Mississippi

Submit an application for approval to the Mississippi Film Office (MFO)/ Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) 4-6 weeks PRIOR to the start of any preproduction activities in Mississippi (MS); PRIOR to the first day of principal photography in MS, provide the MFO with a cast and crew, location, and vendor list, shooting and script schedule, and COVID-19 guidelines; begin principal photography within one year of the date of certification; meet the minimum in-state spending requirement of $50,000; see that at least 20% of the production crew on payroll are MS residents; and upon completion of the project, submit a rebate request to the DOR. Loan out companies must be registered with the DOR.

Qualified spend includes nonpayroll expenditures paid to MS vendors, companies, and cast and crew, as well as the first $5 million of payroll for each resident. Payroll means salaries, wages, or other compensation, paid to employees upon which MS income tax is due and has been withheld, as well as fringes that are not subject to income tax, including FICA, FUI, SUI, workers’ compensation insurance, and pension, health and welfare benefits. The first $5 million of salaries (subject to MS income tax) and fringes paid for each nonresident employee may be eligible to earn a rebate equal to 25% if, the project, or its owner, principal, member, production supervisor/manager, director of photography, production designer, casting director (production partner), director, producer, or subsidiary company (i) is designated and pre-qualified by the MDA as MS-based or a MS resident; (ii) has filed income taxes in the State of MS during each of the previous three years; and (iii) has engaged in activities related to the production of at least two motion pictures in MS during the past ten years. Payments made to a loan out company, for services provided in MS, are subject to 4.7% withholding. Any expenditures made PRIOR to the date of the Letter of Commitment from the MDA are not eligible for the rebate.

This program is administered on a first-come, first-served basis. The MS incentive allows for a cash rebate equal to: 25% of all local expenditures; 25% of the first $5 million of payroll and fringes paid for each qualified nonresident, and 30% of the first $5 million of payroll and fringes paid for each resident, whose wages are subject to MS withholding. Productions may earn an additional rebate equal to 5% of the payroll and fringes paid for any resident member of the cast and crew who is an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Armed Forces and whose wages are subject to MS Income Tax withholding law. There is a state funding cap of $20 million per fiscal year and the maximum rebate a project may earn is capped at $10 million. The first review of the rebate submission will be completed within 90 days after submission of all required documentation of production expenditures in MS. A reduced sales tax rate equal to 1.5% may apply to equipment used in the production of a motion picture.