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Tom is a filmmaker, producer, and marketing specialist based in Los Angeles.
At Wrapbook, we pride ourselves on providing outstanding free resources to producers and their crews, but this post is for informational purposes only as of the date above. The content on our website is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, accounting, or tax advice. You should consult with your own legal, accounting, or tax advisors to determine how this general information may apply to your specific circumstances.
Delaware runs roughly 96 miles top to bottom and just 35 miles across at its widest. Yet the nation’s second smallest state packs a ton into its tiny footprint.
Productions can shoot coastline in the morning and colonial streetscapes in the afternoon without a company move that swallows the day.
Wilmington anchors the north end, with a working riverfront, a downtown of prewar office towers and brick rowhouses, and landmarks like the Grand Opera House and the HOTEL DU PONT.
Six miles south, historic New Castle is a cobblestone colonial town that has stood in for 18th century America for decades.
West of Wilmington, the Brandywine Valley delivers rolling estate country, du Pont mansions, and formal gardens. And further south: Cape Henlopen State Park, the Rehoboth boardwalk, and the tidal marshes of Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge.
Productions have been quietly using all of it for years. Dead Poets Society was shot almost entirely at St. Andrew's School in Middletown. Failure to Launch filmed beach scenes at Cape Henlopen.
More recently, the independent comedy The Conspiracists shot in Wilmington in just 11 days, and the murder mystery Death on the Brandywine built its entire look around the valley's historic estates.
Delaware’s location in the middle of the Northeast corridor, within easy reach of Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York City, is part of its appeal. Productions can pull specialty crew and gear from three major markets without a long haul.
And now, with the launch of Delaware film tax incentives, the state is becoming an even more compelling mid-Atlantic destination for filmmaking.
Delaware first laid the groundwork for a production incentive in 2015 by creating the Delaware Motion Picture and Television Development Commission, charged with building a motion picture and television industry in the state.
In 2024, a one-time $1 million fund piloted a Delaware film incentive, providing another tentative step forward.
Industry and public support continued to mount over the next two years. Legislation signed on July 1, 2026 created the state's first real Delaware film tax credit, and the Division of Small Business began accepting applications for the incentive in September 2026.
Delaware's program is called the Delaware Entertainment Production Tax Credit, and it's administered by the Delaware Division of Small Business (DSB), part of the Department of State.
Under the program, qualified companies can receive a 30% transferable tax credit on qualified Delaware expenditures.
The fact that the Delaware film state tax incentive is transferable means production companies that do not have Delaware tax liability can sell the credit to another taxpayer for a portion of its value.
Approved credits can be applied against Delaware personal income tax, corporate income tax, insurance premium tax, or bank franchise tax. Unused credits carry forward for up to five years.
To qualify for the credit, a company must spend more than $100,000 on qualified Delaware expenditures during any 12 consecutive month period. Qualified companies can aggregate spending across multiple projects over the 12-month window to clear the minimum spend threshold, which is useful for commercial shops and production companies running several jobs a year.
The Delaware film tax credit program is funded at $10 million per fiscal year.
DSB is currently accepting applications on a rolling basis until program funds are expended. As it stands currently, no applications may be submitted after June 30, 2031, when the program sunsets. Projects that receive initial approval before that date can still be finally approved afterward.
Delaware film incentives are open to a wide range of screen media and interactive entertainment. Eligible project types include:
Notably, reality television, game shows, award shows, esports, and video game productions can all qualify for Delaware film incentives.
Eligibility for the Delaware film tax credit is limited to qualified companies, which must be incorporated in Delaware or registered to do business in the state.
So what expenditures qualify for the Delaware film state tax credit? And how much can a production expect to see come back?
The answer is refreshingly straightforward: eligible productions can earn 30% on qualified Delaware spending.
To get a better idea for how in-state spending counts toward Delaware film incentives, it helps to divide expenditures into two categories: payroll and production spend.
Payroll is usually the largest line in a production budget, and Delaware handles it simply. Total aggregate payroll for services performed in Delaware can qualify for a 30% tax credit.
The statute does not set a separate rate for Delaware residents and nonresidents, and it does not cap per-person compensation. Both above-the-line and below-the-line spending is treated the same way.
A production company or its authorized payroll service must withhold Delaware income tax at 6.6% on all payments to loan-out companies for services performed in Delaware by the loan-out's employees.
Nonresident loan-out employees performing services in Delaware are considered taxable nonresidents for that year.
