Frequently Asked Questions

13. Do I need to be a Wisconsin-based production company?

No, it is not necessary for the production company to be based in Wisconsin.

14. How do I meet the minimums to qualify for the program?

Productions must meet the minimum salary and wage requirements based on the length of their production, with all qualifying minimums paid through W-2s.

15. Do all payments made to cast and crew need to be to Wisconsin residents or employed by a Wisconsin company as part of the qualifying salary and wage minimums?

No, the cast and crew do not need to be Wisconsin residents and do not need to be employed by a Wisconsin company.

16. What are the withholding requirements for the State of Wisconsin?

Wisconsin has an existing withholding requirement for companies (e.g., film production companies) that contract with nonresident loan-out companies to provide live entertainment services (e.g., stand-up comedy, concerts, theater) in Wisconsin. More information on nonresident entertainer withholding is found on our Nonresident Entertainers web page.

The film production company requests a federal Form W-9 from the nonresident loan-out company. Form W-9 is a request for the taxpayer identification number and contact information. When the film production company receives the invoice for payment, assuming the invoice is over $7,000, they must withhold 6% from the total contract price paid to the loan-out company.

The film production company uses Wisconsin Form WT-11 to report and pay the withholding to DOR. The film production company must also give the loan-out company a copy of the Form WT-11 so the loan-out company can file the appropriate income tax form and claim the withholding taxes against their income taxes due to Wisconsin. 

In addition, the loan-out company must register for Wisconsin withholding taxes on payments made to its nonresident employees for services performed in Wisconsin, if the nonresident employee earns more than $2,000 in wages. See Withholding on employee wages described above.

17. How do I find a CPA for my required production audit to produce an independent audit report for my completed project?

You can search for a CPA located in Wisconsin in your area through the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants: Find a CPA | Wisconsin Institute of CPAs

18. What are the on-screen logo requirements?

Approved projects are required to promote Wisconsin by visibly displaying a static or animated logo approved by Film Wisconsin in the end credits for the life of the project.

• The approved logo must be prominently displayed and can share the viewable display space with other images or text.
• Television commercials are exempt from logo requirements. 

19. Will Film Wisconsin purchase or facilitate the purchase of a Tax Credit Certificate?

No, it is the responsibility of the credit recipient to utilize or transfer the tax credit. Film Wisconsin does not facilitate credit transfers.

21. How do I claim the tax credits?

Tax credits are claimed by filing a Wisconsin income or franchise tax return with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) and attaching the Tax Credit Certificate issued by Film Wisconsin to the tax return. The certified credit amount for the taxable year is claimed on a specific tax credit schedule* that becomes part of the tax return for that year.

• The film credit schedule is currently being developed – a draft 2026 credit schedule will be available on DOR's website in fall 2026. 

The credits are first available for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025. For example, a 2026 calendar year tax return may be filed with DOR starting in January 2027 to claim a tax credit certified for the 2026 tax year. 

If a taxpayer has already filed their Wisconsin income/franchise tax return prior to receiving certification from Film Wisconsin, the taxpayer must file an amended Wisconsin tax return to claim the credit. Wisconsin law requires income/franchise tax credits to be claimed by filing a tax return within 4 years of the unextended due date of the tax return applicable to the credit. 

22. Will I receive a check in the mail if there is any tax credit remaining after offsetting the tax due on my Wisconsin income/franchise tax return?

This depends on which credit is certified by Film Wisconsin and what you choose to do with your refund. Some of the film credits are nonrefundable credits that cannot generate a refund; they may only offset the tax on the Wisconsin income/franchise tax return.

One of the film credits is refundable and may generate a refund for a taxpayer after their net tax liability is reduced to zero. A claimant may choose to apply a refund as a payment towards their next year's estimated tax liability or receive the refund by paper check or by direct deposit, if available. 

Below is the available film tax credits and their character as refundable or nonrefundable:

Film Production Company Investment Credits:

• Nonrefundable

Film Production Services Credits:

• Refundable
  • 30% of the production expenditures paid by the claimant to produce an accredited production 
• Nonrefundable
  • 30% of the salary of wages paid by the claimant to the claimant's Wisconsin resident employees to produce an accredited production (to the extent that such salaries and wages are not claimed as part of production expenditures above)
  • 100% of any Wisconsin sales and use taxes that are not already claimed as part of the production expenditures above

23. Can I sell or transfer the film tax credits? If so, how? 

The nonrefundable film tax credits, as described above, may be sold or transferred by the claimant upon approval by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR). The form and instructions for requesting approval by DOR is under development. 

Before DOR approves the transfer, the following must occur:

• The requester must be certified by Film Wisconsin to claim the specific amounts of tax credits on a Wisconsin income/franchise tax return for each tax year.
• The requester must file their Wisconsin income/franchise tax return for each tax year to claim the credits. 

The following documentation must be submitted with a request for DOR to approve a transfer. Additional information or documentation may be requested.

