Application Process for Production of a Motion Picture

To become a qualified company and receive motion picture production tax incentives an eligible applicant must follow the process below. NOTE: If you will be producing a commercial advertisement or music video, please click here for special instructions on how to apply for tax incentives.

• Apply for program incentives by completing an Initial Application Form and submitting it to Commerce. (See Sections 9 and 10 of the Program Guidelines for more detail.)
• Concurrent with submittal of an initial application to Commerce, a company may request a letter of good standing from Revenue by submitting form Tax Clearance Application to Revenue. Requesting the letter of good standing at this time will expedite Revenue’s approval for an exemption certificate.
• Upon receipt of an initial application Commerce will assign a priority placement number for receipt of tax incentives.
• Within 30 days of receipt of a complete application, Commerce will notify the company of pre-approval or denial. If a company is pre-approved, Commerce will issue a Letter of Qualification (effective for twenty-four months) to the company and transmit a copy to the Arizona Department of Revenue.
• When a Tax Clearance Application is received by Revenue, Revenue verifies the company’s eligibility under its statutes and issues a letter of good standing and an exemption certificate (effective for twelve months) to the company.
• Then the company may claim the transaction privilege tax (TPT) and use tax exemptions.
• Note: a final determination of eligibility will be made at completion of production (post-approval).

Next Steps:

• Within 90 days of the pre-approval date a company must demonstrate it has begun production. (See Section 11 of the Program Guidelines for more detail.)

Upon Completion of Production:

• Within 30 days of completion of production, the company must submit a Completion Report to Commerce. (See Section 12 of the Program Guidelines for more detail.)
• Commerce may issue post-approval to the company after reviewing the Completion Report and verifying the company’s eligibility.
• Once post-approval is received a qualified company may claim the tax credits and retain TPT and use tax exemptions already received.

Supplemental Documents

• Expense Report (Forms 1 & 2) (PDF) (EXCEL)
• Calculation of Residency (Forms 1 & 2)
• Residency Affidavit
• Voluntary Relinquishment of Tax Credits
• Obscenity Statutes

Return to the Arizona Film Office Website
Return to the Motion Picture Tax Incentives home page