For media projects, qualified expenditures cover pre-production, production, and post-production costs incurred in Delaware, including:
For video games and other digital interactive entertainment, qualifying spend also covers source code development, testing, patches and updates, 3D models and sprites, engine and back-end programming, performance and motion capture, audio production, original scoring, level design, tool development, and live operations work performed in Delaware.
Two categories are excluded outright: marketing costs and the purchase of story rights. If you're budgeting an option agreement, that spend won't qualify.
In general, expenditures for work or services conducted or rendered outside Delaware do not qualify for the Delaware film tax credit. The airfare and insurance rules are a good illustration: the same flight can qualify or not depending on if you book it through a Delaware agency.
In order to qualify for Delaware film incentives, productions must meet a few key requirements.
First, the spending threshold: companies must spend more than $100,000 in qualified Delaware expenditures over any 12 consecutive month period.
Second, per DSB's current applicant guidance, a project must be at least 70% funded and within 120 days of principal photography at the time of application. If you're applying for a video game or another project without conventional principal photography, check with the DSB to confirm how the timing test applies to your project.
Third, qualified companies must provide opportunities for Delaware residents to serve as interns, in accordance with DSB rules. There is no minimum number of Delaware hires required.
Fourth, the loan-out withholding described above must be properly remitted and reported, and your audit has to confirm that each loan-out company was duly licensed, registered, and otherwise authorized to do business in Delaware.
Fifth, most productions must undergo a full audit conducted by an independent third-party CPA at the applicant's own cost, certifying that claimed expenditures were qualified. Current DSB guidance says “qualifying small businesses with projects under $1.5 million are not required to provide third-party CPA certification.”
Finally, projects are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The Secretary of State prioritizes applicants based on their Delaware Impact Plan, with priority given to applicants that employ a significant number of Delaware residents, use Delaware vendors and facilities, are repeat applicants or have multiple project commitments in the state, and expect to permanently expand their presence in Delaware.
Because the program operates under a $10 million fiscal-year ceiling and applications are being taken on a rolling basis, interested applicants should contact DSB early to confirm what's still available.
Applications for the Delaware film state tax incentive go to the Delaware Division of Small Business through an online form.
Your application package must include:
DSB must provide a preliminary approval or denial within 60 days of your application. In reviewing applications, DSB may consult the Delaware Motion Picture and Television Development Commission.
Delaware film incentives are retroactive to July 1, 2026, so productions that have already shot in the state since that date may still be eligible.
After wrap, projects must submit an application of completion with the CPA audit attached when applicable. DSB then has 60 days to either request additional information or issue a final determination. If approved, you'll receive a Certificate of Completion, which gets attached to the Delaware return against which the credit is claimed.
If you plan to sell or assign the credit, that transfer has to be registered and approved in advance by DSB, which has 60 days to approve or deny it. Applicants and transferees also agree to public disclosure of credit amounts by applying or accepting a transfer.
The Division of Small Business administers the Delaware Entertainment Production Tax Credit, reviews applications, issues certificates, and approves credit transfers.
The Division's program contact is Joe Zilcosky, reachable at Joe.Zilcosky@Delaware.gov. Because the program is new and operating under an annual cap, reaching out early in pre-production is the fastest way to confirm fund availability and clarify how the timing and audit rules apply to your project.
Whether you're developing an independent feature, a commercial campaign, an unscripted series, or a video game, Delaware film incentives offer a 30% transferable credit with one of the lowest spending thresholds in the Mid-Atlantic.
To see how the Delaware film tax credit compares to programs in neighboring states, visit Wrapbook's Production Incentive Center and try the Incentive Comparison Tool. For a wider look at how film tax credits work across the country, start with our state-by-state guide to film industry tax incentives.
Delaware is a small state. So small, in fact, that you can drive its entire length in about 90 minutes.
Over the course of that short drive, you’ll discover an extensive and varied landscape: sunny beach towns, rolling farmland, colonial city centers, and working waterfronts. For filmmakers looking to capture that range, the newly launched Delaware film incentives can help you stretch your budget even further.
In this guide, we're breaking down how the Delaware film state tax incentive works, who qualifies, what spending counts, and how to apply.
Before we get into the details of Delaware film incentives, take a moment to explore Wrapbook's Production Incentive Center.
The Production Incentive Center is a comprehensive resource designed to help producers research, compare, and navigate film incentive programs across the United States and its territories.
Use the State Incentive Map to research programs by jurisdiction, or the Incentive Comparison Tool to see how Delaware stacks up against neighbors like Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
No matter what you're shooting or where, the Incentive Finder makes it easy to evaluate your options and identify the incentive that's right for your next production.
