Louisiana Motion Picture Production Tax Credit
Louisiana offers a 25% transferable base credit on qualified in-state spend, stacking to a 40% cap with +10% on Louisiana resident payroll, +5% VFX, and +5% for filming outside the New Orleans area. The state buys credits back at 90% (less a 2% fee), so it converts to cash readily. $300K minimum spend.
How the program works
- • 25% on qualified Louisiana spend
- • +10% — Louisiana resident payroll uplift: +10% on wages paid to Louisiana residents.
- • +5% — VFX uplift: +5% when ≥50% of the VFX budget (or ≥$1M) is spent in Louisiana with an approved company.
- • +5% — Out-of-zone uplift: +5% when the production office and 60% of principal photography are outside the New Orleans metro.
- Max effective rate: 40%
- • Minimum qualified spend: $300,000
- • Resident and non-resident labor both count as qualified spend; ATL salaries qualify only up to 40% of total in-state spend.
- • The per-project cap and per-person salary cap were eliminated in 2025.
- • CPA / state audit required
- • Screen-credit / logo requirement
How it becomes cash
This is a transferable credit. Most indie productions don't owe enough state tax to use it, so you sell it to a company that does — usually through a broker, at a discount. That discount is the real cost of turning the credit into cash.
$125M annual program cap (reduced from $150M in 2025), with sub-allocations for independent film, VFX and Louisiana-screenplay productions.
Are you a film commissioner or agency with official updates to this program? If you have corrections to this documentation, please submit them here.
Submit an update →This is an estimate, not advice.
Every number here is an estimate generated from published program rules and your inputs. Programs change with each legislative session, and qualification depends on details a calculator can't see. This is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Before you make a financing decision, confirm everything with the state film office and a qualified CPA and entertainment attorney.