---
title: HB 655. Income tax; postproduction expenditures; renew a tax credit
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb655
cite_as: HB 655, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb655
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb655.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb655/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70854
date: 2025-02-28
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb655.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 655
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-26
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
  - Scott Hilton
  - James Burchett
  - David Clark
  - Kasey Carpenter
  - Steven Sainz
  - Spencer Frye
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB655/2025
upstream_id: 1986121
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - film tax credits
  - income tax
  - postproduction industry
  - rural economic development
  - Georgia film industry
---

# HB 655. Income tax; postproduction expenditures; renew a tax credit

## Text

House Bill 655
By: Representatives Hilton of the 48th, Burchett of the 176th, Clark of the 100th, Carpenter of
the 4th, Sainz of the 180th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to imposition, rate, computation, exemptions, and credits for income taxes, so as to
renew a tax credit for postproduction expenditures; to increase the annual aggregate limit;
to provide for an additional credit if certain qualified expenditures are incurred in certain
rural counties; to provide for qualified productions and expenditures; to allow the credit with
respect to special venue projects; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective
date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
imposition, rate, computation, exemptions, and credits for income taxes, is amended in Code
Section 48-7-40.26A, relating to tax credits for postproduction expenditures, by revising
paragraphs (5) and (6) of subsection (b) and subsections (d) and (f) and by adding a new
subsection to read as follows:
"(5) 'Qualified postproduction expenditures' means expenditures incurred in this state
directly in qualified postproduction activities, including without limitation the following:
(A) Costs associated with photography and sound synchronization;
(B) Expenditures, excluding license fees, incurred with Georgia companies for sound
recordings and musical compositions, lighting, and related services and materials;
(C) Editing and related services;
(D) Rental of facilities and equipment;
(E) Leasing of vehicles;
(F) Costs of food and lodging;
(G) Digital or tape editing, film processing, transfers of film to tape or digital format,
sound mixing, computer graphics services, <del>special</del> <ins>visual</ins> effects services, and
animation services;
(H) Total aggregate payroll;
(I) Airfare, if purchased through a Georgia travel agency or travel company;
(J) Insurance costs and bonding, if purchased through a Georgia insurance agency; and
(K) Other direct postproduction costs for the project in accordance with generally
accepted entertainment industry practices.
<del>This</del> <ins>Such</ins> term includes expenditures incurred in this state <del>for footage shot</del> <ins>with respect
to a qualified production shot, recorded, or originally created</ins> inside <ins>this state</ins> or outside
this state.
(6) 'Qualified production' means a film, video, or digital project, including only the
following: feature films, series, pilots, movies for television, televised commercial
advertisements, music videos, interactive entertainment, <ins>special venue projects,</ins> or sound
recording projects used in feature films, series, pilots, or movies for television. <del>This</del> <ins>Such
</ins> term shall include projects shot, recorded, or originally created, <ins>whether inside this state
or outside this state,</ins> in either short or long form, animation and music, fixed on a delivery
system which includes without limitation film, videotape, computer disc, laser disc, and
any element of the digital domain, from which the program is viewed or reproduced, and
which is intended for multimarket commercial distribution via theaters, <ins>special venues,
</ins>
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. Such term shall not include the coverage of news and athletic
events, local interest programming, instructional videos, and corporate videos."
<ins>"(c.2) A postproduction company allowed a tax credit pursuant to subsection (c) or (c.1)
of this Code section shall be allowed an additional tax credit equal to 5 percent of the
qualified postproduction expenditures actually invested and expended by the
postproduction company in a taxable year if $250,000.00 or more of the qualified
postproduction expenditures are incurred in one or more counties in this state that
individually have a population of less than 100,000 with 10 percent or more of such
population living in poverty based upon the most recent, reliable, and applicable data
published by the United States Bureau of the Census. On or before December 31 of each
year, the commissioner of community affairs shall publish a list of such counties.
</ins> (d) <del>The tax credits allowed under this Code section for all postproduction companies shall
be subject to the following aggregate annual caps:
(1)</del> For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, <del>2018</del> <ins>2026,</ins> and before January 1,
<del>2019</del> <ins>2031,</ins> the aggregate amount of tax credits allowed under this Code section shall not
exceed <del>$10</del> <ins>$60</ins> million <ins>per year;
</ins> <del>(2) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2019, and before January 1, 2020,
the aggregate amount of tax credits allowed under this Code section shall not exceed $10
million;
(3) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2023,
the aggregate amount of tax credits allowed under this Code section shall not exceed $10
million per year;
(4) The tax credits allowed under this Code section shall not be available for taxable
years beginning on or after January 1, 2023; and
</del>
<del>(5) If;</del> <ins>provided, however, that, if</ins> the aggregate amount of tax credits claimed by
taxpayers under this Code section during a year is less than the aggregate annual cap
applicable to such year, the unclaimed portion of the aggregate annual cap shall be added
to the aggregate annual cap applicable to the next succeeding year or years until it is fully
claimed."
"(f) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, <del>2018</del> <ins>2026,</ins> and before January 1,
<del>2023</del> <ins>2031,</ins> the postproduction company shall report to the Department of Revenue on its
Georgia income tax return the monthly average number of full-time employees subject to
Georgia income tax withholding for the taxable year. <ins>As used in</ins> <del>For purposes of</del> this
subsection, the term 'full-time employee' <del>shall mean</del> <ins>means</ins> a person who performs a job
that requires a minimum of 35 hours <del>a</del> <ins>per</ins> week, and pays at or above the average wage
earned in the county with the lowest average wage earned in this state, as reported in the
most recently available annual issue of the Georgia Employment and Wages Averages
Report of the Department of Labor. Notwithstanding Code Sections 48-2-15, 48-7-60, and
48-7-61, for such taxable years, the commissioner shall annually report to the House
Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Finance Committee. The report shall
include the name, tax year beginning, and monthly average number of full-time employees
for each postproduction company. The <del>first</del> report shall be submitted <ins>annually</ins> by June 30,
<del>2018, and each year thereafter by June 30."
</del> SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025, and shall be applicable to all taxable years
beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.

