How the 30% is earned
Empire State Development runs the credit and describes it as a refundable tax credit of 30% on qualified costs. The program is funded at $700 million a year through 2036. The FY 2026 state budget, passed in May 2025, made three changes that matter to a finance plan: it extended the program from 2034 to 2036, removed the $500,000 cap on above-the-line pay per person, and ended the tiered payout for applications filed on or after January 1, 2025. The credit now arrives in full in one tax year.
Above-the-line wages still count only up to 40% of all other qualified costs. On a production with $600,000 of below-the-line and production costs, at most $240,000 of director, writer, producer, and cast pay can be added.
The facility rules come first
New York ties the credit to stage work at a qualified production facility (QPF). ESD's rules depend on size and ownership:
| Production | Stage requirement |
|---|---|
| Budget $15M+ or majority owned by a public company | At least 10% of principal photography days at a Level 2 QPF in NYC, or any QPF outside NYC |
| Under $15M and not majority publicly owned | At least one day at any QPF in the state |
| Pilots | Exempt from the 10% rule, but still need one QPF day |
Beyond the stage days, location work counts when the production meets ESD's 75% test for work at the QPF. Productions spending under $3 million at a QPF also need at least 75% of location principal photography days in New York. At $3 million or more at the QPF, all New York pre-production, location, and post costs are eligible.
Minimum budgets are $1,000,000 for productions based in New York City or Westchester, Rockland, Nassau, and Suffolk counties, and $250,000 in all other counties.
The upstate uplift
Budgets over $500,000 that shoot at least 50% of principal photography in ESD's listed counties get another 10% on qualified labor, above-the-line included. The list has every county except the five boroughs, Westchester, Rockland, Nassau, and Suffolk, so Albany, Buffalo (Erie), Rochester (Monroe), Syracuse (Onondaga), and the Hudson Valley counties of Dutchess, Orange, Ulster, and Putnam all qualify. A separate 10% applies to New York music scoring that pays at least five musicians.
Worked example: $1,000,000 feature in Buffalo
A drama shoots 18 of its 20 days in Erie County, with one day on a QPF stage. Qualified costs: $600,000 in production costs and below-the-line wages, plus $160,000 of above-the-line pay (under the $240,000 limit). Qualified labor totals $460,000.
- Base: $760,000 x 30% = $228,000
- Upstate labor uplift: $460,000 x 10% = $46,000
- Total credit: $274,000
Based in Brooklyn instead, the film just meets the $1,000,000 minimum for the NYC area and loses the uplift: $760,000 x 30% = $228,000.
Worked example: $5,000,000 NYC series pilot
Qualified costs of $3,900,000 at 30% give $1,170,000. With more than $3 million spent at a Level 2 stage, the production's New York location days count without the 75% location-day test.
The independent film program
A separate Independent Film Production Tax Credit also pays 30%, with $100 million a year split into Pool 1 (about $20 million, projects with $10 million or less in qualified costs) and Pool 2 (about $80 million, larger projects). The company must be independently owned, no more than 50% owned by a publicly traded entity, and qualified costs excluding labor can't exceed $60 million. ESD shows Pool 1 fully allocated for 2026, with a Pool 2 window opening September 16, 2026 at 10 a.m. Principal photography must begin within 180 days of applying. You can't claim both programs on one project.
Applying
- Submit the initial application before principal photography; ESD recommends at least 10 business days ahead. Include the diversity plan.
- ESD deems the application complete and confirms eligibility for a final application.
- After post, file the final application with the diversity report. A pre-qualified CPA firm's review can speed approval.
- ESD issues a Certificate of Tax Credit, which you claim on your return.
New York against its neighbors
New Jersey pays 35% outside a 30-mile radius of Columbus Circle but only 30% inside it, the same rate as New York. Pennsylvania pays 25% to 30%. Check Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont too. Our incentives hub and incentive calculator compare them, and how film tax credits work explains how refundable credits are financed. For permits inside the five boroughs, see film permits in New York City, and for what counts toward the base, our qualified spend entry.
Storiara's budgeting feature splits a budget into above the line, below the line, post, and other.