Why the credit exists on paper but not for your shoot
Montana passed the MEDIA Act in 2019 and revised it with SB 326 in May 2025. The credit is a transferable tax credit, so a production with no Montana tax bill could sell it. The problem is the money. MCA 15-31-1010 limits total claims to $12 million per calendar year, and the 2025 revision puts every dollar of that toward productions the Department of Commerce approved before December 31, 2024, until those are paid out.
The Department of Revenue's credit table shows the full $12 million validated for 2024 and for each year from 2026 through 2030, with $12,566,034 validated for 2025. For 2031 it shows $5,613,415 reserved and an estimated $5,820,551 still open. Its guidance is blunt: productions that filmed or were approved after December 31, 2024 will not be approved for credit, because their Commerce certification would lapse before any credit opens up. Companies can start applying again for expenses incurred and compensation paid in 2031.
Commerce has also paused new certification applications, which are the required first step. If you're budgeting a Montana shoot for 2026 or 2027, put zero on the incentive line.
What the statute would pay once it reopens
The rates are still worth knowing if you are developing something for 2031 or later. Under MCA 15-31-1007 the credit is 20% of production expenditures in the state, plus:
| Add-on | Rate | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Resident crew and production staff pay | 25% | $150,000 credit per person |
| Nonresident crew with Montana withholding | 15% | $150,000 credit per person |
| Actors, directors, producers, writers with Montana withholding | 20% | First $7.5 million per person |
| Enrolled Montana college students working for credit | 30% | $50,000 per student |
| Resident veterans or tribal members on crew | 30% | $150,000 per person |
| Filming in an underserved area | 5% | On production expenditures there |
| Montana screen credit | 5% | Of base investment |
| Studio rental of 20 days or more | 10% | Studio facility and equipment rentals |
The whole credit can't exceed 35% of the production's base investment for the year. Once the 2024 backlog clears, the statute splits the $12 million: 10% first come, first served, 10% for independent films, 40% for credits tied to rental of qualified Montana facilities, and 40% for domiciled companies. An out-of-state indie with no stage rental would be competing for a small slice. Unused credit carries forward five years and cannot be refunded.
What a $1,000,000 shoot actually gets in 2026
Take a 20-day feature with 30 crew and cast in hotels for 35 nights at $140 a night. The MEDIA credit is $0. What's left is the savings the film office lists. It says companies staying at the same hotel or motel for 30 or more days are exempt from Montana's 8% bed tax:
- Room-nights: 30 people x 35 nights = 1,050
- Lodging cost: 1,050 x $140 = $147,000
- Bed tax avoided: $147,000 x 8% = $11,760
The film office also notes no sales tax on purchases, and a 180-day licensing exemption for out-of-state commercial vehicles and production-only equipment under MCA 61-3-302. That helps, but it's nowhere near a percentage credit on qualified spend. Confirm the bed tax rate with the Department of Revenue before you lock the production budget, since the film office page may lag rate changes.
The Big Sky Film Grant
Montana's other tool is the Big Sky Film Grant, funded from the lodging facility use tax. To qualify, a production has to shoot at least 50% of its principal photography days in Montana. Features, shorts, documentaries, series, and music videos are eligible, while news, talk shows, sports, and political content are out. The application cycle is closed, and the film office says the next one launches in late fall 2026. Read the BSFG guidelines when they post, because award sizes and scoring are set there, not on the program page.
Nearby states to price instead
North Dakota has no incentive either, so a Badlands look won't buy you money on that side of the line. Check our pages for Idaho, Wyoming, and South Dakota before deciding where the mountains are cheapest. The incentives hub compares every state, and the incentive calculator lets you run the same budget against each one. For how a transferable credit turns into cash, see how film tax credits work.
Storiara's budgeting feature sorts costs into above the line, below the line, post, and other.