• A copy of the Tax Credit Certificate from Film Wisconsin
• A copy of the proposed or executed credit transfer documents (i.e., a sale/purchase agreement)
• A copy of Wisconsin tax forms, Schedules 2K-1, 3K-1, or 5K-1, if the requester was allocated the film credits as a beneficiary of an estate or trust or as an owner of a partnership or tax-option (S) corporation. 

Upon approval of the transfer, DOR will issue a Notice of Certification indicating the ownership of the credit has been transferred. This notice will go to the transferor. The transferor is responsible for delivering the notice to the transferee. The department will not provide the notice to the transferee. 

 24. What is the timeframe for DOR to certify a credit transfer? 

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue often processes income/franchise tax returns within 8 weeks of receipt. It may take more or less time depending on whether there are issues flagged during the processing of the tax return.

25. Who can I talk to for specific tax-based inquiries?

Taxpayers and practitioners should send inquiries to DORFranchise@wisconsin.gov

26. I own a production company planning to apply for the Production Company Investment Credit. Are there limitations on eligibility? 

The credit can only be claimed for the first three taxable years that the claimant is doing business in this state as a film production company.

27. Salaries and Wages are eligible under two different sections of the Production Services Tax Credit, and wages paid to both resident and out-of-state employees, and workers are eligible as long as the work is performed in the state. Can you break down the different components?

There are two situations that productions in Wisconsin should consider. 

Salaries and wages of applicant's employees: An applicant that has their own employees must issue their employees a W-2 wage statement. An employer is responsible for knowing where their employees work and which states they must withhold taxes from for work performed in those states. Note that sec. 71.28(5f)(b)1., has multiple criteria that have to be met for salaries and wages for the applicant's employees: 

"an amount equal to 30 percent of the salary or wages paid by the claimant to the claimant’s employees in the taxable year for services rendered in this state to produce an accredited production and paid to employees who were residents of this state at the time that they were paid."

Production expenditures:

• An applicant that hires independent contractors for their labor must issue the individuals a 1099-NEC. Generally, there is no tax withheld, but the applicant should still know where they hired the contractors to perform work.
• An applicant that pays a corporation for services generally only has an invoice or contract with the corporation for the work performed. 

In either case, the applicant must prove the expenditures meet the definition in sec. 71.28(5f)(a)4., Wis. Stats.:

“Production expenditures” means any expenditures that are incurred in this state and directly used to produce an accredited production, including expenditures for writing, budgeting, casting, location scouts, set construction and operation, wardrobes, makeup, clothing accessories, photography, sound recording, sound synchronization, sound mixing, lighting, editing, film processing, film transferring, special effects, visual effects, renting or leasing facilities or equipment, renting or leasing motor vehicles, food, lodging, and any other similar pre-production, production, and post-production expenditure as determined by the state film office. “Production expenditures” includes expenditures for music that is performed, composed, or recorded by a musician who is a resident of this state or published or distributed by an entity that has its commercial domicile in this state; air travel that is purchased from a travel agency or company that has its commercial domicile in this state; and insurance that is purchased from an insurance agency or company that has its commercial domicile in this state. “Production expenditures” does not include salary or wages or expenditures for the marketing and distribution of an accredited production.

28. In the Film Production Services Credit, 30% of production expenditure is refundable. Does this mean that my production will receive an actual check once I file in Wisconsin if I don’t owe taxes or have a tax liability lower than the amount of the credit?

 Yes, a refundable credit will result in a refund check if the credit exceeds the net tax liability on their return. 

Note that in the case of certain pass-through entities (e.g., tax-option (S) corporations and partnerships), the shareholders/partners would get the refundable credit rather than the pass-through entity. This is because of the following language in the law for how credits are computed and passed through to owners:

71.28(5f)(c)4., Wis. Stats: Partnerships, limited liability companies, and tax-option corporations may not claim the credit under this subsection, but the eligibility for, and the amount of, the credit are based on their payment of amounts described under par. (b). A partnership, limited liability company, or tax-option corporation shall compute the amount of credit that each of its partners, members, or shareholders may claim and shall provide that information to each of them. Partners, members of limited liability companies, and shareholders of tax-option corporations may claim the credit in proportion to their ownership interests.

29. Does the Film Wisconsin $5M tax incentive program run on a calendar year or a fiscal year?

Per sec. 41.152(4), Wis. Stats., it runs on a fiscal year (July 1 through June 30).

30. If a production films on sovereign Tribal land located within the state of Wisconsin, can those production expenditures still potentially qualify as eligible Wisconsin spend under the state film tax credit program?

Nothing in the statutes specifically excludes filming on Tribal land, so these expenditures can potentially qualify. 

31. Can companies apply for the Investment Credit to lease production company space, studios, soundstages as part of their business? 

No, Leasing or renting is not an eligible expenditure. The Film Production Company Investment Credit may only be claimed on 30% of the following amounts paid in a taxable year:

• The purchase price of depreciable, tangible personal property.
• The amount expended to acquire, construct, rehabilitate, remodel, or repair real property.

32. Can companies that lease their facilities apply for the investment credit for updates, construction and improvements on leased property? 

