Austin Film Commission Claimed

Two competitive, fully funded incentive programs are available to productions filming in the Austin area. One is the State of Texas’ Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP), which is administrated by the Texas Film Commission and offers productions filming in Texas up to 31% cash grant rebate on local spending and local hires. The other is the Austin Creative Content Incentive Program administrated by the City of Austin’s Economic Development Department, which offers incentives of up to 2.5% to qualifying Austin-made productions. In addition to incentives, there are added cost savings for productions filming in Austin including: sales tax exemptions, hotel occupancy tax exemptions and a business-friendly climate with lower cost goods and services. Learn more below:

TEXAS MOVING IMAGE INDUSTRY INCENTIVE PROGRAM (TMIIIP)
Administered by the Texas Film Commission, the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP) gives qualifying film, television, commercial, animation, visual effects, video game, extended reality (XR), and other moving image productions the opportunity to receive a cash grant of up to 31% rebate, based on a percentage of a project’s eligible Texas expenditures, including eligible wages paid to Texas residents.

This program is funded for the next 10 years with a budget allocation of $300 million every biennium ($1.5 billion in total funds available to productions filming in Texas). The base incentive is tiered based on eligible in-state spend:

5% for $250,000 - $1 million
10% for $1 million - $1.5 million
25% for $1.5 million & up

Projects may be eligible for multiple new 1% and 2.5% stackable uplifts that can bring the total grant rebate up to 31%. A TMIIIP application package must be received by the Texas Film Commission no earlier than 180 days and no later than 5:00 PM CST 5 business days prior to the first day of principal photography. For more information, visit: www.gov.texas.gov/film/page/tmiiip

AUSTIN CREATIVE CONTENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM
Administered by the City of Austin – Economic Development Department, the Austin Creative Content Incentive Program offers incentives of up to 2.5% to qualifying film and television productions made in the City of Austin based on wages paid to local residents (Austin Metro Area). For more information, visit: www.austintexas.gov/department/creative-content-incentive-program

STATE OF TEXAS TAX EXEMPTIONS & REFUNDS

Sales Tax Exemptions
Production companies may use sales tax exemption on items rented or purchased for direct use in the production of a motion picture, television and commercial project. This is an 8.25% cost savings on Austin area eligible purchases.

Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemptions
Refunds of the hotel occupancy tax for hotel rooms occupied for at least 30 consecutive days, are also available to productions filming in Texas.

Tax Refunds On Fuels Used Off Road
Productions filming in Texas are also eligible for refunds of taxes paid on gasoline used for off-road machines like generators, boats and tractors. For more information on State of Texas Tax Exemptions and Refunds, visit: www.gov.texas.gov/film/page/salestax_exemptions

The Austin Film Commission offers resources and services to film, TV, and commercial productions filming in the Austin area. These resources and services include film permitting guidance, production incentive guidance, referrals for local crew and vendors, as well as studio facilities, locations guidance, liaising with governing bodies and pushing for competitive production incentives. The Austin Film Commission works to support the local film industry while pitching the Austin area directly to industry decision-makers, driving out-of-market new business to Austin, which creates local economic impact, job creation and tourism opportunities in the region. For more information, visit: www.filmatx.com

Productions have been filming in Austin for more than 50 years. Austin boasts a highly skilled crew base and a developed network of industry vendors with professional experience working on major studio and network productions, independent projects, and commercial productions alike. Austin’s talented crew base is large enough to crew three projects simultaneously and is supported by renowned local film education programs and the city’s thriving independent film community. Learn more about Austin’s filmography here: www.austintexas.org/film-commission/made-in-austin/

Austin has a number of small to large-scale studio facilities, conveniently located close to downtown and ready-to-house productions. These facilities offer a variety of stages, office space, amenities and support services to meet the needs of all productions. Learn more about Austin area studio facilities here: www.austintexas.org/film-commission/studio-facilities/

From Department Heads to Production Assistants and all positions in between, Austin offers famously great crews and multi-generational industry vendors. Search our Austin Production Directory for local crew, production companies, vendors, studio facilities, and much more here: www.austin.reel-scout.com/crew_login.aspx

City of Austin Right of Way film permits for city roads and sidewalks are typically processed within 3-5 business days. Learn more about film permitting in the Austin area here: www.austintexas.org/film-commission/permits-and-regulations/

Austin offers diverse locations from modern, urban downtown looks to idyllic small towns dotting the Hill Country landscape. Austin’s rich production history has created a leading filming destination with a robust local film infrastructure, a vibrant creative community, and a supportive production environment with film-friendly policies, and deep pools of world-class talent. Learn more about what makes Austin a standout destination here: www.filmatx.com