Mississippi: where even the rebate welcomes you with our southern hospitality.
The Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Program provides a cash rebate on eligible expenditures and payroll and provides sales and use tax reductions on eligible rentals/purchases. This program is available for nationally-distributed motion pictures, television programs, documentaries, short films, commercials, music videos, video games; and includes animation, interactive media, 3D applications, cinematics, visual effects and motion capture. National distribution includes theatrical, broadcast, direct to DVD/video, festival screening, streaming video and internet delivery.
- There is a $50,000 minimum Mississippi investment (local spend) per project.
- There is a $10 million per project rebate cap.
- There is a $20 million annual rebate cap. (Mississippi’s fiscal year is July 1- June 30.)
- There is no minimum requirement for production days or percentage of production spend.
- At least 20% of the production crew on payroll must be Mississippi residents.
Participation in the Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Program must be acknowledged in the end credits. The Mississippi Film Office logo must also be displayed. Graphic will be provided.
New for 2023 is the Mississippi Episodic Television Incentive Program, which provides $10 million annually as a cash rebate on eligible expenditures and payroll and provides sales and use tax reductions on eligible rentals/purchases for episodic television productions, defined as no less than two episodes made in Mississippi. This incentive program is modeled after the motion picture program, with a few key differences:
- A production is eligible for a 35% cash rebate on payroll paid to resident cast and crew whose wages are subject to Mississippi Income Tax Withholding and for that portion of their salary for the project up to and including $3 million. (The employee must live in Mississippi or maintain a home here and spend more than 6 months in the state.)
- A production is eligible for a 20% cash rebate on payroll paid to non-resident cast and crew whose wages are subject to Mississippi Income Tax Withholding and for that portion of their salary for the project up to and including $3 million.
Detailed Incentive Information (Click to Expand)
A production is eligible for a 25% rebate of their base investment (local spend) on production related expenditures in Mississippi.
As a general rule, Mississippi spend is defined as expenditures paid to Mississippi vendors and companies, including cast and crew non-payroll expenditures (i.e., per diems and housing allowances) and all fringes. Payments made for airfares directly related to the project in Mississippi where travel is to/from airports in Mississippi, Baton Rouge, Little Rock, New Orleans, Memphis or Mobile are qualified spend only if reservations are made through a Mississippi-based travel agent or agency.
The rental or purchase of equipment and production specific goods and services is qualified spend in the following instances:
(1) directly from a Mississippi vendor;
(2) through a Mississippi production company/vendor providing equipment rented from an out-of-state company or a Mississippi vendor regularly engaged in the business of providing specific goods and services, provided an industry standard mark-up has been added; or
(3) from an out-of-state equipment company that has established a staffed local office or has contracted with a local representative in Mississippi.
As a general rule, Mississippi spend is defined as expenditures paid to Mississippi vendors and companies, including cast and crew non-payroll expenditures (i.e., per diems and housing allowances) and all fringes. Payments made for airfares directly related to the project in Mississippi where travel is to/from airports in Mississippi, Baton Rouge, Little Rock, New Orleans, Memphis or Mobile are qualified spend only if reservations are made through a Mississippi-based travel agent or agency.
The rental or purchase of equipment and production specific goods and services is qualified spend in the following instances:
(1) directly from a Mississippi vendor;
(2) through a Mississippi production company/vendor providing equipment rented from an out-of-state company or a Mississippi vendor regularly engaged in the business of providing specific goods and services, provided an industry standard mark-up has been added; or
(3) from an out-of-state equipment company that has established a staffed local office or has contracted with a local representative in Mississippi.
A production is eligible for a 25% cash rebate on payroll paid to non-resident cast and crew whose wages are subject to Mississippi Income Tax Withholding and for that portion of their salary for the project up to and including $5 million. A production is eligible for an additional 5% cash rebate on payroll paid to any member of the cast or crew who is an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Armed Forces.
To be eligible for the 25% rebate on payroll paid to non-resident employees, the project must either be:
(1) Produced by a Mississippi-based company, OR
(2) Produced by a Mississippi subsidiary company of the applicant production company, OR
(3) Produced by a production company in which an owner/member/principal is a Mississippi resident, OR
(4) Engaging a Mississippi resident or company to serve as a production partner to the applicant production company.
A production partner is defined as a director, producer, production supervisor/manager, director of photography, production designer, casting director, production company, production services company or post production services company. In each case, the applicant company or the individual or company serving as its production partner is required to have been associated with the production of at least 2 nationally distributed motion pictures in Mississippi within the last 10 years AND have filed income taxes in Mississippi the previous 3 years as verified by the Mississippi Department of Revenue (MDOR).
