The Film and Television Jobs Program is designed to create jobs in this iconic California industry. The program is administered by the California Film Commission and provides tax credits to employers based on qualified expenditures, including wages, for eligible productions that create jobs in California. Under the existing law, feature films, new television series, mini-series and pilots filmed primarily in California (75% or more) are eligible for a 20% credit against the producing entity's California income tax liability for qualified expenditures, independent films and relocating television series are eligible for a 25% tax credit. In both cases uplifts of 5-10% are available for qualified expenditures related to visual effects work, local labor hiring in other parts of California, and photography outside of the "Studio Zone" (the 30-mile radius around Los Angeles) .
In 2024, the program was extended to 2030 without an increase in funding. Starting July 1, 2025, it will require:
The entertainment industry over the past several years has faced significant job losses and devastation due to the global pandemic and corporate contraction. Such significant drops in Los Angeles production means even less work for the rest of the State. The recent Los Angeles wildfires have further decimated industry workers’ lives and livelihoods as well as local businesses, vendors and tourism and travel to the state.
Increases to incentive programs throughout other States and in the Global market have drastically challenged our State’s iconic industry that Hollywood has called since the beginning. To remain competitive in this space, California must invest in keeping this important Industry alive that not only directly employs hundreds of thousands of workers, but also indirectly supports the local and state economy serving as an economic driver for our state.
The studios/producers make those decisions. Typically, if a film or TV series is “green lit” the budget for that production is turned over to financial staff who who draw up different cost scenarios using different states or countries. Those scenarios are then compared and whichever state or country seems the most cost effective goes highest on the list, although there are some other variables. In recent years, when making those comparisons, California is not even included.
Film and television production has always been mobile. It is not like a warehouse plant or an office which has one location. An entire production can be moved anywhere. Productions look at financial issues (e.g., tax incentives), infrastructure (e.g., studio space, vendors, and good locations) and crew (e.g. enough qualified people to work on a production), and ease of filming in making decisions about where to shoot. For decades, only Los Angeles and New York met those requirements. But in the last 20 years more and more countries and states have built up their infrastructure, have had productions that come with a California crew train their local crew, had California vendors move or create offices to provide supplies and services, and put in place generous incentives. The mobility of a production set makes it ideal for other states and countries to then lure them away.
This is a JOBS program.
The film and television jobs program is different from any other incentive because the credit is not just handed over to producers.
The California incentive is first and foremost a jobs creator for the workers of this industry. The credit is grounded in jobs — the more jobs created, the more likely a production is to receive a credit and that credit is only given after provided until all the people (cast/crew) working on a film or TV production and all the small businesses/vendors who help supply that production have been paid.
The State of California tracks all productions, and an independent audit is done to make sure not only that worker and vendor payments have been made, but that the expenditures were in California, before issuing a credit.
The “line” is a term that comes from how different categories of work appear on a budget. The people who are listed above-the line are the writers, directors, producers, and key actors. The people below-the-line are construction, technicians, crew, members of the director’s team, extras, and many other crafts jurisdictions.
Another way to look at this is “below the line” includes all of the people’s names listed in the end credits of movies and television shows.
Workers on motion picture productions possess highly specialized skills; they have neither a single employer nor a constant workplace—instead they go from production to production, often with multiple employers in any given year and their working conditions are unique because they have non-traditional working environments, long and unpredictable hours, and constant location changes. Because of the need to set industry standards for the protection of workers in a “freelance” work environment, the entertainment industry is highly unionized, with workers on film and television production belonging to specific craft-based Unions and Guilds that reflect their individual roles on a set.
To have access to the highly skilled talent and crew needed to complete a production, an employer/producer is required to become signatory to the applicable union’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that protect them in the workplace by setting conditions and terms for work The workers in this industry also have stable and sustainable health coverage and pension benefits, through negotiated participation in multi-billion dollar jointly administered union/employer ERISA plans. The entertainment industry unions and guilds organize productions not individual workers.
The employers do the hiring. It is a common misconception that unions and guilds do the hiring, but, while they may make recommendations they do not control the final decisions about who is hired.
Here is one telling example. In 2024, the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans (MPIPHP), which ensures healthcare and retirement for our freelance members, fell about 35 million hours short of 2022 levels. This staggering deficit translates to over 17,000 lost jobs in the crafts alone. The industry’s long-standing vendors—costume houses dating back to the dawn of cinema, dry cleaners, department stores, and hundreds of other businesses are struggling to survive or shutting down forever.
The incentive benefits communities across California, not just in Los Angeles. Productions under this program have filmed throughout the state including counties like Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Marin, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz, San Diego, Solano, Sonoma and Ventura.
California has 52 Film Liaisons (FLICs) employed by local governments to help encourage and facilitate all kinds or productions in their communities. These productions generate significant local revenue by utilizing hotels, restaurants and local vendors. Each FLIC can share success stories of how productions have positively impacted their area.
Additionally, the entertainment industry generates billions in taxes paid by those working in it, benefitting state and local governments by funding social services, schools, and other public programs.
Yes. Several industries benefit from significant incentives, including research and development (R&D) credits, California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC) and the Aerospace Credit have access to significant incentives. You can find more information about the existing state credits at Credits | FTB.ca.gov or refer to pages 74-93 of the State’s 2024-25 Tax Expenditure Report.
The difference however with our film and television incentive program is that this program is a jobs initiative program that is backed by entertainment unions and guilds as well as the middle-class families that are represented in this industry. Local businesses, tourism and hospitality and our entire State economy thrives when our Industry is in full force.
Industry contractions in recent years have put enlarged pressure on cost cutting in the production of films and television programming. That cost cutting has given an outsize importance to incentives offered by other countries and some other states. All things being equal, California has the best infrastructure and crews, as well as talent living here and every location imaginable, but the State’s current incentive is not competitive with what other countries and states offer to producers. That is the missing variable that makes this fight existential to the continuation of this important industry in our state.
No, in fact, the incentive more than pays for itself, with a rate of return on investment of $1.13 for every dollar of tax credits, not direct payments to producers. Numerous studies from other states and countries demonstrate a significant return on investment for similar programs.
This incentive tax credit generates money for the state that can be used to fund social programs. To date, the current California Film and Television Tax Credit program has generated $26 billion in state revenue, while only $3.3 billion in credits have been claimed. Additionally, it has created 197,000 cast and crew jobs, providing significant economic and employment benefits.
No. The loss of production is not temporary unless something is done to improve our state’s competitiveness. For decades, California was the epicenter to motion picture production. The industry built a strong infrastructure with soundstages and editing facilities, the best crews in the world, vast locations, small businesses that could provide everything from costumes to camera and lighting equipment and everything in between.
However, beginning in the late 1990s, other countries and states recognized the financial benefits of becoming production centers and invested in their own infrastructure, training local crews, and attracting vendors. Over time, production centers like Georgia, London, and Canada have developed soundstages, workforce, and vendor networks needed to support productions independently. This shift has made it less necessary for productions to rely on California’s resources, and without competitive incentives, the state risks losing a significant share of production over the long term.
Global incentives are a reality. The only ones who will be penalized if California does not have a competitive incentive are middle-class workers, small businesses, and our local state economy.
Together we must fight to 'Keep California Rolling.'
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