Written by Tom Deehan on Nov 10, 2016. Posted in Incentive News

10% film incentive uplift now available for more New York State counties

The 10% uplift on New York State’s film incentive programme has now been extended to cover the counties of Dutchess and Ulster. The uplift was originally introduced in 2015 as a method of inspiring filmmakers to shoot elsewhere in the state and not just in New York City.

With the addition of Dutchess and Ulster, there are now 44 counties included in the scheme. Counties within the Hudson Valley have boomed in popularity thanks to the uplift.

While discussing the increase of on location filming in the area, State Assemblyman Kevin Cahill detailed: “while it is important to note that film production here in the Hudson Valley currently enjoys significant favourable tax treatment, our communities are uniquely qualified to use this additional incentive to build the television, film and video business even more.”

One of the largest projects to film in the Hudson recently was Tate Taylor’s mind-bending thriller, The Girl on the Train. The locations featured in the film include Irvington, Dobbs Ferry and Ardsley.

When stacked against the base rate of 30%, productions that film in a qualifying county can access a huge 40% tax credit incentive. An extra 5% can also be added if local post-production facilities are used.

Instead of having a typical minimum spend limit for eligibility, the state of New York allows projects that spend less than USD3 million to access the incentive under the requirement that 75% of their principal photography is shot within the state.

New York’s almost inexhaustible incentive fund stems from an investment of USD420 million per year, allowing it to cater for the state’s popularity with recent productions such as Netflix’s Luke Cage and Amazon’s Mr. Robot.