What Nebraska actually pays
A credit you can sell to a company that owes tax in the state. You rarely get face value — expect a broker discount — so model the net, not the headline.
New to the mechanics? Tax credit vs rebate vs grant, Selling a transferable credit and What counts as qualified spend.
What qualifies
Min spend $500K feature/made-for-TV or per TV episode; $25K short/doc/animation/commercial. >=40% of production days in NE (feature: also >=10 days). >=40% of BTL employees NE residents (expats counted up to 15%). >=15% of cast NE residents.
- Animation
- Commercial
- Miniseries
- Documentary
- Scripted TV
- Feature Film
Other state programs
Separate incentives Nebraska runs alongside the headline program. Each has its own base, rules and application — the rates here are the programs' own, not additions to the rate above.
Nebraska (and County) Lodging Tax — 30-Day Continuous Occupancy Exemption
Minimum spend: N/A
How to apply
Submit CCNA Application for Qualification via AmpliFund to Nebraska DED; $500 non-refundable application fee. Approval does not reserve credits.
The rule to remember
Most productions top out at 30%: the last +5% applies only to wages of up to ten first-time Nebraska hires. The $500K annual pool equals the $500K per-project cap, so one feature can use the whole year, and approval does not reserve credits.
Common questions
- What is the Nebraska film tax incentive rate?
- Nebraska offers 20% to 35% on qualified in-state spend through the Cast & Crew Nebraska Act (CCNA). It is a transferable credit. A credit you can sell to a company that owes tax in the state. You rarely get face value — expect a broker discount — so model the net, not the headline.
- What is the minimum spend for the Nebraska film incentive?
- $500K (feature/TV ep); $25K (short/doc/animation/commercial). 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 Nebraska film incentive transferable or refundable?
- Transferable — the credit can be sold, typically below face value, so model the net rather than the headline rate. Refundable — the excess over your state tax liability is paid out in cash.
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.
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%.
Alabama
25%up to 35%RebateAustria
30%up to 35%Cash grantColombia
35%Transferable creditCayman Islands
15%up to 35%Cash grant
STAY CURRENT
Tracking changes to this program?
We re-verify Nebraska 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.