Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1476: Income tax; credits for postproduction expenditures; revise amount of credit
Last action March 4, 2026 · House Committee Favorably Reported
House Bill 1476 would raise Georgia's film postproduction tax credit from 20 percent to 30 percent of qualified expenses, while removing a separate 10 percent bonus credit and adding new rules on double-dipping between production and postproduction credits.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia currently gives postproduction companies (studios that handle editing, visual effects, sound and similar work after filming) a tax credit worth 20 percent of their qualified expenses, plus an extra 10 percent if the related production work happened in Georgia, plus another 5 percent in certain lower-income counties. This bill raises the base credit to 30 percent but eliminates the separate 10 percent bonus for in-state production work, while keeping the 5 percent county bonus. The bill also rewrites the rules on claiming this credit alongside Georgia's main film production tax credit (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.26). Currently, expenses already claimed under the production credit cannot also be claimed under the postproduction credit. The bill flips this: a postproduction company can now claim both credits, but not for the exact same expenditures, and it adds a definition of 'affiliate' companies for tracking related-entity claims. The changes would take effect July 1, 2026, and apply to tax years starting on or after January 1, 2026.
What the bill does
- Raises the postproduction tax credit rate from 20 percent to 30 percent of qualified postproduction expenditures.
- Eliminates the additional 10 percent credit that was previously available when related production expenditures were incurred in Georgia.
- Keeps a separate 5 percent bonus credit for production expenditures incurred in tier 1 or tier 2 counties, as designated for economic development purposes.
- Allows a postproduction company to claim this credit even if it also claims Georgia's separate production expenditure credit, but bars claiming both credits for the same expenditures.
- Adds a legal definition of 'affiliate' companies, based on federal tax code affiliated-group rules, for purposes of coordinating credit claims among related businesses.
- Sets the changes to take effect July 1, 2026, applying to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
Who it affects
Georgia postproduction companies that handle film and TV editing, visual effects, sound mixing, and similar work; production companies and their corporate affiliates that also claim Georgia's film production tax credit; and the state treasury, which would see changes in tax credit costs tied to the film and TV industry.
Why it matters
A higher postproduction credit rate could make Georgia more attractive for editing, visual effects, and sound work tied to film and TV projects, while the new rules on claiming both credits change how much companies can save on taxes and how the state tracks related businesses to prevent duplicate claims.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.26A(c)(2)(A), raising the base postproduction credit from 20 percent to 30 percent of qualified postproduction expenditures.
- Section 1 deletes the former (c)(2)(B), which had allowed an additional 10 percent credit when related production expenditures occurred in Georgia.
- Section 1 retains a 5 percent additional credit for production expenditures incurred in tier 1 or tier 2 counties designated by the commissioner of community affairs.
- Section 1 rewrites subsection (g) to let a postproduction company claim this credit even if it also claims a postproduction credit under the separate production expenditures statute (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.26), but not for the same expenditures.
- Section 1 adds a definition of 'affiliate' tied to Internal Revenue Code Section 1504(a) affiliated-group rules for tracking related-company credit claims.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, applying to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.
From the bill
“A postproduction company may claim a tax credit under this Code section for qualified postproduction expenditures even if such production company claims a tax credit for postproduction expenditures under Code Section 48-7-40.26 in this state.”
“No postproduction company or any affiliate thereof that claims a tax credit under this Code section shall be eligible to claim a tax credit under Code Section 48-7-40.26 for the same qualified postproduction expenditures or production expenditures.”
Discussed in meetings (4)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Creative Arts & Entertainment Committee, March 4, 2026
From 0:05:45 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1476 would correct language that prevents some postproduction companies doing business in Georgia from receiving the existing tax credit, so the law would work as originally intended. The sponsor said the bill would raise the base credit from 20% to 30% to make Georgia more competitive, noting that many states offer 40%. The chair asked whether the bill instead replaces the existing 20% credit and possible additional 10% with a flat 30% credit, without increasing the maximum amount. The sponsor confirmed that description and agreed with the chair's explanation that the change would focus the credit on the intended companies. A committee member moved for a do-pass recommendation, and the motion was seconded. The chair declared the motion approved by voice vote and said the bill could proceed to Rules. No vote count was stated.
House Rules Committee, March 5, 2026
From 0:32:22 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1476 would revise the postproduction tax credit to ensure companies actually located in Georgia receive it. A committee member raised concern that the same spending might qualify for credits at two levels, potentially producing a credit of 60% to 65% of spending. The member planned to discuss that concern with the sponsor. The chair noted that the bill was not yet in members' packets, and no action was taken.
Status timeline
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Soo Hong (R, HD-103)
- Kasey Carpenter (R, HD-4)
- Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
- Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
- Chas Cannon (R, HD-172)
Topics
- film tax credits
- postproduction incentives
- income tax
- Georgia entertainment industry
- corporate tax policy