House Bill 655 would revive Georgia's postproduction film tax credit, which lapsed after 2022, raise its annual cap from $10 million to $60 million, and add a bonus credit for spending in certain low income rural counties.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia previously offered a tax credit to postproduction companies (businesses that do film editing, sound mixing, visual effects and similar work after filming) for money they spent in the state, but that credit stopped applying to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2023. House Bill 655 would bring the credit back for taxable years from 2026 through 2030, and raise the yearly statewide cap on these credits from $10 million to $60 million.
The bill also creates a new 5 percent bonus credit for postproduction companies that spend $250,000 or more in counties with fewer than 100,000 residents where at least 10 percent of the population lives in poverty, based on U.S. Census data. It expands the list of qualifying projects to include 'special venue projects' and clarifies that footage shot outside Georgia can still count if the production is otherwise based in the state. Companies claiming the credit must keep reporting employment figures to the legislature each year by June 30. The changes would take effect July 1, 2025, and apply to taxable years starting on or after January 1, 2026.

### What it does

- Renews the postproduction expenditure income tax credit under O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.26A for taxable years beginning January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030, after it had lapsed for years starting in 2023.
- Raises the statewide annual cap on total postproduction tax credits from $10 million to $60 million per year.
- Creates a new 5 percent bonus credit for postproduction companies that spend $250,000 or more in smaller counties (population under 100,000) where at least 10 percent of residents live in poverty.
- Directs the commissioner of community affairs to publish a list of qualifying rural, high-poverty counties by December 31 each year.
- Expands the definition of a qualifying production to include 'special venue projects' and clarifies that footage shot outside Georgia can still qualify for the credit.
- Continues a requirement that postproduction companies claiming the credit report full-time employee counts to the Department of Revenue, which must summarize this for state legislative committees by June 30 each year.

### Who it affects

Postproduction companies working on film, TV, music video, and interactive entertainment projects in Georgia; the state Department of Revenue and Department of Community Affairs, which administer and report on the credit; and residents of smaller, higher poverty Georgia counties that could see increased postproduction spending.

### Why it matters

Postproduction companies would again be able to claim state income tax credits for editing, sound, and visual effects work done in Georgia starting in 2026, with a much larger pool of credits available than before. Companies that direct spending to certain rural, high poverty counties could earn an extra credit, potentially shifting where postproduction work happens in the state.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.26A's definition of 'qualified postproduction expenditures' to clarify it covers footage shot inside or outside Georgia connected to an in-state production.
- Section 1 expands 'qualified production' to explicitly include special venue projects alongside feature films, series, pilots, and music videos.
- Section 1 adds a new subsection (c.2) creating a 5 percent bonus credit for spending $250,000 or more in smaller counties with high poverty rates, as identified annually by the commissioner of community affairs.
- Section 1 revises subsection (d) to reset the aggregate annual cap at $60 million for taxable years 2026 through 2030, replacing the prior $10 million cap that applied through 2022.
- Section 1 keeps a carryover rule letting unclaimed portions of a year's aggregate cap roll into future years until fully claimed.
- Section 1 extends the requirement that postproduction companies report monthly average full-time employee counts to the Department of Revenue, which must relay a summary to the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees by June 30 annually.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applying to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2025-02-26)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-28)
- Sponsors: Scott Hilton, James Burchett, David Clark, Kasey Carpenter, Steven Sainz, Spencer Frye
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70854

> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb655.md?full=1