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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Sep 24, 2026
Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act
This bill establishes a federal business tax credit for a percentage of the compensation paid for services performed in the United States related to a qualified film or television production. (Conditions and exceptions apply.)
The bill defines a qualified film or television production as any production that is
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a feature film, television pilot, or television season;
produced in the ordinary course of business for commercial purposes;
capitalized;
completed during the tax year with more than $1 million in total costs; and
filmed in the United States for 75% of the photography days.
Under the bill, various types of programming are not a qualified film or television production, including news programs, live sporting events, and programming intended primarily for social media platforms.
The amount of the tax credit is 20% (base tax credit percentage) of the compensation paid for services performed in the United States related to a qualified film or television production. The base tax credit percentage increases by increments of 5% (up to a maximum tax credit percentage of 30%) if
at least 30% of the production is filmed in a federally declared disaster area or rural qualified opportunity zone,
the production is independently produced, or
the production meets certain multi-state or increased domestic production requirements.
Special rules apply to animations, visual effects productions, and post-production activities.
Finally, the tax credit may be transferred to an unrelated third party in exchange for cash.
People & committees
Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC] · R–SC
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Oct 16, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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