Here It Is: The New Colorado Film Incentive Program

• 20-percent cash rebate for production costs taking place in the state. The incentive program covers feature films, television pilots, television series (broadcast and cable), television commercials, music videos, industrials, documentaries, video game design and creation, and other forms of content creation.
• To be eligible, a Colorado production company must have qualified local expenditures of at least $100,000. An out-of-state production company must have at least $1 million in qualified local expenditures (the exception being television commercials and video game productions, which must have qualified local expenditures of $250,000). 
• The program takes effect July 1, 2012.
• An additional component of the new incentive is a loan guarantee program with the state, guaranteeing up to 20 percent of a production budget. This program is only available to film productions. 

Other major components of the new incentive program include:

• At least 50 percent of the work force must be Colorado residents.
• Qualified local expenditures include above-the-line and below-the-line salaries, so long as income taxes are paid in Colorado. Cap of $1 million on any one employee.
• Requires a production company that has received conditional approval for an incentive to retain a certified public accountant licensed to practice in this state to conduct an audit of financial documents that detail the expenses incurred in the course of the film production activities in Colorado, and requires such certified public accountant to certify to the office that the requirements were met.
• Approximately $4 million available for fiscal year July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013
• Colorado has limited funding for this program and projects will be selected based on the merits set forth in their application and not on a “first-come, first-served” basis.

The application process is currently in development and should be open for submissions shortly.