Arkansas’ program is administered on a case-by-case basis. The Executive Director of AEDC retains the sole discretion to determine which projects are selected and the amount of incentives available to each selected project.
Incentives:
The Arkansas Digital Product Motion Picture Incentive will be in the form of a tax credit or a rebate. The two incentives mirror each other in percentages: 20% for goods, services, and NR labor; 30% Arkansas labor.
Requirements:
PRIOR to beginning preproduction activities in Arkansas, register with the film office and submit an application along with an estimate of expenditures; meet the minimum spending requirement of at least $50,000 within a six-month period in connection with a postproduction project, or $200,000 within a six-month period in connection with the production of one feature project; and apply for a production rebate certificate no later than 180 days after the last production expenses are incurred. To receive the enhanced ten percent (10%) incentive, a production company must provide to the Film Office the following completed forms for each individual or business that qualify: • Declaration of Arkansas Residency form provided by the Commission; • Declaration of Veteran Status or Veteran-Owned Small Business Status form provided by the Commission
Qualified Spend:
Qualified spend includes: costs incurred in Arkansas in the pre-preproduction, production, or postproduction of a qualified production; the first $500,000 of wages or salaries paid to each resident and nonresident that are subject to Arkansas income taxes; pension, health and welfare contributions; and, stipends and living allowances. Payments for production and postproduction expenses are recommended (but not required) to be made from the checking account of an Arkansas institution. Cash payments to vendors may not exceed 40% of the total verifiable costs.
Summary:
This program is administered on a first-come, first-served basis. An eligible production company may earn a 20% incentive on all qualified production expenditures in Arkansas. Salaries and wages paid to resident and nonresident above-the-line employees, as well as resident and nonresident below-the-line employees, will qualify for the 20% incentive and, an additional 10% may be earned on the payroll of below-the-line employees who are full-time Arkansas residents for a total incentive of 30% on such wages. Below-the-line does not include directors and producers, but for purposes of the additional 10%, resident actors and writers are defined as below-the-line. The incentive program is scheduled to sunset on June 30, 2031.