Important California State Tax Credits And Incentives Updates

Monika Miles

Are you trying to pursue California’s state tax credits and incentives? If so, there are three recent updates you may want to know about: State Tax Credit and Online Reporting Requirements, Film & Television State Tax Credit Application Dates, and Film & TV Credit Expenditures and Payroll.

California Competes State Tax Credit and Online Reporting Requirements

As of January 1, 2017, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (Go-Biz) will be required to report more detail about businesses taking advantage of the the California Competes State Tax Credit.

Current law requires Go-Biz to report the following online:

  • The name of each taxpayer that receives a state tax credit
  • The estimated number of jobs that are created or retained by the credit
  • The amount of credit the taxpayer is allocated
  • The amount of state tax credit recaptured from the taxpayer

The new law requires Go-Biz to additionally post the following information online:

  • The primary location where the taxpayer will increase the net number of jobs or investments
  • Information identifying credits considered priority due to being located in a high unemployment or poverty area
  • Information that identifies if the state tax credit awarded is counted toward the amount allocated for small businesses

Film & Television State Tax Credit Application Dates

The California Film Commission just announced new application dates for the current version of the state tax credit program (version 2.0). Here are the noteworthy dates:

  • Application period: February 10, 2017 – February 17, 2017
  • Submit Phase II documents (for those that rank in the top 200%): February 21, 2017
  • State tax credit allocation letters issued: March 20, 2017

Film & TV Credit Expenditures and Payroll

The California Film Commission also made a few updates regarding expenditures and payroll qualifying for the tax credit.

  • Expenditures: The qualified expenditure chart as it pertains to non-independent productions (with partial or all principal photography outside the Los Angeles studio zone) was updated to clarify that the cost of a zone expenditure is pro-rated based on how many principal photography days are inside or outside the studio zone. A zone consumable is not pro-rated.
  • Payroll: Handling fees will now be tagged as wages for any personnel whose salary qualifies (they used to be categorized as non-wage).

Stay tuned for more news regarding California state tax credits and incentives! In the meantime, please contact us if you have any questions about programs for which your business may be eligible or want help getting started.

Monika founded Miles Consulting Group which focuses on multi-state tax consulting, helping clients navigate state tax issues such as sales tax and income tax in interstate commerce, including e-commerce.

Prior to forming the firm, Monika worked for 12 years combined in Big 4 Public Accounting and private industry. Monika has provided such services as federal and state income/franchise tax compliance and consulting, sales/use tax consulting, audit support, and credits and incentives reviews. She has served clients in a variety of industries including manufacturing, technology, telecommunications, construction, utility, retail and financial institutions.

Monika graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with a BBA in Accounting/Finance and has a Masters in Taxation from San Jose State University.

Subscribe to TaxConnections Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.