Filming in Illinois? Get paid back.
Illinois runs an uncapped film incentive through 2039, so the money does not run out partway through the year. We help producers figure out what they qualify for, put the application together, and get the money back.
35% on labor and vendors
35% on Illinois resident salaries and on what you spend with Illinois vendors. Non-resident salaries earn 30%, covering 13 crew you nominate plus 4 to 6 actors depending on the size of your Illinois spend. The $500,000 cap is per person and applies to salaries. Vendor spend is not capped.
Uplifts that stack
+5% for a certified green production and +5% for relocating a television series, both on your Illinois spend. Another +5% on Illinois resident wages for work outside Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will.
Sell it, or carry it five years
Transferable within a year of issuance, to as many as 10 buyers, so a production with no Illinois tax liability can turn it into cash. Unused credit carries forward five years. There is no annual program cap, and the program runs through 2039.
Does your project qualify?
If you're spending money in Illinois on something people will watch, it probably does. Minimum is $100,000 in qualified spend for projects 30 minutes or longer, $50,000 for shorter works.
Not sure where yours lands? The Qualification Assessment walks the rules in about two minutes.
Three steps to your credit.
We build a game plan
We read your budget line by line: which hires count as Illinois residents, which vendors are genuinely domiciled here, and where each uplift lands. The uplifts do not share a base, so shooting outside the Chicago collar counties and hiring locally move the number by different amounts.
We run the paperwork
The application goes in before you shoot: five business days ahead of principal photography, or 24 hours for a commercial. We get your CPA approved by the Film Office before they start work, and open diversity tracking on day one rather than reconstructing it at claim.
The credit lands
After wrap, an audit-ready package goes to the Film Office. They issue your certificate, and you either apply it against Illinois tax or transfer it, within a year, to as many as ten buyers.
What we need from you is small: your payroll register, vendor invoices carrying real street addresses, proof of Illinois residency for your Illinois hires, and the diversity numbers as you go rather than at the end. We handle the rest.
The ones we get most.
Do I qualify for the Illinois Film Production Tax Credit?
If you are filming in Illinois and spending at least $100,000 in the state, you generally qualify. The threshold drops to $50,000 for projects under 30 minutes. Feature films, commercials, shorts, documentaries, pilots, webisodes, animation, music videos and proof-of-concepts are all eligible. Newscasts, sporting events, award shows and industrial events are not.
How much is the Illinois film tax credit worth?
For productions commencing on or after 1 July 2025, the credit returns 35% on Illinois resident wages and on what you spend with Illinois vendors, and 30% on non-resident salaries. The $500,000 cap is per person and applies to salaries; vendor spend is not capped. Non-resident wages cover 13 crew you nominate plus 4 to 6 actors depending on the size of your Illinois spend. Uplifts sit on top, and they do not share a base: 15% on wages paid to residents of areas with high poverty or high unemployment, 5% on resident wages for work outside Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties, 5% of production spending for a certified green production, and 5% of production spending for a television series relocating to Illinois.
When do I have to apply for the Illinois film tax credit?
Before you shoot. Commercials must apply at least 24 hours before filming starts in Illinois, and film and television at least 5 business days before principal photography begins. One deadline catches people out: the CPA who audits your claim has to be approved by the Illinois Film Office before that CPA begins work, so engaging one early without checking can cause a problem you will not discover until the claim.
What does not qualify for the Illinois film tax credit?
Alcohol, cigarettes, donations and gifts of any kind, interstate airfare and shipping, postage, anything relating to development, marketing or promotion, parking and traffic tickets, and errors and omissions insurance. Reality and non-scripted talent does not qualify, although voice-over talent does. Equipment that outlives the production is disallowed unless you can document that it was sold or donated.
When do I actually get the money?
You claim after production completes in Illinois, and no later than two years after. Once the Film Office issues your certificate you can apply the credit against Illinois tax, or transfer it within one year to as many as 10 buyers, which is how a production with no Illinois tax liability turns it into cash. Unused credit carries forward five years and cannot be carried back.
What does IL Film Tax Credits do for productions?
We assess eligibility, prepare and package the application for the Illinois Film Production Tax Credit, build documentation that survives the CPA audit, and advise on applying or selling the credit. The first look is free and carries no obligation.
Forms and official guidance.
These are the state's own documents, linked rather than copied so you always get the current version. The Illinois Film Office is the authority on all of it. The diversity sheets are worth starting early: the office reviews the final numbers, and a production that cannot show good faith effort can lose the credit outright.
Tell us about your project.
What are you making, when are you filming, and roughly what are you spending in Illinois? We'll take a look and let you know what's possible.
The first look is free and carries no obligation. You get a straight answer on what your project qualifies for either way. Beyond that, what we charge depends on how much of the work you want handled, and is agreed before anything begins.
Or call (608) 212-6930