The Michigan film tax credit was repealed on July 10, 2015, and as of 2026 the state has no active film production incentive. Public Act 117 of 2015 barred the Michigan Film Office and the Michigan Strategic Fund from entering any new incentive agreements or increasing funding under existing ones. Legislation to create a replacement has been introduced but has not passed.
What Michigan Offers Productions Today
No credit, no rebate, no cash grant. The Michigan Film and Digital Media Office still operates under the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, but its role is limited to production services: location scouting, permitting assistance, and a database of Michigan productions dating back to 1940. If you are budgeting a project, treat Michigan as a zero-incentive state and plan accordingly.
Michigan is one of roughly a dozen states with no active film production incentive.
What the Repealed Program Offered
From 2008 until the 2015 repeal, Michigan ran one of the most generous film incentive programs in the country. Under MCL 208.1455, refundable credits reached up to 42 percent for direct production costs in a designated “core community” such as Detroit, up to 40 percent for production costs elsewhere in the state, and up to 30 percent for qualified personnel expenditures like crew wages. The minimum qualifying spend was $50,000 on development, preproduction, production, or postproduction for a certified project.
The Michigan Film Office reviewed applications and, with the concurrence of the State Treasurer, set the exact credit percentage for each expenditure category. Eligible costs included location fees, equipment rentals, and wages paid to Michigan residents. Marketing and distribution were excluded. After production wrapped, the Film Office reviewed the company’s financials and, if the terms of the agreement had been met, issued a postproduction certificate of completion. The company submitted that certificate to the Department of Treasury with its Michigan Business Tax return to claim the credit. A 0.5 percent application and redemption fee was deducted from the payout and deposited into the Michigan Film Promotion Fund.
The Snyder administration capped annual spending at $25 million in 2012, later raising the cap to $50 million. The program drew criticism over its cost per job created, and House Bill 4122 — enacted as Public Act 117 of 2015 — closed it to new agreements.
The Proposed Multimedia Jobs Act
House Bill 4907 and Senate Bill 438, introduced in 2023, would create a transferable tax credit covering traditional film and television as well as commercials, corporate media, and music videos. The structure is markedly different from the old program:
- 30 percent credit for hiring Michigan residents
- 20 percent credit for hiring nonresidents
- 10 percent credit for patronizing Michigan businesses
The minimum spend would be $300,000 for projects running 20 minutes or longer and $50,000 for shorter projects and commercial photography. Individual compensation would be capped at $500,000 per person, well below the $2 million cap under the former program.
The transferability piece matters. Under the old refundable system, the state wrote checks to production companies. A transferable credit lets a company that cannot use the full amount against its own Michigan tax liability sell the credit to another Michigan taxpayer, which reduces the state’s direct cash outlay. As of early 2026, the bills have moved through committee but have not received final approval from either chamber or the governor’s signature. Budget your project as though they will not pass.
If You Still Hold a Pre-2015 Credit
Credits earned under agreements signed before the 2015 repeal remain claimable under the terms of those agreements. If some portion of a credit has not been fully claimed, a tax professional familiar with both the Michigan Business Tax and the current Corporate Income Tax can advise on how remaining credits can be applied. Treasury guidance on MCL 208.1455 and the related infrastructure credit under MCL 208.1457 addresses the mechanics.
If you disagree with a Treasury determination on a pending claim, you can appeal to either the Michigan Tax Tribunal or the Court of Claims. The two bodies operate independently and can reach different conclusions on similar issues, so the choice of forum is a strategic decision worth discussing with counsel. Appeals succeed or fail on documentation. Pull together the original agreement with the Film Office, financial records supporting every claimed expenditure, the postproduction certificate of completion if one was issued, and all correspondence with the Film Office or Treasury. Incomplete records make it nearly impossible to challenge an adverse determination regardless of the merits.
Federal Tax Treatment
The IRS looks at the substance of a state payment rather than how state law labels it. When a state credit functions as a refund of taxes actually paid, it generally is not included in federal gross income because it represents a return of an overpayment. When the credit exceeds what the taxpayer paid in state tax, the IRS treats the excess as includable in federal gross income.
If Michigan enacts the proposed transferable credit, sales of those credits add another layer. Under the IRS framework for transferable credits developed in connection with the Inflation Reduction Act, consideration received from selling a tax credit is generally not included in the seller’s gross income, and the buyer does not get a deduction for the purchase price. A buyer who acquires credits at a discount does not recognize that discount as income. An anti-abuse rule can recharacterize transactions where the principal purpose is avoiding tax liability beyond the credit’s intended scope.
Planning a Michigan Shoot Now
Build your budget assuming no state incentive. Contact the Michigan Film and Digital Media Office for the production services it does provide — location databases and permitting help — but expect nothing financial from the state. If the Multimedia Jobs Act passes, the structure, caps, and transferability rules will all affect how a credit flows through your production company and any investors, so revisit the budget once a bill is actually signed rather than planning around the possibility.