HB686 Alabama 2015 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Richard Lindsey

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2015

Title

Production companies, rebates for production expenditures which equal or exceed at least $500,000 from date or production approval, Sec. 41-7A-43 am'd.

Summary

The bill requires a minimum of $500,000 in qualified production expenditures within 12 months of certification to qualify for Alabama's state rebate.

What This Bill Does

Sets a $500,000 minimum in qualified production expenditures within 12 months from certification to qualify for the rebate. The rebate is calculated as 25% of production expenditures excluding Alabama resident payroll plus 35% of payroll paid to Alabama residents, for the state-certified production. It also includes aggregation rules for TV series and commercials, caps on total expenditures (no rebate after $20,000,000), and special limits for soundtrack ($50k min, $300k max) and music video ($50k min, $200k max) projects. The rebate can offset Alabama income tax for the year the production ends, with any excess refunded, and the Department of Revenue is tasked with issuing rules to administer the program.

Who It Affects

• Qualified production companies operating in Alabama, who must meet the $500,000 expenditure threshold within 12 months to receive any rebate and may use the rebate to offset their Alabama income tax (with any excess refunded).
• Alabama residents employed on state-certified productions, whose payroll is eligible for the 35% portion of the rebate, potentially increasing the amount of rebate available.

Key Provisions

• Eligibility threshold: a state-certified production must incur at least $500,000 in qualified expenditures within 12 months from certification to be eligible for the rebate.
• rebate calculation: the rebate equals 25% of the production expenditures excluding Alabama resident payroll plus 35% of all Alabama resident payroll for the state-certified production.
• Budget aggregation and caps: budgets may not be aggregated across separate productions to bypass the threshold; no rebate is available after the first $20,000,000 of expenditures for a state-certified production.
• Aggregation provisions: TV series or miniseries and series of commercials may be aggregated for meeting the monetary requirements under defined conditions (same subject). Soundtrack and music video projects have separate minimums and upper limits ($50k min; $300k max for soundtracks; $50k min; $200k max for music videos).
• Tax offset and refunds: rebates can offset the producer's Alabama income tax liability for the year the production ends; any excess rebate beyond tax liability is refunded to the producer.
• Administration: the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue and the office must promulgate rules to administer this section.
• Effective date: the act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage/approval.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Taxation