New Jersey offers tax credits for qualifying films. A New Jersey film tax credit attorney can help you evaluate whether your production may qualify for the state tax incentive, prepare your NJ film tax credit application, and coordinate the legal structure and agreements that support your planned activities and expenses. Counsel then helps you address legal issues that arise during production and pursue issuance or transfer of the credit.
Weiner Law Group advises producers and production companies throughout the development, production, and distribution stages. Our entertainment law team assists clients with entity formation, financing, production agreements, rights and clearances, chain of title, licensing, and other production counsel matters. Our entertainment lawyers understand how legal requirements intersect with the practical decisions you make while moving a project toward production.
What Is the NJ Film Tax Credit?
The New Jersey film tax credit allows a production company to receive a transferable tax credit based on qualified expenses it incurs while producing an eligible film in New Jersey. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) administers the program. The credit generally equals 30% or 35% of qualified film production expenses, depending on where the company incurs them.
The program covers:
- Feature films intended for a national audience;
- Television series and shows intended for a national audience that run for at least 22 minutes; and
- Television intended for a regional audience if the producer films and produces it at a state-funded nonprofit arts and cultural venue;
- Reality programming when an established television network or streaming service commissions it, schedules it, and orders at least four episodes.
The program excludes several types of content, including:
- News and sports programming;
- Fundraising productions;
- Productions containing obscene material; and
- Projects made primarily for private, corporate, or institutional purposes.
NJEDA awards available credits on a first-come, first-served basis according to when it receives your complete application. You must submit the application before principal photography begins and begin principal photography within 180 days after submitting.
How Do You Qualify for the NJ Film Tax Credit?
Beyond filming in New Jersey, your production must satisfy one of two spending tests: a percentage test based on how much of your overall production spending goes through authorized New Jersey vendors or a dollar test based on the amount of qualified film production expenses you incur in New Jersey. To meet the first test, you must incur at least 60% of your total production expenses, excluding post-production costs, in New Jersey. To qualify for the second test, you must incur more than $1 million in qualified New Jersey film production expenses.
How Can a New Jersey Film Tax Credit Attorney Help You?
A New Jersey film tax credit attorney advises you about the legal decisions, documents, and representations involved in pursuing the tax credit. Your entertainment tax credit counsel evaluates the project and proposed spending, helps organize the production company’s role, prepares and reviews relevant agreements, assists with the application, and addresses legal questions that arise during and after production.
Assess Your Project and Planned New Jersey Spending
To understand where the credit may fit in your financing plan, a film production incentive lawyer can evaluate whether the proposed production and spending can satisfy the program requirements. Your attorney reviews how the credit applies to the project’s:
- Format and intended audience;
- Locations and New Jersey activities;
- Budget, vendors, and expected expenses; and
- Production schedule.
Using that information, your entertainment tax credit counsel then evaluates whether your proposed expenses satisfy the 60% or $1 million test.
Coordinate the Production Company and Its Agreements
The production company applying for the credit must incur the expenses it claims to qualify for the credit. Your attorney can review your company’s structure, authority, and role in the production to confirm that it can enter the necessary agreements and pursue the credit. If you have not yet established a company for the project, counsel can also help you form one.
Your attorney can then prepare or review agreements with:
- Performers and crew members,
- Payroll companies,
- Locations and soundstages,
- Equipment providers and other vendors, and
- Post-production companies.
Counsel can coordinate those agreements with the proposed budget and production plan so the agreements support the activities and expenses described in your application.
Prepare and Submit a Complete NJ Film Tax Credit Application
Your attorney helps you with all aspects of preparing and submitting your NJ film tax credit application. When you apply, your attorney can help you gather and review the required materials, including:
- Organizational documents,
- Tax-clearance information,
- A project synopsis,
- A detailed budget,
- Financing information,
- A production schedule,
- Proposed locations,
- A legal questionnaire, and
- Certifications.
Your attorney helps ensure you provide all the materials NJEDA needs to evaluate your potential tax credit.
Address Changes During Production
Your plans may change after you submit the application. Changes that may require legal review include:
- Losing or replacing a location,
- Replacing a vendor,
- Revising the production schedule,
- Changing an agreement, or
- Moving some work outside New Jersey.
Your attorney can evaluate whether a change affects your application, help you revise affected agreements, and provide NJEDA with updated information when necessary.
Document Expenses and Pursue Credit Issuance
After you complete the production, your company must document the qualified expenses it actually incurred. You may support those expenses with, for example:
- Payroll records,
- Invoices,
- Proof of payment, and
- Vendor information.
An independent certified public accountant (CPA) reviews your records and supporting documents to verify the production’s expenses, determine whether it satisfied a spending test, and calculate the recommended final credit amount. If they discover a possible inconsistency, your attorney can help you:
- Investigate the underlying transaction,
- Determine what the relevant documents establish,
- Explain the discrepancy, and
- Respond to NJEDA.
Once NJEDA issues the credit, your company can apply it against an eligible New Jersey tax liability or sell it to an eligible taxpayer. If you decide to sell the credit, your attorney can:
- Negotiate the sale terms,
- Prepare the transfer agreement,
- Allocate responsibility for completing the transfer requirements, and
- Help submit the transfer application.
Counsel helps you document the sale and each party’s responsibilities.
Work with a New Jersey Film Tax Credit Attorney
Pursuing the NJ Film Tax Credit requires you to coordinate the program’s requirements with the legal and practical decisions involved in producing your project. Weiner Law Group helps you evaluate your proposed production and spending, prepare the application and supporting agreements, address changes during production, and resolve legal questions during final expense review or a later transfer. Contact us to discuss how a New Jersey film tax credit attorney can help you pursue the incentive as part of your broader production plan.
Legal References Used to Inform This Page
To ensure the accuracy and clarity of this page, we referenced official legal and other resources during the content development process: