Tennessee Qualified Production Franchise & Excise Tax Credit

Tennessee Qualified Production Franchise & Excise Tax Credit

Administers a production incentive in Tennessee that refunds a share of in state film and television spending taxes.

Eligibility · United States · US-TN

The Tennessee Qualified Production Franchise and Excise Tax Credit offers film, television, and post-production companies a credit of 40%–50% of qualified in-state spending against Tennessee franchise and excise (F&E) tax liability. The credit is designed to attract production activity to Tennessee by offsetting a significant share of the costs incurred while shooting or completing content in the state. Three minimum qualifying spend thresholds apply by production type: $50,000 for post-production work, $100,000 for non-scripted television content, and $500,000 for scripted television productions. The percentage credit rate (40% versus 50%) depends on production-specific criteria not fully enumerated in publicly available source materials.

The credit is administered by the Tennessee Department of Revenue and claimed on the annual F&E tax return. Only entities subject to Tennessee franchise and excise tax are eligible; out-of-state production entities without Tennessee F&E nexus, nonprofits, and pass-through entities without Tennessee F&E exposure cannot claim the credit. No separate pre-application or competitive allocation process was identified — the credit appears to be available on a rolling claim basis through the annual tax filing cycle.

The programme is strictly limited to the film and television production sector, including post-production services. It does not apply to live performance, music recording, advertising production, or other creative industries. Qualifying in-state spending likely includes payments to Tennessee-based crew, location fees, facility rentals, and equipment costs incurred in Tennessee, though the precise definition of 'qualified spending' was not fully enumerated in available source material. Producers considering large Tennessee-based productions should review TN DOR's current guidance before committing production spend to confirm credit eligibility.