Minimum spend is $250,000 or 10% of the estimated total budget—whichever is less.

This is a tiered system of return based on your in-state spend. In other words, if your spend is:

- Under $10,000,000 in the state, your local spend and non-resident labor earn a base credit of 15% and your BTL resident labor earns a credit of 17.5%.

- Over $10,000,000 but under $35,000,000 in the state, your local spend and non-resident labor are at a base of 17.5% and your BTL resident labor is at 20%.

- Over $35,000,000 in the state, your local spend and non-resident labor are at a base of 20% and your BTL resident labor is at 22.5%.

Additionally, you must maintain an Arizona-based workforce (BTL) as well as one of the following:

i) Film at a Qualified Production Facility, as defined by the AZ Commerce Authority.

ii) Film more than 50% of your project at a Practical Location in Arizona AND perform all Prep, Post, and Editing at an Industry Standard Facility in Arizona, if such a facility is available.

Facility Use Bonus: a 2.5% bump is available on all qualified expenditures of Production Costs (Qualified Production Facility Use) where one of following occurs:

i) Use a Qualified Production Facility to produce the production in AZ.

ii) More than 50% of the production is filmed at a Practical Location in AZ with all preproduction, postproduction, and editing completed at a Qualified Production Facility in AZ.

iii) The project is produced and filmed in association with a Long-Term Tenant of a Qualified Production Facility in AZ. “Long-Term Tenant” means a person that enters into a lease of at least five years for the use of a Qualified Production Facility.

*Arizona residents must verify that they were paid at least $5,000 on the production in order for their payment to qualify for the full credit.

The application and supporting documents must be submitted to the AZ Commerce Authority’s Film and Digital Media Office for approval. Documents include but are not limited to: your budget, amount of residents vs non residents, filming locations, etc. 

There is an Application Fee of 1% of the pre-approved credit amount, not to exceed $100,000 (non-refundable) and an Administrative Fee of 1% of the pre-approved credit amount. The administration fee is refundable if the Authority is notified within 90 days from the pre-approval certification date that production will not commence.

The project must enter production within 9 months of notice of pre-qualification status.

The annual funding cap will grow each calendar year: $100,000,000 in 2024; and $125,000,000 in 2025.