Navigating Film & TV Incentives: Key Takeaways from New Hollywood’s 2025 Indie Financing Panel

Film and television production incentives remain one of the most powerful tools for producers looking to stretch their budgets and bring ambitious projects to life. And these programs change often, as locations across the globe compete to offer the most attractive incentives possible.

At a recent film financing panel hosted by the New Hollywood group, industry leaders gathered in Los Angeles, California, to engage with indie filmmakers, producers and others, exploring how to successfully integrate filming incentives into financing strategies, and where the production landscape is headed.

Core to the event was the message that incentives are not a niche tool—they’re an essential driver in where productions are filmed, how projects get financed, and ultimately, whether films and shows make it to the screen. And incentives are something every filmmaker and producer should understand.

Entertainment Partners (EP) has been at the forefront of incentive strategy and administration worldwide for decades, and was on hand to lend expertise and knowledge to the attendees. In this article, you’ll learn about critical insights shared during the conversation by Entertainment Partners’ SVP and Production Incentive Practice Leader, Joseph Chianese.

Learn more about EP’s production incentive administration service offerings.

What types of filming incentives can producers leverage?

Producers today can expect to encounter several types of financial incentives available to film and television productions—each with unique structures, benefits, and considerations:

• Rebates and Grants: Direct cash reimbursements from a state or government, often seen as the simplest way to inject cash back into a production budget.
• Refundable Tax Credits: A favorite among producers because they can generate a cash refund, even if a company owes little or no tax in the jurisdiction.
• Transferable Tax Credits: Valuable when producers don’t have tax liability. These credits can be sold (at a discounted rate), creating immediate liquidity.
• Nonrefundable / Nontransferable Credits: The least flexible type of incentive, these only offset existing tax liability and cannot generate cash back.

“Understanding the distinction between refundable and transferable credits is critical to producers weighing financing options,” noted Joseph Chianese, Production Incentives Practice Leader at EP. “It’s not just about the percentage on paper, it’s about how and when you can turn that percentage into usable cash.”

EP helps clients navigate global production incentives with the ultimate resources for film and television production tax incentives and credits.

Timing matters: Why producers should plan for incentives early

Tax incentives are most effective when considered at the very beginning of a project. From budgeting through script development, the choice of where to film intertwines creative and financial decisions. 

Three key areas producers must consider are:

1. Application windows: These can close quickly, with some states requiring approvals before principal photography.
2. Annual or project caps: Depending on the location, caps may limit access if a program runs out of funds.
3. Financing implications: Lenders often rely on incentive approval letters as collateral, making early planning crucial.

It’s standard practice for producers to create multiple budgets across jurisdictions and apply them to more than one program. Even if you’re set on a particular location, never rule out an alternative that may offer a handsome incentive that could be a boon to your budget. Run the numbers in filming locations that offer similar infrastructure and aesthetic; this allows for comparison, negotiation, and risk mitigation if funding caps or legislative changes alter a program midstream.

Monetizing your production’s incentives

Once an incentive is secured, producers don’t have to wait until they wrap to see financial benefits. Options for monetizing incentives include:

• Tax Credit Loans: Using pre-approval letters as collateral for bank loans.
• Selling Transferable Credits: Converting credits into cash by selling them to third parties.
• Leveraging Credits as Collateral: Pairing tax credits with pre-sales or completion bonds to increase borrowing capacity.

For example, a mid-budget feature might secure a $10 million Georgia film tax credit. Rather than waiting until post-production realizes its value, the production could take the approval letter to a bank, borrow against the expected credit, and use the funds to pay crew and vendors during production.

“Think of a pre-approved tax credit as more than a promise. It’s an asset,” explained Joe Chianese of EP. “That asset can unlock cash flow at a time when producers need it most."

Easily calculate your project's incentives with EP's free suite of incentives tools, including the incentives estimator.

Fiscal sponsorship and incentives

Fiscal sponsorship, or partnering with a nonprofit to access grants and donations, doesn’t replace tax incentives, but it can complement them.

Fiscal sponsorship enables:

• Access to tax-deductible donations and nonprofit grants.
• Seed funding to bridge early costs, making it easier to reach the stage where incentives apply.
• Additional credibility with funders and investors.

When combined with incentives, fiscal sponsorship expands the financing toolkit available to independent filmmakers in particular.

California’s new refundable option

California recently overhauled its Film & TV Tax Credit Program, introducing a refundable option effective July 1, 2025. Producers can now opt to receive a 90% refund of the credit’s value over five years. Independent producers retain the ability to sell credits, giving them added flexibility.

This evolution brings California in line with other leading jurisdictions and underscores the competitive global race to attract production. It also highlights the state’s commitment to keeping more projects “at home” in Hollywood.

Read more about California’s updated Film & TV Tax Credit Program in Joe Chianese’s recent blog post California's Film Tax Incentive Expands to $750M in 2025.

Final takeaway: Engage early and use incentives to your advantage

As Chianese advised during the panel, whether you’re producing a studio feature or an independent documentary, production incentives are a cornerstone of modern production financing strategy. Producers can unlock substantial returns by engaging early, planning across multiple jurisdictions, and leveraging incentives as financial assets.

At Entertainment Partners, our team works with producers globally to identify, secure, and administer incentives, helping projects maximize budgets while minimizing complexity. As the panel highlighted, incentives are more than numbers on a page; they’re a dynamic, evolving part of the creative and financial ecosystem that makes storytelling possible.

Don't leave money on the table! Rach out to your account manager today or click the green Contact Us button to discuss your project’s goals and how production incentives can support your budget.

This article contains general information we are providing on a subject that may be of interest to you. Nothing in this article should be considered tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult with your own tax, accounting, or legal advisors regarding the applicability of this information to your specific circumstances.