Warner, Colleagues Sponsor Bipartisan Bill to Establish a Federal Film Tax Credit

WASHINGTON— U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and a coalition of bipartisan lawmakers sponsored the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Ac t, legislation to create a federal film tax incentive. “Film and television production supports good-paying jobs and small businesses across Virginia and across the country. This bill will help keep more productions — and the jobs they create — here at home, while giving Virginia’s talented artists and production workers more opportunities to succeed. I’m proud to support this effort,” said Sen. Warner. The Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act would: Spur American jobs and economic development by providing a 20% federal, labor-based tax credit to U.S. film and television productions with minimum spend of $1 million and where at least 75% of the principal photography days occur within the U.S.; Offer 5% bonus credit allowances, increasing the base credit up to a maximum of 30%, for productions in rural opportunity zones and areas impacted by disasters, independent productions, multi-state producers in 10+ states, and producers who show a measurable onshoring of productions; Make the credit available to traditional post-production and visual effects activities when at least 75% of the respective post-production and visual effects production takes place in the U.S.; and Support the investments of states currently offering incentives by allowing the federal incentive to supplement state credits. In addition to Sen. Warner, the legislation is sponsored by Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tim Scott (R-SC), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), and Tim Sheehy (R-MT). Companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives is sponsored by Reps. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX-01), Linda Sanchez (D-CA- 38), Brian Jack (R-GA-03), Laura Friedman (D-CA-30), Mike Carey (R-OH-15), Judy Chu (D-CA-28), David Kustoff (R-TN-08), Tom Suozzi (D-NY-03), Vince Fong (R-CA-20), and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5). This bill is endorsed bytheAmerican Federation of Musicians, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), CreativeFuture, Coalition for American Production (CAP), Directors Guild of America (DGA), FilmUSA, Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Motion Picture Association (MPA), Producers Guild of America (PGA), Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Teamsters, Television Academy, U.S. Film and Television Production Coalition, Writers Guild of America East (WGAE), and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW). Sen. Warner is a strong supporter of the performing arts industry. In 2025, the senator introduced the Performing Artists Tax Parity Act , legislation to provide much-needed tax relief to working artists. Sen. Warner also sponsored the CREATE Act , legislation to allow entertainers, singers, and songwriters to write off production expenses by extending Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 181 for five years. The senator also sent a letter to Leaders Thune and Schumer in 2025 urging them to consider legislation to extend Section 181 before it expired. Read the full bill here . ###