HB 1476: Income tax; credits for postproduction expenditures; revise amount of credit

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.

• 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.

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.

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.

• 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.

1. 2026-03-04House Committee Favorably Reported (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2026-03-04House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2026-03-03House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2026-02-26House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)Patrocinador principal
• Kasey Carpenter (R, HD-004)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)

• film tax credits
• postproduction incentives
• income tax
• Georgia entertainment industry
• corporate tax policy