are the other neighbors to check. Run the numbers in the incentive calculator, confirm what counts as qualified spend, and read how film tax credits work before you negotiate a sale. Every state is listed on the incentives hub, and Storiara's budgeting feature is one place to build the budget before you separate resident payroll.