What is the Maine film tax incentive rate?

Maine offers 5% to 12% on qualified in-state spend through the Visual Media Production Tax Credit. It is a rebate. A cash payment back on qualified spend, usually after an audit. Like a grant in practice, though often funded from a capped pool.

What is the minimum spend for the Maine film incentive?

$75K total Maine visual media production expenses. Falling under the minimum is a total loss of the benefit, not a partial one — it is worth confirming the threshold before locking a budget.

Is the Maine film incentive transferable or refundable?

Neither transferable nor refundable, which limits its value to productions with in-state tax liability.

RebateHuman verified· 2026-08-31Active

Maine film tax incentive

Visual Media Production Tax Credit

Headline rate

5%up to 12%

Minimum spend

$75K total Maine visual media production expenses

What Maine actually pays

A cash payment back on qualified spend, usually after an audit. Like a grant in practice, though often funded from a capped pool.

New to the mechanics? Tax credit vs rebate vs grant and What counts as qualified spend.

What qualifies

≥$75,000 in qualifying Maine visual media production expenses; DECD certification required before production; expenses must be incurred in Maine. Two-part benefit: cash wage reimbursement (12% resident / 10% non-resident on first $50K of wages per individual) + 5% non-refundable income tax credit on non-wage Maine production expenses.

Animation
Commercial
Documentary
Music Video
Scripted TV
Feature Film
Reality / Unscripted

How to apply

Register your production with the Maine Film Office (DECD) BEFORE production to obtain a visual media production certificate (5 M.R.S. §13090-L). Wage reimbursement is filed with Maine Revenue Services after production; the 5% non-wage credit is claimed on the income tax return (Form 36 M.R.S. §5219-Y worksheet) in the year production is completed.

The rule to remember

Certify with Maine Film Office before shooting; 12%/10% cash wage rebate (first $50K/person) + 5% non-wage credit

Common questions

What is the Maine film tax incentive rate?: Maine offers 5% to 12% on qualified in-state spend through the Visual Media Production Tax Credit. It is a rebate. A cash payment back on qualified spend, usually after an audit. Like a grant in practice, though often funded from a capped pool.
What is the minimum spend for the Maine film incentive?: $75K total Maine visual media production expenses. Falling under the minimum is a total loss of the benefit, not a partial one — it is worth confirming the threshold before locking a budget.
Is the Maine film incentive transferable or refundable?: Neither transferable nor refundable, which limits its value to productions with in-state tax liability.

Verify before you budget. These figures come from our own incentives database and each shows when it was last reviewed — but programs change between funding cycles and legislative sessions. Confirm with the film office, or ask us, before a number goes into a budget.

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What could Maine be worth?

A first-pass estimate with the arithmetic shown, so you can check it rather than trust it. Switch states right here to test the same budget elsewhere, or line up to five states up side by side on the compare page.

Compare with

Programs in a similar rate band. The mechanism matters as much as the percentage — a transferable credit at 30% is not the same money as a cash grant at 30%.

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Tracking changes to this program?

We re-verify Maine against the film office and the statute, and write when something moves that would change a budget. One email, no cadence you didn't ask for.