Tax Incentives
Somerset County Courthouse, Somerville
New Jersey offers a robust tax-incentive program of 35% and a 2% diversity bonus when filming in Somerset County. In January of 2020, Governor Phil Murphy extended a tax incentive program to bring film, television, and digital media productions to New Jersey through June 2028.
Production companies can receive an additional credit equal to 2% of the qualified film production expenses*
*Provided that the application is accompanied by a diversity plan, the plan is approved, and the NJ Economic Development Authority has verified the applicant has met or made a good faith effort in achieving the goals stated within the diversity plan.
Qualified production companies filming in Somerset County can receive a transferable tax credit equal to 35% of qualified production expenses*
*Provided the production company meets all necessary requirements.
Digital Media projects can receive a 20%-25% tax credit and have different requirements
Requirements
Location
On any individual project, must incur at least 60% of total film production expenses in-state (exclusive of post-production costs) OR incur more than $1 million in qualified production expenses.
Taxes
Must hold NJ Gross Income Tax for employees working in the state and 6.37% from each payment to a loan-out company or independent
Timing
Must begin principal photography within 180 days of original application date or 150 days from application approval date.
Certification
A production company’s NJ Production costs, and in some cases total production costs, must be certified by a NJ licensed CPA.
EXCEPTIONS/IMPORTANT NOTES!
Payments to vendors will qualify only if vendors are registered to do business in NJ and have obtained a NJ Tax ID Number.
Reality TV shows qualify for tax credits only if the reproduction company producing the show has owned or leased a production facility of at least 20,000 sq.ft for a minimum of 24 months, and has invested at least $3 million into the focilited, which must be located in a designated urban enterprise zone.
Program has an annual cap of $100 million per fiscal year (July 1st-June 30th) thru June 30th, 2028.
Learn More
Steve Gorelick, Executive Director
New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission
- (973) 648-6279
- www.film.nj.gov
- njfilm@sos.nj.gov