A film tax credit bill that supporters hope will bring tens of thousands of jobs back to the United States is expected to be introduced in Congress on Thursday after a decades-long effort for federal support of the industry.
The New York Times has reviewed the text of the bill, which provides a tax credit of at least 20 percent on the wages of the vast array of workers who create movies and TV shows. That includes actors and directors as well as camera operators and makeup artists.
The proposal faces formidable obstacles in a divided Congress that has struggled to agree on any major policy changes and where tax legislation is particularly contentious. If it become legislation, the subsidy would bolster the country’s position in the marketplace and help it compete with popular filming locations like Australia, Britain, Canada and Hungary.
President Trump offered his support last month, calling on Republicans and Democrats to work together to write and approve legislation that would keep jobs in the country. “What we watch on the Silver Screen should be made in what was once the Movie and Motion Picture Capital of the World,” he wrote on social media. “Let’s get this done!”
Isn’t there already a film tax credit?
A robust federal tax credit would be new but sit alongside existing state programs. For years, a deduction enacted in 2004 was the only real federal tax incentive designed to keep production in the United States. It expired at the end of 2025.
A survey by The Times found that more than three dozen states have distributed at least $25 billion in film incentives. Since 2015, Georgia has spent more than $5 billion and New York at least $7 billion. California approved a budget last year that doubled the size of its tax credit program to $750 million annually.
Why is this happening now?
More than 60 countries have lucrative tax credit programs drawing productions away from the United States. Labor is often cheaper in those countries, an extra incentive for studios to film elsewhere.
Los Angeles has been hit particularly hard by the exodus, with jobs drying up in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the strikes by writers and actors in 2023. The total number of shoot days in the region in 2025 fell more than 16 percent from the previous year, according to a report by Film LA.
Representative Laura Friedman, a Democrat who represents Hollywood in Congress, said at a recent news conference that a federal program would go far beyond helping Los Angeles.
“The United States, as a nation, has nothing to compete right now at a federal level,” she said. “We are talking about over 140,000 American jobs every single year across all 50 states, nearly $250 billion in economic activity that this would create between 2027 and 2035.”
What is the proposed legislation?
The bill outlines a 20 percent transferable tax credit for wages that could be stacked atop a state incentive. Productions could have another 10 percent of their costs covered if they meet certain other criteria.
Unlike many state programs, the federal credit would apply to actor and director salaries, known as above-the-line expenses.
When combining federal and state incentives, a studio might get about half of its qualifying costs covered.
Who supports a federal tax credit?
This is a rare program with bipartisan support, although there are extra challenges in an election year when Congress is closely divided.
The Senate bill will be sponsored by Senators Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, and Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California. A companion bill is being brought forward in the House by Representatives Nathaniel Moran, Republican of Texas, and Linda T. Sánchez, Democrat of California. It is being supported by Ms. Friedman and Representative Brian Jack, Republican of Georgia, where a significant amount of filming occurs.
Critics of tax subsidies say that the government has more important priorities and that each job created by such programs can cost taxpayers more than $100,000.
“Who on earth would say, ‘Keep giving the money to Hollywood; my kid’s school doesn’t need new books’?” Michael Thom, a tax expert at the University of Southern California, previously told The Times.
But the proposal has received widespread support from unions like the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ guild.
Charles Rivkin, the chairman and chief executive of the Motion Picture Association, said in the news conference that a federal incentive would be a game changer for the industry. An economic impact study commissioned by the M.P.A. illustrated the opportunity for job creation, he said.
“That’s precisely what’s bringing President Trump, Republicans and Democrats in Congress, studios and unions and all of us together: the need to leave a positive and enduring imprint on American creativity and America’s economy,” he said.
Matt Stevens and Shawn Hubler contributed reporting.
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