Texas film tax incentive

What Texas actually pays

The state pays cash against qualified spend. No tax liability needed, no broker, no discount — the cleanest structure for an independent production.

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

What qualifies

Tiered cash grant on eligible TX spend. Film/TV/game/VFX-film: 5% ($250K-$1M; game $100K-$1M), 10% ($1M-$1.5M), 25% ($1.5M+). Commercial/reality/VFX-commercial: 5%, then 10% at $1M+. Min 60% of total production completed in TX. 35% of paid cast (incl extras) and 35% of paid crew must be TX residents (combined 35% for reality/commercial/game); rises 5% every 2 yrs to 40/45/50% by 2031. Must be fully funded; cannot start before application. DTR form per TX cast/crew.

• Animation
• Commercial
• Miniseries
• Documentary
• Music Video
• Scripted TV
• Feature Film
• Post-Production
• Reality / Unscripted
• Video Game / Interactive

Uplifts

Rate bumps that stack on the base program, up to its published ceiling. Uplifts are the most commonly missed money in any program, because qualifying for one is usually a location or scheduling decision made long before anyone is thinking about submittal.

• Workforce Development Uplift

  Partner with a Texas institution of higher education for moving image workforce development during production (Workforce Development).

  +2.5%

• Faith-Based Uplift

  Project designated as a faith-based moving image project per Texas Film Commission rules (Faith-Based).

  +2.5%

• Heritage Project Uplift

  Project designated as a Texas Heritage project per office rules (Texas Heritage).

  +2.5%

• Historic Site Uplift

  Utilize Texas historic sites as filming locations (Texas Historic Site).

  +2.5%

• Post-Production Uplift

  Spend at least 25% of total eligible in-state spend on eligible postproduction in Texas - labor, vendors, music (Postproduction).

  +1%

• Veterans Uplift

  Hire Texas Resident Veterans as at least 5% of combined paid crew and cast incl extras; requires DD214 + DTR (Veteran Percentage).

  +2.5%

• Rural Filming Uplift

  At least 35% of filming days/man-hours in a Texas county with population 300,000 or less (Rural Filming).

  +2.5%

Other state programs

Separate incentives Texasruns 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.

• Austin Film Society – AFS Grant for Feature Films

• Media Production Development Zone (MPDZ) — Sales & Use Tax Exemption

• Sales & Use Tax Exemption (Media Productions)

• Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption / Refund

  6%

• Fuel Tax Refund (Off-Road Use)

• AFS Grant for Short Films

• AFS New Texas Voices Award

• Harrison McClure Endowed Film Fund

• AFS Travel Grant

City, county & regional programs

Local incentives that can stack on top of the state program — but each defines its own qualified spend, caps and residency rules, so their rates can't simply be added to the state percentage. Worth a call before you count on one.

Best case here: Texas 31% + San Antonio up to 14% ≈ 45% combined — each on its own definition of qualified spend.

• Austin (City Incentive) — Creative Content Incentive Program (CCIP)

  2.5% of wages paid to Austin-MSA residents (single rate since the Oct 2025 CCIP overhaul; previously 0.75%); stacks on TMIIIP

  2.5%

• Houston (City Incentive) — HFFIP

  Minimum spend: $500K in City of Houston region

  10%

• San Antonio (City Incentive)

  +2% local hire (35-50% local cast/crew); +2% veteran hire (>=5% veterans)

  Minimum spend: $100K in 8-county San Antonio/Hill Country area

  10%–14%

• Dallas (City Incentive) — Dallas Film Commission

• Fort Worth (City Incentive) — Fort Worth Film Commission

• Pittsburg (City Incentive)

• North Texas Pioneer Film Award

How to apply

Submit the TMIIIP incentives inquiry form on the Texas Film Commission site. File before production starts: no earlier than 180 calendar days and no later than 5pm CT five business days prior. Project must be fully funded. After production, submit final TX-expenditure docs; TFC conducts a final audit before issuing the grant check.

Common questions

What is the Texas film tax incentive rate?

Texas offers 5% to 31% on qualified in-state spend through the TMIIIP (Base Grant). It is a cash grant. The state pays cash against qualified spend. No tax liability needed, no broker, no discount — the cleanest structure for an independent production.

What is the minimum spend for the Texas film incentive?

$250K film/TV/reality; $100K commercial/VFX/game. 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.

What uplifts are available in Texas?

Texas offers 7 uplifts on its headline program: Workforce Development Uplift, Faith-Based Uplift, Heritage Project Uplift, Historic Site Uplift, Post-Production Uplift, Veterans Uplift, Rural Filming Uplift. Uplifts are usually decided by scheduling and location choices made months before submittal.

Are there city or county film incentives in Texas?

Yes — Austin (City Incentive) — Creative Content Incentive Program (CCIP), Houston (City Incentive) — HFFIP, San Antonio (City Incentive), Dallas (City Incentive) — Dallas Film Commission, Fort Worth (City Incentive) — Fort Worth Film Commission, Pittsburg (City Incentive), North Texas Pioneer Film Award. Local programs generally stack on top of the state incentive but define their own qualified spend, caps and rules, so their rates can't simply be added to the state percentage.

Is the Texas 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.