West Virginia's program has a low entry point and no caps. A production needs $50,000 of West Virginia spend in a calendar year. It earns a 27% transferable tax credit on that spend, or 31% with ten full-time local hires, and the West Virginia Division of Economic Development lists no per-project limit, no annual limit, no talent cap, and no requirement that a share of the shoot happen in the state.
What West Virginia counts
The statute, W. Va. Code 11-13X-3, defines two kinds of eligible spend. Direct production expenditures are transactions that happen in West Virginia or with a West Virginia vendor:
- Wages, fees, and related fringe for talent, management, or labor that are subject to West Virginia income tax
- Payments to a personal services corporation for a performer, if both the corporation and the performer are subject to West Virginia tax
- From West Virginia vendors: story rights, set construction and operations, wardrobe, photography, sound, lighting, editing, facility and equipment rental, vehicle leases, food, lodging, airfare bought through a West Virginia travel agency, and insurance or bonding through a West Virginia agent
Post-production expenditures cover editing, Foley, ADR, visual effects, scoring, sound editing, titles, and subtitling done in West Virginia or with a West Virginia vendor after principal photography. Advertising, marketing, and distribution don't count, and neither does depreciation on anything with less than a year of depreciable life.
Qualified projects include features over 40 minutes, made-for-TV movies, TV pilots, series and miniseries, music videos, and commercial still photography, when they are intended for national or international commercial release.
The vendor test is where budgets leak. Airfare only counts through a West Virginia travel agency and insurance only through a West Virginia agent, so a flight booked by the studio's travel department or a policy placed by your usual broker won't count. For gear trucked in from an out-of-state rental house, ask WVDED before you put it in the qualified spend forecast.
Worked examples
A $1,000,000 feature spends $600,000 in West Virginia on West Virginia vendors and payroll subject to West Virginia tax.
- Base: 27% x $600,000 = $162,000
- With 12 West Virginia residents hired full time during principal photography: 31% x $600,000 = $186,000
The extra 4% is worth $24,000 here, so count your full-time West Virginia hires before you decide whether to fly in department staff.
A $5,000,000 feature spends $3,500,000 in West Virginia with the full-time hires.
- 31% x $3,500,000 = $1,085,000
Neither number is reduced by a cap. The value that reaches your finance plan does depend on the sale. A production with no West Virginia tax to offset can sell the credit to West Virginia taxpayers, and the price per dollar of credit is negotiated with the buyer. Ask your financier what discount they're assuming.
Getting the voucher
- Register the production company with the West Virginia Secretary of State and the West Virginia Tax Department.
- Submit the eligibility application and required materials to the West Virginia Division of Economic Development (WVDED).
- WVDED reviews the application for completeness and notifies you of approval or denial. Starting to shoot before approval risks rejection if the project doesn't meet program criteria.
- Begin principal photography within 120 days of approval.
- After every expense is paid, hire an independent CPA to prepare an Expense Verification Report using agreed upon procedures.
- Submit the CPA report with an Application for Tax Credit Voucher. WVDED verifies it and issues the voucher.
- Use the credit against West Virginia corporate net income or personal income tax, or sell and transfer it to West Virginia taxpayers.
West Virginia against Virginia and Pennsylvania
Virginia pays a refundable credit of 15% (20% in distressed areas) plus 10% to 20% of Virginia resident payroll, starting at $250,000 of spend and limited to $6.5 million a year statewide. West Virginia's rate is higher and it has no annual limit, but its credit is used against West Virginia tax or sold, while Virginia's is refunded by the state. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Maryland are the other border states to price. Model the sale discount in the incentive calculator, read how film tax credits work, and compare every state on the incentives hub.
Storiara's Funding page can estimate West Virginia's credit from your project's locations and shoot days and write it into the budget. Check the vendor test and the 31% hiring condition against your actual payroll before relying on the number.