YourVoice.Now Summary
Corporate BenefitsWorkers & JobsGives film and TV studios a tax credit of 20% to 30% of their U.S. pay, with no yearly limit.
Corporate Benefits
Studios could cut their federal taxes by 20% of what they pay cast and crew for U.S. work on a movie, pilot, or TV season costing over $1 million. The bill sets no yearly dollar limit and no end date.
Each of four bonuses adds 5 points: filming in rural opportunity zones or recent disaster areas, not being owned by a stock-market company, working in 10 or more states, or making more U.S. productions. The total stops at 30%.
A studio that earns the credit could sell it to an unrelated company, which must pay in cash. That lets a studio cash in even if it owes little tax.
Workers & Jobs
Only pay for work done in the United States counts, and at least 75% of filming days must be here. Effects and editing work done here can also earn a credit for films shot abroad.
More about this bill
Film and TV companies would get a new federal tax credit worth 20% of what they pay people for U.S. work on a production. Bonuses could raise it to 30%. Most households would see no change in their own taxes. If you work in film or TV, the credit counts pay for actors, directors, producers, writers, and crew. Residuals and profit shares do not count. It would cover productions that start filming in tax years beginning after December 31, 2026. To qualify, a movie, TV pilot, or TV season must cost more than $1 million. A season needs at least 4 episodes. At least 75% of filming days must be in the United States. For cartoons, the test looks at where the drawing and voice work happen. News, sports, talk shows, game shows, award shows, galas, radio, and daytime soap operas are left out. So are ads, fundraising videos, company videos, and videos made mainly for social media. Adult films that must keep performer age records under federal law are also left out. Four bonuses each add 5 points, up to the 30% cap. One is for filming at least 30% of days in a rural opportunity zone (a low-income area picked for tax breaks). A disaster area within 5 years of the disaster also counts. One is for studios not owned by a company traded on the stock market. One is for studios that film and pay at least $10 million in wages in each of 10 or more states. One is for studios that make more U.S. productions than before, measured against how much they used to film abroad. Visual effects and editing work done here can earn a smaller credit, up to 25%, even for films shot overseas. Studios could sell the credit for cash to an unrelated company. The bill sets no yearly dollar limit and no end date.
Congressional Summary
Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act This bill establishes a federal business tax credit for a percentage of the compensation paid for services performed in the United States related to a qualified film or television production. (Conditions and exceptions apply.) The bill defines a qualified film or television production as any production that is a feature film, television pilot, or television season; produced in the ordinary course of business for commercial purposes; capitalized; completed during the tax year with more than $1 million in total costs; and filmed in the United States for 75% of the photography days. Under the bill, various types of programming are not a qualified film or television production, including news programs, live sporting events, and programming intended primarily for social media platforms. The amount of the tax credit is 20% (base tax credit percentage) of the compensation paid for services performed in the United States related to a qualified film or television production. The base tax credit percentage increases by increments of 5% (up to a maximum tax credit percentage of 30%) if at least 30% of the production is filmed in a federally declared disaster area or rural qualified opportunity zone, the production is independently produced, or the production meets certain multi-state or increased domestic production requirements. Special rules apply to animations, visual effects productions, and post-production activities. Finally, the tax credit may be transferred to an unrelated third party in exchange for cash.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-09-24
- Date Added
- 2026-10-17
- Source
- Congress.gov →
Like reading a bill in plain English?
We're building an app that does this for every bill in Congress and lets you tell your reps how you want them to vote. We're a small team getting ready to launch, and we're trying to show investors that real people want this. Be one of them. Help us get it built. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment the app is ready.