Iowa Film Tax Credit

In 2007, the Iowa Film, Television, and Video Project Promotion Program was created by the state of Iowa.  The purpose of the program is to encourage the production of film, television, and video projects in the state.

The program grants an Income Tax Credit to both Producers and Investors of qualified projects that spend at least $100,000 in the state.  The legislation allows these tax credits to be “transferrable” due to the fact that a majority of these types of qualified projects are not likely to have any significant taxable income in the state.  This created a market for “qualified” brokers to buy and sell these tax credits.

“We were approached by officials in Iowa’s film industry and asked to help facilitiate the development and production of legitimate film and television projects within the state.  We saw an opportunity to save our clients a significant amount of money and were motivated to help develop this industry”, says Watson.

How it works:

We broker the purchase of Iowa Film Tax Credits by Individuals with high state income tax bills.  If we assume that an individual has a state tax bill of $10,000, they then purchase $10,000 in tax credits for $0.80 cents on the dollar.  The individual pays $8,000, resulting in a savings of $2,000 when it comes time to file their taxes with the state.

While the program provides a tax savings to Iowa residents, it also provides a significant boost to Iowa’s economy. “For this tax savings, over $100,000 was spent in Iowa’s economy.  This assistance helps Iowa attract Producers to utilize Iowa as a location for filming, bringing employment, econcomic development, and training to Iowa.  These are dollars that otherwise would be spent in some other state.  Any state tax dollars that the state may not be receiving are far outweighed by the business and taxes generated from those expenditures” says Watson.

For more information on Iowa’s Film, Television, and Video Project Promotion Program, call.