Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 159 - DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT › Chapter 159-1 - FILM, MUSIC & DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION › Subject 159-1-1 - FILM TAX CREDIT › Rule 159-1-1-.03 - Film Tax Credit Certification-General

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1)
State Certified Production.
(a) Project Certification Requirement. Prior
				to claiming any Film Tax Credit, each new Feature Film, Pilot, Series, TV
				Movie, Music Video, Commercial Advertisement or Interactive Entertainment
				project must be certified as meeting the guidelines and the intent of the Act.
				Each Applicant must apply for a single Project, and GDEcD will only render a
				decision on a Completed Application if the Applicant can show the Project is
				Fully Funded. Certification shall not be used to secure funding. Certification
				applications for all projects shall be submitted electronically to GDEcD.
				Projects eligible to receive the Base Tax Credits are Feature Films, Television
				Films, Series, Pilots, Commercial Advertisements, Music Videos, and Interactive
				Entertainment Projects, as defined and approved by GDEcD. Applicants will be
				required to provide budget information, funding sources, distribution
				agreements, production schedules, call sheets, personnel information, and any
				other documentation to supplement its Completed Application as requested by
				GDEcD. Only one Production Company may claim the tax credit, per project.
The maximum total tax credits allowed for Qualified
				  Interactive Entertainment Production Companies is $1.5 million per taxable year
				  for a single company and the maximum total tax credits allowed among all
				  Qualified Interactive Entertainment Production Companies is $12.5 million. The
				  Commissioner of Revenue shall preapprove applications for Interactive
				  Entertainment tax credits based on a first come, first serve basis. GDEcD
				  certification of Interactive Entertainment projects does not guarantee that
				  credits will be available.
(b) Projects Ineligible for Certification.
				Certain Projects do not qualify for the Film Tax Credit including, but not
				limited to, the following:
1. Live or
				prerecorded broadcast of athletic events;
2. Live or prerecorded news or current
				affairs programming covering news that has recently occurred or is ongoing at
				the time of the broadcast;
3. Local
				interview or talk shows or other local interest programming not intended for
				Multimarket Commercial Distribution;
4. Projects and content that were not created
				in whole or in part in Georgia, or content that is primarily post-production in
				nature;
5. Website
				development;
6. Corporate
				marketing, industrial, or training productions;
7. Any productions in violation of Title 16
				Chapter 12 of the state's Obscenity Statute;
8. Sole platform arcade video
				games;
9. Small scale games
				embedded and used exclusively in advertising, marketing and promotional
				websites or microsites;
10.
				Infomercials, Infotainment, or Solicitation-based productions;
11. Certain instructional or how-to content
				and programming, as determined by GDEcD;
12. Political or Editorial-based content
				programming;
13. Projects that do
				not meet the requisite base investment requirement;
14. Marketing or political
				campaigns;
15. Internet sites and
				digital media projects that do not meet all of the defined requirements of
				Interactive Entertainment;
16.
				Interpersonal communications services such as video conferencing, wireless
				telecommunications, text-based channels, chat rooms, or broadcast/streamed
				viewing enhancements.
17. Film or
				television Projects created for a limited audience, including, but not limited
				to museum presentations;
18. Film,
				interactive entertainment, or other programs intended primarily for industrial,
				corporate or institutional end-users, including for training
				purposes;
19. Any Project that does
				not adhere to industry standards;
20. Any Project where filming is merely
				incidental or ancillary to the primary purpose of the Project, such as live
				concerts or events;
21. Projects
				not intended for Multimarket Commercial Distribution via theaters, video on
				demand, direct to DVD, digital platforms designed for the distribution of
				interactive games, licensing for exhibition by individual television stations,
				groups of stations, networks, advertiser supported sites, cable television
				stations, or public broadcasting stations; and
22. The creation of phone, tablet or desktop
				apps that do not meet the defined requirements of Interactive
				Entertainment.
(c) Base
				Certification Letters. After a Completed Application is submitted and reviewed
				by GDEcD, GDEcD will electronically send Applicants a Base Certification Letter
				with a project certification number where Projects meet the certification
				requirements. GDEcD shall use reasonable efforts to make a certification
				decision on a Completed Application, and, if appropriate, provide the Base
				Certification Letter to the Applicant within sixty (60) days of the receipt of
				the Completed Application. If an Applicant does not receive a Base
				Certification Letter from GDEcD within this sixty (60) day period, and, during
				that 60-day period, does not receive any electronic communication from GDEcD
				regarding any necessary supplementation of the Completed Application, the
				Applicant may deem its application denied, and begin the appeals process
				outlined in Rule
				159-1-1-.08.
Applicants that voluntarily withdraw Base Tax Credit
				  applications prior to a decision by GDEcD may reapply for the same project in
				  the future. Projects that are denied and fail to appeal within the thirty (30)
				  day timeframe for filing appeals cannot reapply. In the instance of
				  co-productions, the applicant company must provide a written agreement to
				  GDEcD, signed by both production companies, that identifies which production
				  company will be entitled to earn and claim the film tax credit. In the instance
				  of a work-for-hire, the work-for-hire company is not eligible for the Film Tax
				  Credit.
If a Feature Film, Pilot, Series, TV Movie, Music Video, or
				  Commercial Advertisement is certified, but does not begin filming within thirty
				  (30) days of the Principal Photography Start Date identified in the Completed
				  Application and does not notify GDEcD of a change in schedule, a retraction of
				  the Base Certification Letter may be issued. Any material changes to the
				  information provided in the Completed Application must be made in writing to
				  GDEcD within thirty (30) days from the date of the material
				  change.