Section 41-7A-1 through Section 41-7A-48, Code of Ala. 1975
Section 41-7A-43 authorizes the Alabama Entertainment Office to award up to $20 million each year in incentives to qualified production companies which will increase to $22 million for fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2026, and forward. Qualified productions include a wide variety of entertainment content, provided that some portion of the project is produced in Alabama. Qualified productions include motion pictures, soundtracks for motion pictures, music albums, documentaries, most television programming (except those exclusively for news, weather, sports or financial market reports), sound recordings, videos and music videos, commercials and video games.
The Alabama Entertainment Office will review applications to establish the eligibility for this tax credit. Beginning October 1, 2026, loan-out companies must meet specific withholding/estimated payment requirements. Once the eligibility is established, the credit is claimed via My Alabama Taxes. Please see the bottom of this page for further details on My Alabama Taxes.
Alabama Entertainment Rebate Incentives include:
- Income Tax Rebate – This rebate equals 25 percent of certain production expenditures on the project that are incurred in Alabama plus 35 percent of the payroll paid to Alabama residents. The rebate may be used to offset any Alabama income tax liability of the qualified production company for the tax year during which such expenditures were paid or incurred. If the amount of the rebate exceeds the qualified production company’s Alabama income tax liability, then the excess is refundable. Small budget qualified production companies can receive a rebate equal to 45% of the payroll paid to Alabama residents, provided the total production expenditures are equal to or exceed at least $100,000 but shall not be available if the total production expenditures exceed $499,999.
- State Sales, Use, and Lodging Tax Exemption – A qualified production company that intends to spend certain qualified expenditures in Alabama may be entitled to receive an exemption from the state portion of sales, use, and lodgings taxes. The exemption only applies to the state portion, however – not to the local portion of those taxes. An ALDOR exemption certificate must be presented to Alabama vendors to utilize the exemption.
All qualifying projects approved by the Alabama Entertainment Office are required to file a Certificate of Compliance issued by ALDOR before any rebate is released for payment. Here’s how you can obtain a Certificate of Compliance.
The Alabama Entertainment Office within the Alabama Department of Commerce is the administering agency for these incentives; therefore, all inquiries regarding the qualifications for these incentives should be addressed to the Alabama Entertainment Office.
To request the entertainment rebate on the income tax return, a credit claim request must be made via My Alabama Taxes. For more information, please click below: