Newsom Expands Film & TV Tax Credits, Boosts Post-Production Jobs

LOS ANGELES – Gov. Newsom Sept. 19 signed new legislation further expanding California’s nation-leading film and television tax credit program and creating a new tax credit to support workers in all areas of post-production, including picture editorial, sound, music, visual effects, and finishing.

This adds to the governor’s previous expansion of the program in 2025, which more than doubled the tax credit from $330 million to $750 million last July and opened it to a broader range of television and animated productions. Since the expansion, the governor has announced 170 projects that together are expected to bring more than $6.6 billion in economic activity and nearly 35,000 cast and crew jobs across California.

The Film and Television Tax Credit has generated billions of dollars of economic activity in the state, supported hundreds of thousands of cast and crew jobs, and brought productions back where they belong: here in California.

Today’s announcement:

Creates a tax credit for post production work supporting the editors, visual effects artists, musicians, and other creatives who bring film and television to life, Assembly Bill 2319 by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank).

Strengthens the current tax credit program by making credits more valuable through enhanced refundability and supports independent productions by exempting some of their tax credits from the temporary credit limitation starting in 2027, Senate Bill 186 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review).

Since its inception in 2009, California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program has generated over $34.2 billion in economic activity and supported more than 243,000 cast and crew jobs across the state. In years past, for every $1.00 of tax credit awarded, California has seen massive returns: $24.40 in economic output, $16.14 in GDP, and $8.60 in wages.