GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 915
Short Title: Reenact Film Credit. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Dew and Cervania (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 14, 2025
*H915 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REENACT TH E CREDIT FOR QUALIFY ING EXPENSES OF A 2
PRODUCTION COMPANY. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. G.S. 105-151.29 is reenacted as it existed immediately before its 5
repeal, is recodified as G.S. 105-153.12, and reads as rewritten: 6
"§ 105-153.12. Credit for qualifying expenses of a production company. 7
(a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section: 8
(1) Highly compensated individual. – An individual who directly or indirectly 9
receives compensation in excess of one million dollars ($1,000,000) for 10
personal services with respect to a single production. An individual receives 11
compensation indirectly when a production company pays a personal service 12
company or an employee leasing company that pays the individual. 13
(2) Live sporting event. – A scheduled sporting competition, game, or race that is 14
not originated by a production company, but originated solely by an amateur, 15
collegiate, or professional organization, institution, or association for live or 16
tape-delayed television or satellite broadcast. A live sporting event does not 17
include commercial advertising, an episodic television series, a television 18
pilot, a music video, a motion picture, or a documentary production in which 19
sporting events are presented through archived historical footage or similar 20
footage taken at least 30 days before it is used. 21
(3) Production company. – Defined in G.S. 105-164.3. 22
(4) Qualifying expenses. – The sum of the following amounts spent in this State 23
by a production company in connection with a production, less the amount 24
paid in excess of one million dollars ($1,000,000) to a highly compensated 25
individual: 26
a. Goods and services leased or purchased. For goods with a purchase 27
price of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or more, the amount 28
included in qualifying expenses is the purchase price less the fair 29
market value of the good at the time the production is completed. 30
b. Compensation and wages on which withholding payments are remitted 31
to the Department of Revenue under Article 4A of this Chapter. 32
c. The cost of production-related insurance coverage obtained on the 33
production. Expenses for insurance coverage purchased from a related 34
member are not qualifying expenses. 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 915-First Edition
d. Employee fringe contributions, including health, pension, and welfare 1
contributions. 2
e. Per diems, stipends, and living allowances paid for work being 3
performed in this State. 4
(5) Related member. – Defined in G.S. 105-130.7A. 5
(b) Credit. – A taxpayer that is a production company and has qualifying expenses of at 6
least two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) with respect to a production is allowed a 7
credit against the taxes imposed by this Part equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the production 8
company's qualifying expenses. For the purposes of this section, in the case of an episodic 9
television series, an entire season of episodes is one production. The credit is computed based on 10
all of the taxpayer's qualifying expenses incurred with respect to the production, not just the 11
qualifying expenses incurred during the taxable year. 12
(b1) Repealed by Session Laws 2009-529, s. 2, effective January 1, 2011. 13
(c) Pass-Through Entity. – Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 105-131.8 and 14
G.S. 105-269.15, a pass-through entity that qualifies for a credit provided in this section does not 15
distribute the credit among any of its owners. The pass-through entity is considered the taxpayer 16
for purposes of claiming a credit allowed by this section. If a return filed by a pass-through entity 17
indicates that the entity is paying tax on behalf of the owners of the entity, a credit allowed under 18
this section does not affect the entity's payment of tax on behalf of its owners. 19
(d) Return. – A taxpayer may claim a credit allowed by this section on a return filed for 20
the taxable year in which the production activities are completed. The return must state the name 21
of the production, a description of the production, and a detailed accounting of the qualifying 22
expenses with respect to which a credit is claimed. The qualifying expenses are subject to audit 23
by the Secretary before the credit is allowed. 24
(e) Credit Refundable. – If a credit allowed by this section exceeds the amount of tax 25
imposed by this Part for the taxable year reduced by the sum of all credits allowable, the Secretary 26
must refund the excess to the taxpayer. The refundable excess is governed by the provisions 27
governing a refund of an overpayment by the taxpayer of the tax imposed in this Part. In 28
computing the amount of tax against which multiple credits are allowed, nonrefundable credits 29
are subtracted before refundable credits. 30
(f) Limitations. – The amount of credit allowed under this section with respect to a 31
production that is a feature film may not exceed twenty million dollars ($20,000,000). No credit 32
is allowed under this section for any production that satisfies one of the following conditions: 33
(1) It is political advertising. 34
(2) It is a television production of a news program or live sporting event. 35
(3) It contains material that is obscene, as defined in G.S. 14-190.1. 36
(4) It is a radio production. 37
(g) Substantiation. – A taxpayer allowed a credit under this section must maintain and 38
make available for inspection any information or records required by the Secretary of Revenue. 39
The taxpayer has the burden of proving eligibility for a credit and the amount of the credit. The 40
Secretary may consult with the North Carolina Film Office of the Department of Commerce and 41
the regional film commissions in order to determine the amount of qualifying expenses. 42
(h) Report. – The Department must include in the economic incentives report required by 43
G.S. 105-256 the following information itemized by taxpayer: 44
(1) The location of sites used in a production for which a credit was taken. 45
(2) The qualifying expenses for which a credit was taken, classified by whether 46
the expenses were for goods, services, or compensation paid by the production 47
company. 48
(3) The number of people employed in the State with respect to credits taken. 49
(4) The total cost to the General Fund of the credits taken. 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 915-First Edition Page 3
(i) Repealed by Session Laws 2006-220, s. 4, effective for taxable years beginning on 1
and after January 1, 2007. 2
(j) NC Film Office. – To claim a credit under this section, a taxpayer must notify the 3
Division of Tourism, Film, and Sports Development in the Department of Commerce of the 4
taxpayer's intent to claim the production tax credit. The notification must include the title of the 5
production, the name of the production company, a financial contact for the production company, 6
the proposed dates on which the production company plans to begin filming the production, and 7
any other information required by the Division. For productions that have production credits, a 8
taxpayer claiming a credit under this section must acknowledge in the production credits both 9
the North Carolina Film Office and the regional film office responsible for the geographic area 10
in which the filming of the production occurred. 11
(k) Sunset. – This section is repealed for qualifying expenses occurring on or after 12
January 1, 2015." 13
SECTION 2. G.S. 105-130.47 is reenacted as it existed immediately before its repeal 14
and reads as rewritten: 15
"§ 105-130.47. Credit for qualifying expenses of a production company. 16
… 17
(k) Sunset. – This section is repealed for qualifying expenses occurring on or after 18
January 1, 2015." 19
SECTION 3. This act is effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 20
2025, and applies to qualifying expenses occurring on or after that date. 21