Minimum spend is $250,000 or 10% of the estimated total budget— whichever is less.

This is a tiered system of return based on your in-state spend. In other words, if your spend is:

-Under $10,000,000 in the state, your local spend and non-resident labor earn a base credit of 15% and your resident labor earns a credit of 17.5%.

-Over $10,000,000 but under $35,000,000 in the state, your local spend and non-resident labor are at a base of 17.5% and your resident labor is at 20%.

-Over $35,000,000 in the state, your local spend and non-resident labor are at a base of 20% and your resident labor is at 22.5%.

Additionally, you must maintain an Arizona-based workforce (BTL) as well as one of the following:

i) Film at a Qualified Production Facility, as defined by the AZ Commerce Authority.
ii) Film more than 50% of your project at a Practical Location in Arizona AND perform all Prep, Post, and Editing at an Industry Standard Facility in Arizona, if such a facility is available.

Facility Use Bonus: a 2.5% bump is available on all qualified expenditures of Production Costs (Qualified Production Facility Use) where one of following occurs:

i) Use a Qualified Production Facility to produce the production in AZ.
ii) More than 50% of the production is filmed at a Practical Location in AZ with all preproduction, postproduction, and editing completed at a Qualified Production Facility in AZ.
iii) The project is produced and filmed in association with a Long-Term Tenant of a Qualified Production Facility in AZ. “Long-Term Tenant” means a person that enters into a lease of at least five years for the use of a Qualified Production Facility.

The application and supporting documents must be submitted to the AZ Commerce Authority’s Film and Digital Media Office for approval. Documents include but are not limited to: your budget, amount of residents vs non residents, filming locations, etc. 

There is an Application Fee of 1% of the pre-approved credit amount, not to exceed $100,000 (non-refundable) and an Administrative Fee of 1% of the pre-approved credit amount. The administration fee is refundable if the Authority is notified within 90 days from the pre-approval certification date that production will not commence.

The project must enter production within 9 months of notice of pre-qualification status.

The annual funding cap will grow each calendar year: $100,000,000 in 2024; and $125,000,000 in 2025.