For purposes of this program, payroll means salary, wages or other compensation including related benefits paid to employees upon which Mississippi income tax is due, has been withheld and has been paid. Loan outs qualify with a 5% withholding fee.
Note: The Mississippi Income Tax Withholding Rate is 3-5%. The tax rate for loan outs is 5%. This must be paid for loan outs to qualify.
To be eligible for the 25% rebate on payroll paid to non-resident employees, the project must either be:
(1) Produced by a Mississippi-based company, OR
(2) Produced by a Mississippi subsidiary company of the applicant production company, OR
(3) Produced by a production company in which an owner/member/principal is a Mississippi resident, OR
(4) Engaging a Mississippi resident or company to serve as a production partner to the applicant production company.
A production partner is defined as a director, producer, production supervisor/manager, director of photography, production designer, casting director, production company, production services company or post production services company. In each case, the applicant company or the individual or company serving as its production partner is required to have been associated with the production of at least 2 nationally distributed motion pictures in Mississippi within the last 10 years AND have filed income taxes in Mississippi the previous 3 years as verified by the Mississippi Department of Revenue (MDOR).
For purposes of this program, payroll means salary, wages or other compensation including related benefits paid to employees upon which Mississippi income tax is due, has been withheld and has been paid. Loan outs qualify with a 5% withholding fee.
Note: The Mississippi Income Tax Withholding Rate is 3-5%. The tax rate for loan outs is 5%. This must be paid for loan outs to qualify.
A production is eligible for a 30% cash rebate on payroll paid to resident cast and crew whose wages are subject to Mississippi Income Tax Withholding and for that portion of their salary for the project up to and including $5 million. (The employee must live in Mississippi or maintain a home here and spend more than 6 months in the state.) Examples of documents as proof of residency include a Mississippi driver’s license, voter’s registration card, or proof of a mortgage for property eligible for Mississippi homestead. In cases of a minor, his/her parents’ information can be used in conjunction in determining the minor’s residency status. A production is eligible for an additional 5% cash rebate on payroll paid to any member of the cast or crew who is an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Armed Forces.
For purposes of this program, payroll means salary, wages or other compensation including related benefits paid to employees upon which Mississippi income tax is due, has been withheld and has been paid. Loan outs qualify with a 5% withholding fee.
Note: The Mississippi Income Tax Withholding Rate is 3-5%. The tax rate for loan outs is 5%. This must be paid for loan outs to qualify.
For purposes of this program, payroll means salary, wages or other compensation including related benefits paid to employees upon which Mississippi income tax is due, has been withheld and has been paid. Loan outs qualify with a 5% withholding fee.
Note: The Mississippi Income Tax Withholding Rate is 3-5%. The tax rate for loan outs is 5%. This must be paid for loan outs to qualify.
Production equipment and machinery used directly in the filming and/or editing of a project may be taxed at the reduced rate of 1.5%, as stated in Section 27-65-11 and Section 27-65-17 of the Mississippi Code of 1972.
The following production equipment is eligible for this reduced rate:
• Audio equipment
• Camera equipment
• Lighting equipment
• Projection equipment
• Sound equipment
• Computer equipment used for animation, editing, or special effects
A production must register for a use tax number and a Direct Pay Permit online through the Mississippi Department of Revenue website, www.dor.ms.gov, in order to access the reduced tax rate. All relevant Department of Revenue documents must be completed, submitted to the Department of Revenue and approved by the Department of Revenue before sales and use tax reductions can be taken. A production may register immediately upon being approved into the Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Program by the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA).
The following production equipment is eligible for this reduced rate:
• Audio equipment
• Camera equipment
• Lighting equipment
• Projection equipment
• Sound equipment
• Computer equipment used for animation, editing, or special effects
A production must register for a use tax number and a Direct Pay Permit online through the Mississippi Department of Revenue website, www.dor.ms.gov, in order to access the reduced tax rate. All relevant Department of Revenue documents must be completed, submitted to the Department of Revenue and approved by the Department of Revenue before sales and use tax reductions can be taken. A production may register immediately upon being approved into the Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Program by the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA).
A production is eligible for an additional 5% cash rebate on payroll paid to any resident member of the cast or crew who is an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Armed Forces.
Note: The Mississippi Income Tax Withholding Rate is 3-5%. The tax rate for loan outs is 5%. This must be paid for loan outs to qualify.
Note: The Mississippi Income Tax Withholding Rate is 3-5%. The tax rate for loan outs is 5%. This must be paid for loan outs to qualify.
Incentive Calculator
Estimate your cash rebate from Mississippi by plugging in your local expenditures and payroll. Based on the estimate, if our rebate could benefit your project, please fill out the complete application for consideration once your project is funded and ready to move into active pre-production. We recommend applying 4-6 weeks before spending would occur in Mississippi.