HB316 Alabama 2019 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

John W. Rogers

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2019

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

HB316 would adjust Alabama's film tax rebate program to allow rebates for projects of at least $500,000 within 12 months of certification and let state-certified productions pool budgets to reach that threshold.

What This Bill Does

It amends the rebate rules to require a $500,000 expenditure threshold within 12 months of certification and to permit aggregating budgets across state-certified productions to meet that threshold if none hits it individually. The rebate remains 25% of state-certified production expenditures (excluding Alabama resident payroll) plus 35% of Alabama resident payroll, with a cap that rebates stop after $20 million in expenditures. It also adds rules for TV series, miniseries, and commercials, plus special minimums and caps for soundtrack ($50k min, up to $300k) and music video ($50k min, up to $200k) projects; rebates can offset Alabama income tax liabilities, with any excess refunded, and the program would be governed by Department of Revenue rules and take effect a few months after passage.

Who It Affects

• Qualified production companies and state-certified productions in Alabama, which would be eligible for rebates once their projects reach the $500,000 threshold (or when aggregated budgets meet the threshold) and would be subject to the $20 million cap.
• Alabama residents employed on these productions, whose payroll is used to determine the rebate amount (35% of resident payroll) and whose earnings contribute to the tax-offset mechanism.

Key Provisions

• Sets a $500,000 threshold within 12 months from certification for a project to qualify for the rebate, and allows aggregation of budgets across multiple state-certified productions to reach that threshold if none individually meets it.
• Rebate calculation: 25% of state-certified production expenditures (excluding Alabama resident payroll) plus 35% of Alabama resident payroll.
• Cap: rebates are not available for production expenditures after the first $20,000,000 spent in Alabama on a state-certified production.
• Aggregation rules: a single TV series or miniseries episode may be combined to reach the threshold if same subject; a series of commercials may be aggregated as long as each item qualifies and relates to the same subject.
• Special cases: soundtrack projects require at least $50,000 in expenditures but rebates stop after the first $300,000; music video projects require at least $50,000 but rebates stop after the first $200,000.
• Rebates can offset the producer's Alabama income tax liability for the year in which the production activity ends; any excess rebate beyond tax liability is refunded.
• The Department of Revenue and related offices will issue rules to administer the section.
• Effective date: the act becomes law on the first day of the third month after passage and 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