Local Incentive Programs

Florida Film Incentives:

Florida Entertainment Sales Tax Exemption (Statewide)

 

BROWARD COUNTY (Fort Lauderdale)
Main Tier (Tier 1):
The goal of the Main Tier is to attract the Film and Television business to Broward County and provide employment opportunities for Broward County residents. The maximum incentive that will be awarded per Production Project under the Main Tier Incentive Program is $175,000.

Requirements:

  • A minimum spend of $400,000 in Broward County on Qualifying Payroll and Qualifying Expenditures.
  • Rebate of 15% of certain Broward County expenditures.
  • 60% of the entire Production days must be filmed in Broward County.
  • 55% of Main Cast and Crew must be Broward County or Miami-Dade County residents. A minimum of 28% are required to be Broward County residents and 27% may be either Miami Dade County or Broward County residents for the majority of the Production Project. As local workforce increases, it will be at the Broward Film Commission’s discretion to increase the residential requirements.
  • 50% of expenditures must be Broward County businesses and (15%) of those Broward County businesses must be Certified small businesses/C.B.E. (or best efforts must be made with assistance from the Film Commission to hire certified small businesses registered with the Office of Economic and Small Business Development).
  • Must hire one Qualified College Student or Qualified College Graduate. Must provide documentation showing proof of the Qualified College Student or Qualified College graduate. Alternatively, must hire individual who earned certificate from a Film Commission-approved Production Assistant (PA) Training program within the previous 12 months.
  • Must include the Broward County Logo in the credits.
  • Must provide promotional stills and marketing materials prior to the release of the production project to the Film Commission and Municipalities for use on their website and other marketing efforts.

Alternative Tier (Tier 2):
The goal of the Alternative Tier program is to attract business where the Production needs to capture scenes that have locations based in Broward County, but the other half of the Production Project is intended to be filmed elsewhere. The maximum incentive that will be awarded per Production Project under the Alternative Tier is $100,000.

Requirements:

  • A minimum spend of $500,000 in Broward County on Qualifying Payroll and Qualifying Expenditures.
  • Rebate of 10% of certain Broward County expenditures
  • 50% of the entire Production project must be filmed in Broward County.
  • Of the production days filmed in Broward County, 55% of Main Cast and Crew must be Broward County or Miami-Dade County residents. A minimum of 28% are required to be Broward County residents and 27% may be either Miami Dade County or Broward County residents for the majority of the Production Project. As local workforce increases, it will be at the Broward Film Commission’s discretion to increase the residential requirements.
  • 50% of expenditures must be Broward County businesses and (15%) of those Broward County businesses must be Certified small businesses/C.B.E. (or best efforts must be made with assistance from the Film Commission to hire certified small businesses registered with the Office of Economic and Small Business Development).
  • Must hire one Qualified College Student or Qualified College Graduate. Must provide documentation showing proof of the Qualified College Student or Qualified College graduate. Alternatively, must hire individual who earned certificate from a Film Commission-approved Production Assistant (PA) Training program within the previous 12 months.
  • Must include the Broward County Logo in the credits.
  • Must provide promotional stills and marketing materials prior to the release of the production project to the Film Commission and Municipalities for use on their website and other marketing efforts.

Special Projects Incentive Program:
The Special Projects Incentive Program is a performance-based rebate program that is intended to attract long-term television and film projects with the intention to create longer-term high-wage paying jobs. Each project’s eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The decision to choose a qualified project that will give the best ROI to the County will be made by a County Administration committee.

Requirements:

  • Applicants for the Special Projects Program must meet with the Film Commission to discuss their project before applying to ensure that the project qualifies as an eligible project.
  • Only scripted television/streaming series or a major motion picture with distribution can qualify for the Special Projects Program. **Each project’s eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The decision to choose a qualified project that will give the best ROI to the County, will be made by a County Administration committee.
  • A minimum spend of $5,000,000 in Broward County on Qualifying Payroll and Qualifying Expenditures.
  • Rebate of 10% of certain Broward County expenditures with maximum rebate of $1,500,000.
  • Television/streaming series requires a minimum of 6 episodes per season.
  • 60% of the entire Production days must be filmed in Broward County.
  • 55% of Main Cast and Crew must be Broward County or Miami-Dade County residents. A minimum of 28% are required to be Broward County residents and 27% may be either Miami Dade County or Broward County residents for the majority of the Production Project. As local workforce increases, it will be at the Broward Film Commission’s discretion to increase the residential requirements.
  • 50% of expenditures must be Broward County businesses and (15%) of those Broward County businesses must be Certified small businesses/C.B.E. (or best efforts must be made with assistance from the Film Commission to hire certified small businesses registered with the Office of Economic and Small Business Development).
  • Must hire at least two Qualified College Students or Qualified College Graduates. Must provide documentation showing proof of the Qualified College Student or Qualified College graduate. Alternatively, must hire at least two individuals who earned certificate from a Film Commission-approved Production Assistant (PA) Training program within the previous 12 months
  • Must include the Broward County Logo in the credits
  • Must provide promotional stills and marketing materials prior to the release of the production project to the Film Commission and Municipalities for use on their website and other marketing efforts.
  • Must base production offices/soundstages in Broward County.

Click HERE for additional information.

