St. Pete/Clearwater, FL

PRIOR to the start of principal photography, file a Business Development Program application with the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Film Commission; register the production company with the State of Florida Division of Corporations; enter into an agreement with Pinellas County Government; agree upon marketing deliverable items such as the date and location of screening, wording for credits, etc.; meet the minimum spend requirement of at least $100,000 of qualified expenditures in Pinellas County; and, submit a CPA attestation verifying the accuracy and legitimacy of the production’s reported total qualified local expenditures. Film SPC will provide a complete list of all contractually mandated deliverables.

Qualified spend includes local expenditures, such as above-the-line and below-the-line wages, location fees, hotels, food, construction materials, props, travel, etc. purchased or rented from a business with a local address. Nonresident wages can qualify through the use of a local production services company.

This program is administered on a combination of a first-come, first-served basis and a review/approval of the production project by the film commission. Productions are evaluated based on size of the budget, local spend, and marketing value to the county. Pinellas County, St. Petersburg/Clearwater area, offers a Business Development Marketing Program that offers a rebate of up to 20% on qualified expenditures, above-the-line and below-the-line wages, occurring within Pinellas County’s 24 municipalities. The initial 10% incentive is based on the qualified local expenditures. In addition to the base incentive, productions can qualify for up to an additional 10% of qualified expenditure, for a total maximum incentive of 20% of total qualified expenditures. The uplift program is designed to reward productions that provide exceptional marketing value and tourism impact for Pinellas County. Productions seeking uplift incentives should indicate as such and provide the supporting documentation at the time of application. Based upon the information provided, the Film Commission will determine the cash rebate amount, providing an initial dollar amount. This initial amount is contingent upon the monies spent locally and the production’s traditional and social media marketing value. Projects filming between June 1 – November 30 may be eligible for partial reimbursement for weather insurance carrying a named storm addon. Rebates may be paid out in as little as 120 days from the receipt of all contractual deliverables.