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Loring is a Los Angeles-based writer, director, and creative producer. His work has been commissioned by a diverse range of clients- from Havas Worldwide to Wisecrack, inc.- and has been screened around the world. Through a background that blends project development with physical production across multiple formats, Loring has developed a uniquely eclectic skillset as a visual storyteller.
At Wrapbook, we pride ourselves on providing outstanding free resources to producers and their crews, but this post is for informational purposes only as of the date above. The content on our website is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, accounting, or tax advice. You should consult with your own legal, accounting, or tax advisors to determine how this general information may apply to your specific circumstances.
Between the rolling hills, expansive prairies, deep forests, and sprawling Lake Michigan shoreline, Illinois offers an undeniably impressive array of some of the most beautiful landscapes on view in the Midwest. Add to all that a major metropolitan center equipped with cutting edge production infrastructure, and it’s easy to see why so many filmmakers choose to tell their story in the state.
Of course, you don’t have to take our word for it. Illinois’ cinematic legacy speaks for itself.
Field of Dreams, The Fugitive, Groundhog Day, and High Fidelity barely scratch the surface of the state’s collection of classics. John Hughes’ entire filmography is an act of Illinois tourism, and The Blues Brothers gives audiences a literal crash course through the state’s most notable sights.
The iconographic status of Chicago alone rivals that of Los Angeles and New York City. The One Chicago broadcast franchise accounts for more than 713 episodes of television spread across 36 seasons and four separate series. And the Windy City trades in on its rich visual potential to play not just itself but some of the most famous fictional towns ever printed on film, including multiple versions of Gotham.
To top things off, Illinois’ cinematic future is just as promising as its past. The state maintains a competitive tax incentive program that continues to attract major productions to its borders.
In the next section, we’ll break down a few key forms to help you streamline your Illinois production experience.
Wrapbook’s Government Forms Database collects all the forms and documents you might need to run a smooth production anywhere in the state of Illinois.
Here are a few of the most critical forms available in our free database.
Chicago is the beating heart of Illinois’ professional filmmaking community. Submitting a City of Chicago online film permit application is a crucial first step for any production that wants to shoot on public property within the city’s limits. That includes public streets, sidewalks, parks, and any other city-owned areas.
For those readers who want to shoot elsewhere in the state, don’t worry, Wrapbook has you covered too. Our Government Forms Database hosts for permit applications for several other cities and regions in Illinois, including:
When submitting permits, don’t forget to check for other paperwork or documentation associated with your filming location of choice. Productions in Chicago may also benefit from a Chicago City Services Request Form, Chicago Transit Authority Filming/Photography Request, or a City of Chicago Sample Community Notification Leaflet.
Form IL-W-4 is a document to be filled out by any employees to determine the amount of Illinois state income tax to be withheld from their wages. It’s an important startwork document that nearly all cast and crew members must complete when working in Illinois.
For production companies, Form IL-W-4 is an essential tool for maintaining state tax compliance. This relatively simple document is key to ensuring accurate state tax withholdings, a practice that is critical not only for legal purposes but also for taking advantage of the state’s considerable tax incentive program.
Form IL-W-5-NR throws a twist at standard state tax withholding procedures. Generally, employees who live and work in separate states must pay at least some income tax to both their state of residence and employment. However, Illinois has a unique reciprocal agreement with Iowa, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Michigan that allows employees from those states to only pay income tax to their state of primary residence.
For the film industry, the practical effect of this reciprocal agreement is to incentivize cast and crew members to travel for shoots, opening the door for increased employment opportunity and helping to sustain the production industry within a larger region.
Form-IL-W-5-NR is used by qualified “nonresident employees from reciprocal states” working in Illinois to certify their official status of nonresidence, enabling production companies to withhold income taxes for their state of residence instead of Illinois.
The state of Illinois maintains a competitive tax incentive program. To take advantage of the program, productions must first complete and submit an Illinois Film Tax Credit Application, thereby initiating a process that could allow your production to receive a full 30% credit on qualified expenditures within the state.
If you have a shoot coming up, be sure to get your application in on time. It must be submitted at least five business days before principal photography begins.
Filmmakers should also check out the Applicant Checklist of Illinois Film Tax Credit Claims. This checklist outlines all necessary documentation and steps to complete when submitting a claim for the state’s film tax credit, ensuring that productions don’t forget any information required for efficient claim processing.
A significant advantage of the Illinois film tax credit is that it is completely transferable within one year of issuance. That single characteristic drastically increases the flexibility a production has in integrating the credit into their overall film finance strategy.
The Illinois Film Tax Credit Transfer Request Form is the administrative key to a successful tax credit transfer. It enables production companies that have earned the credits to shift them to a separate business entity and thus facilitates the credit’s monetization.
Wrapbook’s Government Forms Database leverages technology to empower filmmakers with better information and more control. Check it out and experience your own small taste of how Wrapbook helps production accounting and finance teams achieve success faster.
If you’re considering a shoot in Illinois, make a point to visit our Production Incentive Center as soon as possible. Wrapbook’s free incentive toolkit provides detailed incentive info and can help optimize your production’s Illinois film tax credit savings.
The state of Illinois is no stranger to film and television production. From long-running network TV series to some of the biggest blockbusters to ever burst the box office, the Land of Lincoln has cultivated a rich history on the small and silver screens alike. To support the local industry, Illinois has developed an impressive foundation of homegrown cast, crew, infrastructure and… paperwork.
That’s where Wrapbook comes in.
To help you cut through the noise and get your next Illinois shoot on its feet as smoothly as possible, Wrapbook has updated its Government Forms Database to include essential forms for the state of Illinois. In this post, we’ll give you an overview of our new offerings and demonstrate how you can use the database to upgrade your next production.
As the next standard for production finance and accounting teams, Wrapbook leverages next-gen technology to give filmmakers the tools and resources they need to achieve success faster.
Filing the right paperwork will always be a priority, but simply finding it should never be a problem. Wrapbook’s Government Forms Database is designed to collect and organize every official document you might need for your production into a single, convenient location.
With just a few keywords, you can search Wrapbook’s Government Forms Database for any official form at the federal, state, and even local levels. Whether you need forms to maintain tax compliance or a permit to shoot in the Windy City, our database ensures that your team always has the government documents they need when they need them.
Ready to get started? Check out Wrapbook’s Government Forms Database today.