DUVAL COUNTY (Jacksonville)
The Jacksonville Film & Television Job and Business Creation Program is a performance-based program (10% rebate) structured to attract high wage film, television and commercial productions opportunities to Jacksonville that will hire area professionals and purchase goods and services from local businesses. Program is based upon meeting minimum thresholds ($50,000) on qualified expenditures and hiring of Duval County residents and first come-first serve priority. Click HERE for more information.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY (Tampa)
Hillsborough County offers a marketing grant of up to 10% (payout capped at $150,000.00 per project) based on the assessed marketing value of projects filming in the Tampa Bay area. This includes but is not limited to local spending, the number of days filming, attractions or iconic locations unique to Tampa featured family friendliness, and notable cast attachments. All applications are processed on a “first come‐first served” basis, and are subject to available funding. Approved projects must film within the same fiscal year as the approved application. The program runs from Oct 1st – Sept 30th. For more information, or a copy of our application, please contact Tyler Martinolich tmartinolich@visittampabay.com or visit us at our website www.filmtampabay.com.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY (Miami)
The TV, Film and Entertainment Production Incentive is a performance-based grant program that is based on Miami-Dade County-centric criteria. Each project’s eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis and each project/grant agreement will be required to go before the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) for individual approval. This process requires a timeframe of two or more months for approval. After the grant is approved, the rebate will be distributed after the production provides proof of their local spend, hires, etc. through a professional audit.

Tier 1: Local spend of $1,000,000 or more

  • Complete application and accompanying paperwork must be submitted prior to the start of the project.
  • Minimum spend of $1,000,000 in Miami-Dade County with a maximum grant of $100,000.
  • Requires no less than 70% Miami-Dade County residents be hired as principal cast and crew members.
    Cast and crew (employees) qualify for the 70%
    minimum local hire but excludes extras/background talent. All 70%
    of the employees must be Miami-Dade County residents.
  • Requires at least 70% of hired vendors and contractors to be Miami-Dade County Registered Businesses

CLICK HERE for more information about Tier 1.

Tier 2: Local spend of $500,000 to less than $1,000,000

  • Complete application and accompanying paperwork must be submitted prior to the start of the project.
  • Minimum spend of $500,000 to less than $1,000,000 in Miami-Dade County with a maximum grant of $50,000.
  • Requires no less than 70% Miami-Dade County residents be hired as principal cast and crew members. Cast and crew (employees) qualify for the 70% minimum local hire but excludes extras/background talent. All 70% of the employees must be Miami-Dade County residents.
  • Requires at least 70% of hired vendors and contractors to be Miami-Dade County Registered Businesses

CLICK HERE for more information about Tier 2.

Each project’s eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis, and each project/grant agreement will be require approval by the Board of County Commissioners. Grants will only be disbursed after the project is completed and proof that all requirements were satisfied has been submitted. Click HERE for more information.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY (City of Miami Beach)
Making movies and other film projects in Miami Beach has never been easier! New guidelines, less restrictions – and a new incentive program to subsidize productions in Miami Beach. $10,000 grants with only $25,000 local spend required. CLICK HERE for more information.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY (Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority)
This incentive is only available to the following audio-visual Productions (as defined below): scripted feature films and television shows, documentaries (non-political and non-sports only), short films. This incentive is not available to all excluded Programming. For purposes of this incentive, any multi-episode production, such as a season of a television series, is considered one unique production. CLICK HERE for more info and to apply.

PALM BEACH COUNTY
The Palm Beach County Film and Television Commission’s Sponsorship & Development Program

The Palm Beach County Film and Television Commission (FTC) manages the County’s official tourism TV channel, under the direction of the Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council (TDC). The channel broadcasts more than 60 hours of original, high-quality, family-friendly programming. The Palm Beaches TV (PBTV), which launched in 2017, is designed to support and stimulate tourism by offering an insider’s look into the area’s top attractions for travel and production.

The FTC created a Sponsorship & Development program to cultivate, and sponsor shows that further develop the expansive library of original content specific to tourism in The Palm Beaches. Shows considered for sponsorship funding are required to have distribution outside The Palm Beaches marketplace, reaching the homes of potential visitors. The programs then stream on The Palm Beaches TV channel where they can also be viewed OnDemand. Programming for PBTV is produced by regional production companies and the Sponsorship & Development program has been effective in generating new business for the local production community, helping offset the impact of not having a state incentive program.

PBTV is an innovative marketing platform designed to enhance the visitor experience with stories that are unique to Palm Beach County. The FTC and TDC work together to vet all projects prior to be presented at the Sponsorship & Development Committee for sponsorship approval. While the TDC gives final approval for content on the channel, PBTV is owned, operated, marketed, and distributed by Olympusat, a global media company based in West Palm Beach.

To learn more and watch the channel click here. For more information about this program or to receive an application, please email admin@pbfilm.com or call 561.233.1000.

PINELLAS COUNTY (St. Petersburg/Clearwater)
The St. Pete Clearwater area (Pinellas County) offers a 10-30% cash rebate. There is a $250,000 per project cap. Base 10% is based on local expenditures. Additional 10-20% is based upon tourism deliverables. This is Product Placement of Pinellas County in the project. For example:

  • On screen beauty shots of beaches, landmarks, etc.
  • On screen verbal mentions of particular cities/townships, local attractions, landmarks, and other key locations.
  • A “thanks to” mention and Film SPC’s brand included in the credits (as agreed to between parties)
  • Special appearances and testimonial videos by principal cast or above-the-line crew, endorsing Pinellas County as a place for production (also used in Film SPC marketing)
  • Joint public relations campaigns, promoting the production and Pinellas County, including social media,
  • A local screening of the film, promoting the production and Pinellas County for local residents.

All cash rebate funding disbursements are contingent upon a signed contract. An expense report or other industry standard accounting summary must accompany all invoices and receipts. Film SPC will provide a complete list of all contractually mandated deliverables. For more visit http://www.filmspc.com/