How Ohio pays 30%
The Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit (OMPTC) is a refundable tax credit of 30% of eligible production expenditures, created in 2009. Eligible spending is defined in Ohio Revised Code 122.85(A)(4): goods and services purchased and consumed in Ohio directly for production, post, or advertising and promotion of the project. The Department of Development lists the most common lines as cast and crew wages, accommodations, set construction and operations, editing, photography, sound, lighting, wardrobe and makeup, VFX, music, location fees, and facility and equipment rentals.
Two features of the program shape the schedule. Expenditures made before the project is certified don't qualify, so prep spending in Ohio that happens before your award is lost. And each fiscal year has $50 million plus rollover from prior periods, with $5 million set aside for Broadway theatrical productions.
Who gets priority
Since September 2025, Ohio Film has taken applications year-round and awards them on a rolling basis. Applications are time-stamped and reviewed in this order:
- Television series (at least six interrelated episodes produced in Ohio) and miniseries (two or more episodes on a single theme, sold as a package)
- Everything else, by submission date and time
For series priority, episodes need a distribution agreement, licensing deal, cost-plus deal, or letter of interest from a network, cable channel, or streamer at the time of application. Pilots made to sell a series and clip shows with more than 50% licensed footage don't get priority. A feature competes on its timestamp.
Worked example: $1,000,000 feature in Cincinnati
A thriller spends $780,000 of its $1,000,000 budget in Ohio after certification: $420,000 in cast and crew wages, $110,000 in hotels, $150,000 in rentals and set construction, and $100,000 in editing and color at an Ohio post house.
- Eligible Ohio spend: $780,000 (above the $300,000 minimum)
- Credit: $780,000 x 30% = $234,000
- Application fee: $234,000 x 1% = $2,340
- Net: $231,660
The post house counts because post-production done in Ohio is eligible. Color and mix done in Los Angeles would not.
Worked example: $5,000,000 limited series
A six-episode limited series with a streaming letter of interest spends $3,900,000 in Ohio.
- Credit: $3,900,000 x 30% = $1,170,000
- Fee: 1% would be $11,700, but it's capped at $10,000
- Net: $1,160,000
With series priority it moves ahead of features in the queue, which matters when the year's allocation is running low.
Applying, and deadlines after the award
You'll need:
- An applicant entity registered with the Ohio Secretary of State (only that entity's expenses count)
- An Ohio production office address and phone
- Pre-production, production, and post dates in Ohio
- Total budget and budgeted eligible Ohio expenses
- Proof of financing for at least 50% of the total budget
After an award, you have 90 days to show production has commenced: hiring a production manager or line producer, hiring crew, a committed shooting schedule with confirmed dates and locations, and set construction. Development can add 60 days for delays outside your control or caused by a government agency. If credits aren't being used, Ohio Film asks that they be returned so another project can use them. The credit certificate is issued when the project is complete, supported by a CPA report on Ohio Film's template.
Screen credit and public records
The end credits must acknowledge the State of Ohio and Ohio Film with a five-second "Ohio, the Heart of it All" logo placed before the below-the-line crawl, on every episode of a series. Everything in the application is subject to Ohio public records law, except information protected as commercial, financial, or trade secret data.
Ohio against its neighbors
Pennsylvania pays 25% as a transferable credit, or 30% with a qualified stage, and requires 60% of total production expenses in-state. Ohio's 30% refundable credit with a $300,000 floor is simpler for an indie. Compare Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia on the incentives hub, and test budgets in the incentive calculator. For what "eligible" spending means across states, see qualified spend and how film tax credits work.
Storiara's budgeting feature organizes a budget into above the line, below the line, post, and other.