A company that leases facilities in Wisconsin may be eligible to claim the Investment Credit for amounts paid to construct, rehabilitate, remodel or repair real property. So, amounts paid for realty improvements could be eligible.

33. What kind of ownership documentation is required when applying for the Production Company Investment Credit? 

Typically, in a DOR tax audit, documents would identify the company as the purchaser or title holder of the property. These documents include:

• Invoices or bill of sales, titles, deeds, or contracts depending on the type of expenditure made. 
• And/ or, the company's balance sheet or listing of assets to show that their financial/tax records show they have capitalized the assets and/or qualify for depreciation expense. 

34. To whose attention should the notice to the WDOR be sent, and is there a particular form in which this notice should be prepared and is there certain information that must be included in the notice? 

We are still working on this process. We plan to have a secure portal where the transfer form and documents can be uploaded. There will be a form and instructions which will be posted later this year. 

35. Does the notice need to be provided, and the WDOR’s approval received, before the transfer of the Credits occurs? 

Yes, we would highly recommend that the transfer of the credit not be finalized until DOR has approved the transfer. The law (secs. 71.07(5f)(d)3. and 71.07(5h)(d)2., Wis. Stats.) says the credit can only be transferred once DOR certifies ownership. 

36. Is a new certificate issued for the Credits in the transferee’s name? And if part of the Credits are transferred to one purchaser and part of the Credits are transferred to another purchaser, are new certificates issued in the names of both purchasers (for the respective amount of Credits that each purchaser purchased)? 

A new certificate would not be issued; however, the department will provide confirmation to the transferor that the transfer has been approved. The transferor will then be responsible for providing this documentation to the transferee. Additional details will be released at a later date. 

37. Is notice of the approval from the WDOR provided by mail, email or other means of communication? 

This process is still in development at this time, but we anticipate using secure email to send the approval letters. 

38. To which transfer party is the WDOR’s approval sent (transferee or transferor)? 

It will be sent to the transferor. 

39. Does the transferor need to provide the transferee with any specific documentation to perfect the transfer? And similarly, are there certain documents that the transferee must attach to its tax return to claim the transferred Credits?

This is still in development and will be included in the instructions for the transfer form. The transferor will send a copy of the Notice of Certification letter to transferee and that will serve as proof the credit was certified by DOR. We will likely require a copy of the proposed sales/purchase agreement. The transferee will likely be required to include a copy of the Notice of Certification letter with its tax return. 

40. Wisc. Stat. Ann. §§ 71.07(5f)(d)(3), 71.28(5f)(d)(3), 71.47(5f)(d)(3) each state that “The transferee may first use the credit to offset tax of the transferor in the taxable year in which the transfer occurs and may use the credit only to offset tax in taxable years in which the credit is otherwise allowed to be claimed and carried forward by the original claimant.” Is this statute interpreted as actually referring to the transferee’s ability to offset the tax of the transferee?

This was a drafting error that was subsequently corrected in 2025 Wisconsin Act 174. The point of this language is that the transferee cannot use the credit in an earlier year than the credit was initially earned by the transferor. 

41. Can the Credit be transferred more than one time (e.g., Production Company transfers the Credit to Purchaser A, and Purchaser A further transfers the Credit to Purchaser B). If so, is the transfer process the same as it is for the transfer from the Production Company to the initial purchaser? 

There is nothing in the statutes that would prohibit this.

42. For the portion of the Credit that is not transferable (based on 30% of the production expenditures paid by the claimant), can those Credits still be transferred to an affiliate of the Production Company that receives the Credits? 

The portion of the credit that is not transferable is fully refundable, so transferring the credit should not be necessary and we do not plan to allow transfers of refundable credits. The Production Company that originally receives the credits must claim the refundable credit on its own return. After it receives and deposits the refund, it is free to turn over the funds to an affiliate if it so chooses. 

43. If the Credits are transferred by a pass-through entity (partnership, limited liability company, or S corporation), who is the transferor of the Credits – is it the pass-through entity or the pass-through entities partners, members, or shareholders? In other words, does the Credit have to be passed through a corporation or individual in order to be transferred, or can the Credit be transferred by a pass-through entity? 

A pass-through entity is not able to sell or transfer the credit themselves; the credit must be allocated to the partner, members, or shareholders who would then sell or transfer the credit to another person subject to tax. Passing the credits through to partners, members, or shareholders is not considered transferring the credits. 

44. Does it matter when the Credits are sold? In other words, are the Credits required to be transferred before or after the Credits (and the Credit certificate) are awarded to the transferor? 

DOR cannot approve a transfer of a credit that has not yet been awarded and claimed on the tax return. If a potential transferor wants to enter preliminary discussions with a potential transferee regarding the potential transfer of a hypothetical credit that hasn't been awarded yet, that is not DOR's concern, and they are free to do so.

45. Are the Credits subject to possible recapture, and if so, would a transferee be liable for such recapture?

Yes, the credits are subject to recapture. DOR would assess the transferor and would only attempt to collect from the transferor.