Local Film Incentives

Miami-Dade County

The TV, Film and Entertainment Production Incentive is a performance-based grant program that is based on Miami-Dade County-centric criteria. Each project’s eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis and each project/grant agreement will be required to go before the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) for individual approval. This process requires a timeframe of two or more months for approval. After the grant is approved, the rebate will be distributed after the production provides proof of their local spend, hires, etc. through a professional audit.

Tier 1

Local spend of $1,000,000 or more
Complete application and accompanying paperwork must be submitted prior to the start of the project.
Minimum spend of $1,000,000 in Miami-Dade County with a maximum grant of $100,000
Requires no less than 70% Miami-Dade County residents be hired as principal cast and crew members.
Cast and crew (employees) qualify for the 70% minimum local hire but excludes extras/background talent. All 70% of the employees must be Miami-Dade County residents.
Requires at least 70% of hired vendors and contractors to be Miami-Dade County Registered Businesses.
Allows for production companies to apply for and receive a maximum of two grants per year.

Tier 2

Local spend of $500,000 to less than $1,000,000
Complete application and accompanying paperwork must be submitted prior to the start of the project.
Minimum spend of $500,000 to less than $1,000,000 in Miami-Dade County with a maximum grant of $50,000
Requires no less than 70% Miami-Dade County residents be hired as principal cast and crew members. Cast and crew (employees) qualify for the 70% minimum local hire but excludes extras/background talent. All 70% of the employees must be Miami-Dade County residents.
Requires at least 70% of hired vendors and contractors to be Miami-Dade County Registered Businesses.

All Projects have the following requirements:

• Complete application and accompanying paperwork must be submitted prior to the start of the project.
• Each project is required to produce 70% of the entire production project be produced/filmed in Miami-Dade County. This will be determined by a combination of a final production schedule and the final edited, ready-for-distribution project.
• Each project must pay qualified Miami-Dade County residents hired a minimum of the Living Wage per County Code Section 2-8-9, as may be amended from time to time. Each final project will need to include Miami-Dade County as a sense of place.
• Each project must start principal photography or commence digital development (for digital projects) within 120 days of the Board of County Commissioners approving the grant agreement. Each project is required to include the official specialty “Miami-Dade County” identifier in the end credits on projects that include credits in their project. The identifier will be provided by the Miami-Dade Office of Film & Entertainment (OFE), which will require proof that it has been placed in the credits in the final distributed project.
• Additionally, the production is requested to provide promotional stills and/or marketing materials prior to the release of production project for use by the OFE on their website and other marketing.
• Each project must hire at least (1) one student/recent graduate who:
  • is enrolled in an entertainment production educational program at a Miami-Dade County college or university on the date of the commencing of prep of principal photography of the production; or
  • graduated less than one year prior to the date of the commencement of prep of principal photography from a Miami-Dade County college or university with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in film, video, media or digital media production, motion pictures or similar study, and currently resides in Miami-Dade County.

The production project spend is on qualifying payroll and qualifying expenses. Qualifying payroll is defined as payment of salary to Miami-Dade County residents for work on a majority of the production. (“Duration of Project”). Additionally, each project can include qualifying ancillary expenditures from businesses that are located within the Miami-Dade County boundaries.

Each Project’s eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis

A maximum of two grant agreements are allowed per year per Production or its associated subsidiaries, Distribution Company, or network, except for a multi-year Production, like a television series with multiple seasons which can apply for subsequent seasons when the project has been given a renewal. Such additional agreements must also be presented for Board approval.

Each grant agreement must indicate that rebate funds are distributed only upon the completion of the Production and subject to an audit to ensure compliance with the guidelines of its respective grant agreement.

Orlando

Orlando’s Film & Television Office provides incentives such as location assistance, permit coordination, and access to local resources for film and television productions filming in the city.

Tampa

The Tampa Hillsborough Film & Digital Media Commission offers a range of incentives, including production assistance, location scouting, and permit coordination, to support film and digital media projects in the area.