Missouri

Submit a preliminary application to the Missouri Film Office PRIOR to the start of principal photography/postproduction if stand-alone; be a production company that has registered as a Missouri taxpayer; register the production company with the Secretary of State in Missouri; employ the following number of Missouri registered apprentices or veterans residing in Missouri with transferable skills based on qualified expenditures: less than $5 million in qualifying expenses, two; at least $5 million but less than $10 million, three; at least $10 million but less than $15 million, six; and if the qualifying expenses are at least $15 million, eight; meet the minimum in-state spending requirement of more than $50,000 for productions 30 minutes or less in length or more than $100,000 for productions greater than 30 minutes; submit a final application along with a cost verification report within 90 days of the final qualifying expense; and, prior to receiving the tax credit certificate, pay a tax credit issuance fee equal to 2.5% of the tax credit amount.

Qualified expenses include but are not limited to labor, services, material and equipment rentals, food, location fees and property rental. Qualifying compensation includes wages on which the production company has withheld Missouri personal income tax (all compensation and wages paid to all above-the-line individuals are limited to 25% of the overall qualifying expenses). Costs incurred PRIOR to the date on the approval letter are not eligible for the incentive.

Missouri offers a transferable base tax credit equal to 20% of qualifying expenses with the opportunity to earn the following additional uplifts: 5% of qualifying expenses if at least 50% of the project is filmed in Missouri; 5% of qualifying expenses if at least 15% of the project that is filmed in Missouri takes place in a rural or a blighted area in Missouri; 5% of qualifying expenses if at least three departments hire Missouri residents ready to advance to the next level in a specialized craft or learn new skillset; 5% of qualifying expenses if script positively markets a city or region of the state or a tourist attraction within the state and provides other promotional material; and the total dollar amount of the base credit shall be increased by 10% for projects located in a county of the second, third, or fourth class. There is an annual cap of $16 million per calendar year which is split evenly between film production and series production. Recipients of the tax credit are required to file the Tax Credit Accountability Form with the Department of Revenue on June 30 for each of the three years following the issuance of the tax credit. This incentive program is scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2029. As of January 1, 2024, Missouri offers a 30% transferable tax credit program for concert touring and rehearsals (Entertainment Industry Jobs Act). The Entertainment Industry Jobs Act has an annual funding cap of $8 million per fiscal year (7/1 – 6/30) and is scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2030.