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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.
A federal production tax credit for film and TV has been introduced in Congress, with support from both parties, studios, and unions. If you're a producer, production accountant, coordinator, or crew member, you're probably wondering what it would change for you.
This post covers what the bill would do, how it would fit with state incentives, and how people in the industry can weigh in. The details come from Josh Rogin, Senior Vice President of Federal Government Affairs at the Motion Picture Association (MPA), who joined Cameron Woodward on the On Production podcast to walk through it.
One caveat up front: the bill isn't law, and Josh says the details could still change as it's reviewed. Treat the numbers below as the bill as introduced.
The Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act (MPTERA) would give qualifying productions a federal tax credit worth 20% of their US labor costs. Bonus credits could raise it to 30%. Members of Congress from both parties introduced it on September 24, 2026.
To qualify, a production would need to:
Josh gives a simple example. A production that spends $500,000 on wages would take 20% of that, or $100,000, off its taxes.
The bonuses are built to push work beyond the coasts and reward certain kinds of productions. Josh mentions 5% bonuses for independent productions and for shooting in rural areas, plus additional bonuses for bringing substantial work back from overseas and for shooting across many states. Together, they top out at 30%.
The credit applies to what a production spends on US wages, not its total budget. Josh calls it a jobs bill: the point is to pay people for work done here. He also pushes back on the idea that it's a handout. In his view, the studios and independents he represents will keep making film and TV either way, so the real question is where.
The federal credit is designed to stack with state programs, which matters because many state programs are capped. Josh says a production could still use the federal credit in a state whose own incentive has run out, Louisiana for example. In states with their own rules, like Texas, a production would need to meet those rules, and the federal credit adds fewer requirements on top.
Post-production and visual effects get their own provisions. A production that shoots abroad could still earn the credit by doing 75% of its VFX work in the US, and the same goes for traditional post. Josh's example: a story set in Colombia, shot there by an American crew, with the post done in Georgia.
Josh says the United States once handled about 65% of the production for film and TV made for the domestic market, and now handles about 39%. His explanation is that countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and South Africa built competitive national incentives while the US relied on its states, which can't match a national program on their own.
He puts the stakes in star terms. When Tom Cruise shoots a movie in Europe, Josh says, the taxes and the thousands of jobs that follow him go with it. He also cites an economic study the Motion Picture Association commissioned, which projects gains in jobs and economic activity if a federal incentive passes.
Critics call the credit a tax break for big studios. Josh's answer is that the work will be made somewhere regardless, and because the credit only applies after a production has spent more than $1 million in the US, he argues the economic activity outweighs the cost. The bill is still being scored to estimate its fiscal impact, so the cost side is part of what Congress will weigh.
Cameron asked Josh what would change for a grip, a production accountant, or a small rental house. His answer is steadier work. He describes crew members getting enough consistent work to cover health care and settle where the jobs are, and he calls the credit a lifeline for below-the-line workers.
He also points to local spending. By his estimate, a TV series can put more than $600,000 a day into a community, and a major motion picture close to $1 million a day, spread across restaurants, hotels, caterers, and dry cleaners. The effect can outlast the shoot, too. Josh mentions towns still celebrating productions decades later, from the house in The Goonies to a screening of Tommy Boy in Sandusky, Ohio.
The bill went to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, the two tax-writing committees. Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) lead it in the Senate, and Representatives Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) and Linda Sánchez (D-CA) lead it in the House. Josh calls the mix of backers a "bananas coalition": Republicans, Democrats, studios, independents, and unions on the same side.
Josh described two tracks. The first is attaching the credit to larger must-pass legislation, such as a year-end spending or tax package. If that doesn't happen, supporters plan to reintroduce the bill and keep building support. The bill hasn't passed as of this writing, and you can follow its progress on Congress.gov.
Josh's advice is direct: contact your own representative and senators and ask them to co-sponsor the bill. He says congressional offices listen to constituents, and calls from outside a member's district count for less.
A few tips from the episode:
The episode goes further than this post: how the bonus credits are structured, how the credit would fit alongside programs in places like Georgia, Texas, and Louisiana, and what makes a call to Congress stand out.
Listen now to the latest On Production episode with Josh Rogin for the full conversation.
