Introduction

Whether you’re a publicly held movie studio conglomerate producing and distributing substantial numbers of films annually commanding significant shares of box office revenues worldwide or an independent filmmaker, movie production tax incentives should certainly be considered and incorporated into the tax planning process to properly tax effect the cost of filmmaking.

Synopsis of Movie Production Tax Incentives

Movie Production Tax Incentives (hereinafter “MPIs”) are tax benefits offered on a state-by-state basis throughout the United States to entice, as applicable, in-state qualified phases of Read More

Whether a commercial building owner is undergoing new construction or remodeling, energy tax incentives should certainly be utilized to essentially tax effect the commercial building owner’s expenditures for undergoing the energy efficient renovation project.

As enacted in The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (hereinafter “EPAct”), the I.R.C. § 179D Energy Tax Deduction for building envelope efficiency encourages building owners to “Build Green” to not only save money by reducing their utility bills on a carry-forward basis, but to also reduce their tax liability on their tax returns as well.

As a synopsis of I.R.C. § 179D, commercial building owners can take a federal-level tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot of the building’s envelope if they install property Read More

The Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program, jointly administered by the National Park Service and the State Historic Preservation Offices, is the nation’s most effective Federal-level program to promote both urban and rural revitalization and to encourage private investment in rehabilitating historic buildings. These preservation tax incentives apply explicitly to preserving income-producing historic property and have generated billions of dollars in historic and rehabilitation preservation activity since the program’s commencement in 1976.

There are two categories of preservation tax credits as outlined below:

• Pursuant to I.R.C. § 47(a)(1), the Rehabilitation Tax Credit offers a 10% tax credit Read More

On September 22 of 2015, Senate Democrats introduced a comprehensive energy reform bill entitled “The American Energy Innovation Act” that would reform current energy policy and enhance over forty tax incentives subsidizing energy production.

The legislation addresses the need for the creation of new energy based jobs in connection to both infrastructure advancements and technological innovation. As a synopsis, the bill includes programs essential to renewed economic growth in the energy sector that empower consumers; modernize infrastructure; cut carbon pollution and waste; invest in clean energy; and support research and development initiatives.

The tax aspects of the legislation would modify several energy tax incentives already in Read More

As a synopsis, Movie Production Tax Incentives (hereinafter “MPIs”) are tax benefits offered on a state-by-state basis throughout the United States to entice, as applicable, in-state qualified phases of filmmaking production such as the “Qualified Pre-Production Phase”; the “Qualified Production Phase” and the “Qualified Post-Production Phase”. The state-by-state legislative histories and policies driving MPIs are clearly aimed at increasing economic growth at the state and local levels through filmmaking and television production throughout the United States while curtailing the departure of movie production to other countries.

While the applicable Qualifying Production Activities (hereinafter “QPAs”) vary significantly from state-to-state many common QPAs include, but are not limited to, feature films; Read More

The lifetime learning credit is another valuable educational tax credit that can be claimed to offset college expenses. You can claim the lifetime learning credit for qualified tuition and related expenses paid for yourself, your spouse, and any dependent on your tax return who is enrolled at any accredited college, university, vocational school, or other accredited post-secondary educational institution. As its name implies, there is no limit for the number of years for which the lifetime learning credit can be claimed for any student.

Please note, however, that unlike the American opportunity credit:

• The lifetime learning credit is not based on the student’s workload. It is allowed for one or more courses. Read More

The California Film Commission has recently adopted new regulations effective on April 13, 2015 (i.e., Cal. Code Regs. §§ 5508, 5509, 5510, 5511, 5512, 5513, 5514, 5515, and 5516, Tit. 10) to implement the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program 2.0, including but not limited to guidance in connection to expanded definitions; the application process for tax credit allocations; the eligibility determination; the qualified production expenditures; the approved applicant responsibility; the credit certificate issuance process; the job ratio ranking process; and the on screen credit and promotional requirements.

The new regulations implement the new California Film & Television Tax Credit Program under the corporate income and franchise tax laws and the personal income tax laws Read More

This is a very valuable credit for students who are pursuing a first degree in college. You can claim this credit for yourself, your spouse, or any dependent that you claim on your tax return.

It is very important to note that the American opportunity credit can be claimed ONLY for the first four years of post-secondary education for each eligible student. This means, then, that this credit is applicable only to college students who are in their freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years. This credit is therefore not available to post-grad students.

To be eligible to claim the American opportunity credit, the following conditions Read More

H.R. 1891 (114th Congress), the African Growth and Opportunity Act Extension and Enhancement Act of 2015, sponsored by Congressman Paul Ryan, extends the “African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Generalized System of Preferences, the preferential duty treatment program for Haiti, and for other purposes.” It is a revenue loser, but has a supposed revenue offset. That offset is really a fake in that it doesn’t raise any revenue, it just accelerates revenue into an earlier year that falls within the 5-year budget measurement period for the bill.

The shifting of tax revenues is accomplished by accelerating corporate estimated tax payments. H.R. 1891 proposes to modify IRC Section 6655 as follows: Read More

Whether a commercial property owner is undergoing new construction or remodeling, energy tax incentives should certainly be utilized to essentially tax effect the commercial building owner’s expenditures for undergoing the energy efficient renovation project.

As enacted in The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (hereinafter “EPAct”), the I.R.C. § 179D Energy Tax Deduction for building envelope efficiency encourages building owners to “Build Green” to not only save money by reducing their utility bills on a carry-forward basis, but to also reduce their tax liability on their tax returns as well.

As a synopsis of I.R.C. § 179D, commercial building owners can take a federal-level tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot of the building’s envelope if they install property Read More

The adoption tax credit provides an incentive for individuals or families to adopt a child. You may qualify for the adoption credit if you adopted or attempted to adopt a child in 2014, and paid qualified expenses relating to the adoption. The credit is valued at up to $13,190 for each effort to adopt an eligible child. The effort ends when the child is adopted. For 2014, the adoption credit is a nonrefundable credit

A credit for adoption is available for persons who:

• Adopt a domestic (US) child under the age of 18
• Adopt a domestic special needs child (certified by a state agency)
• Adopt a foreign child whose adoption became final in the current tax year Read More

Movie Production Incentives (hereinafter “MPIs”) are tax benefits offered on a state-by-state basis throughout the United States to entice, as applicable, in-state qualified phases of filmmaking production such as the “Qualified Pre-Production Phase”; the “Qualified Production Phase” and the “Qualified Post-Production Phase”. The state-by-state legislative histories and policies driving MPIs are clearly aimed at increasing economic growth at the state and local levels through filmmaking and television production throughout the United States while curtailing the departure of movie production to other countries.

While the applicable Qualifying Production Activities (hereinafter “QPAs”) vary significantly from state-to-state many common QPAs include, but are not limited to, feature films, Read More