A small program built for local crews
The CCNA took effect for taxable years beginning January 1, 2025 (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-3125). It is a refundable tax credit against Nebraska income tax, so a production company with no Nebraska liability still gets paid. Under 77-3131 the company can instead transfer it to a Nebraska taxpayer, who has to pay at least 85% of face value.
The size is what shapes every decision here. Statute 77-3126 caps total credits at $500,000 per fiscal year, and caps any single feature, TV movie, or series at $500,000 in one taxable year. One mid-size feature can take the entire year's allocation. DED reviews qualification applications in the order received, and approval does not reserve credits, so the date your application lands matters more than it would in a state with a $100 million pool.
The eligibility tests read like a hiring plan:
- At least 40% of production days in Nebraska, and at least 10 shoot days for a full-length film
- At least 40% of below-the-line employees are Nebraska residents (expatriates count, but only up to 15% of the BTL total)
- At least 15% of the cast are Nebraska residents
- Total individual or loan-out wages or earnings paid during the production of $500,000 or less
- Minimum total expenditures of $500,000 for a feature or TV movie, $500,000 per series episode, or $25,000 for a short, documentary, animation project, or commercial
The wage test is phrased the same way in the statute and the guidelines. Ask DED how it applies to your cast deals before you close an offer.
The three 5% uplifts
| Uplift | What you have to do |
|---|---|
| Nebraska story | Film Nebraska as Nebraska, keep at least 70% of principal photography from the original screenplay set in Nebraska, and run the DED screen credit |
| Rural | For full-length projects, film entirely at least 30 miles from the corporate limits of a metropolitan-class or primary-class city |
| First-time hires | 5% on wages paid at or above Nebraska minimum wage to up to ten first-time Nebraska actors or BTL crew on a full-length film |
The first-time uplift is 5% of those wages only. The other two apply to all qualifying spend.
Worked example: a $1,000,000 feature
A 22-day feature set and shot in the Sandhills, all locations more than 30 miles from city limits. Nonresident above-the-line pay is excluded, so of the $1,000,000 budget, $620,000 is qualified spend: resident crew wages, local lodging, rentals from Nebraska vendors, and catering. Eight first-time local PAs and actors earn $72,000 of that.
- Base: $620,000 x 20% = $124,000
- Nebraska story uplift: $620,000 x 5% = $31,000
- Rural uplift: $620,000 x 5% = $31,000
- First-time hires: $72,000 x 5% = $3,600
- Total credit: $189,600
That is 38% of the state's annual allocation for one indie. Watch the per diem rule as well. Below-the-line per diem counts only up to $30 a day, and above-the-line per diem doesn't count at all.
At $5,000,000 the cap takes over. With $3,000,000 of qualifying spend the math gives $600,000 at the 20% base alone, but the claim stops at $500,000, and only if nothing else has been certified that fiscal year.
How to apply
- Line up a certificate of general liability insurance ($1,000,000 minimum) and a workers' comp policy. Both go in the application.
- File the application for qualification on AmpliFund at least 30 days before principal photography for features, documentaries, and TV (10 days for shorts, animation, and commercials). Include the $500 fee and proof the production is fully funded except post.
- Shoot, then file the application for tax credit with a production expenditure report.
- DED audits every expenditure and issues the certificate. You claim it on the return for that year or the next three.
Watch-outs
The old Nebraska Film Office Grant matched up to 20% of qualified spend to a $400,000 maximum for Nebraska-set stories, but its last window closed June 8, 2025, and 77-3132 bars a CCNA recipient from also taking that grant. The guidelines treat nonresident loan-out employees working in Nebraska as taxable nonresidents, so set up withholding with your payroll company. The DED page lists the $500,000 cap for fiscal year 2025-2026, so call the film office to ask what is left in the current year before you schedule.
Nebraska next to its neighbors
Nebraska's cap makes it a program for local indies and commercials. A larger feature will usually price better elsewhere: compare Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wyoming on the incentives map, or run your numbers through the incentive calculator. How film tax credits work covers refundable versus transferable credits in more depth.
Storiara's budgeting feature groups costs into above the line, below the line, post, and other.