Income tax; authorize tax credit for companies engaged in television productions.

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To: Ways and Means
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Lamar

HOUSE BILL NO. 327

AN ACT TO PROVIDE AN INCOME TAX CREDIT FOR A PORTION OF 1
CERTAIN EXPENDITURES MADE BY COMPANIES ENGAGED IN THE PRODUCTION 2
IN MISSISSIPPI OF SCRIPTED OR UNSCRIPTED SERIES, CONTENT OR PILOT 3
EPISODES INTENDED FOR BROADCAST OR STREAMING; TO DEFINE CERTAIN 4
TERMS; TO ESTABLISH THE AMOUNT OF THE TAX CREDIT; TO PROVIDE THAT, 5
IF THE AMOUNT OF THE TAX CREDIT CLAIMED BY A PRODUCTION COMPANY 6
EXCEEDS THE AMOUNT OF INCOME TAX LIABILITY OF THE PRODUCTION 7
COMPANY FOR A TAXABLE YEAR, THE PRODUCTION COMPANY MAY CARRY THE 8
EXCESS CREDIT FORWARD FOR TEN YEARS; TO PROVIDE THAT IN LIEU OF 9
CLAIMING A TAX CREDIT, THE PRODUCTION COMPANY MAY ELECT TO CLAIM A 10
REBATE IN THE AMOUNT OF 75% OF THE AMOUNT IT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO 11
CLAIM AS A CREDIT; TO AMEND SECTIONS 57-89-7 AND 57-89-51, 12
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS 13
ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 14
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 15
SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, the following terms 16
shall have the meanings ascribed in this subsection unless the 17
context clearly indicates otherwise: 18
(a) "Employee" means an individual directly involved in 19
the physical production and/or post-production of a television 20
production produced in the state and who is employed by a: 21
(i) Production company that is directly involved 22
in the physical production and/or post-production of a television 23
production in the state; 24
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(ii) Personal service corporation retained by a 25
production company to provide persons used directly in the 26
physical production and/or post-production of a television 27
production in the state; and/or 28
(iii) Payroll service or loan-out company that is 29
retained by a production company to provide employees who work 30
directly in the physical production and/or post-production of a 31
television production in the state. 32
(b) "Fringes" means costs paid by a production company 33
for employee benefits that are not subject to state income tax. 34
Fringes may include, but are not limited to, payments by an 35
employer for unemployment insurance, Federal Insurance 36
Contribution Act (FICA), workers' compensation insurance, pension 37
and welfare benefits and health insurance premiums. 38
(c) "Payroll" means salary, wages or other compensation 39
including related benefits paid to employees upon which 40
Mississippi income tax is due and has been withheld. 41
(d) "Production company" means a company engaged in the 42
business of producing television productions. The term 43
"production company" shall not mean or include any company owned, 44
affiliated, or controlled, in whole or in part, by any company or 45
person which is in default on a loan made by the state or a loan 46
guaranteed by the state, or any company or person who has ever 47
declared bankruptcy under which an obligation of the company or 48
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person to pay or repay public funds or monies was discharged as a 49
part of such bankruptcy. 50
(e) "Qualified expenditures" means the actual expenses 51
incurred and paid in Mississippi by a production company in 52
connection with the production of a state-certified production in 53
the state. The term "qualified expenditures" includes amounts 54
expended in Mississippi by a production company as per diem and 55
housing allowances in connection with the production of a 56
state-certified production in the state. The term "qualified 57
expenditures" shall not include payroll. 58
(f) "Resident" or "resident of Mississippi" means a 59
natural person, and for the purpose of determining eligibility for 60
the tax credit provided by this section, any person domiciled in 61
the State of Mississippi and any other person who maintains a 62
permanent place of abode within the state and spends in the 63
aggregate more than six (6) months of each year within the state. 64
(g) "State" means the State of Mississippi. 65
(h) "State-certified production" means a television 66
production approved by the Mississippi Development Authority 67
produced by a production company in the state. An application for 68
approval as a state-certified production must be submitted to the 69
Mississippi Development Authority before production of the project 70
begins. 71
(i) "Television production" means any scripted or 72
unscripted series, content, or pilot episodes intended for 73
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broadcast or streaming. The term "television production" shall 74
not include any production or work described in this paragraph (i) 75
that contains any material or performance defined in Section 76
97-29-103. 77
(2) (a) A production company that expends at least Four 78
Million Dollars ($4,000,000.00) in qualified expenditures, payroll 79
and/or fringes, in the state for the production of a 80
state-certified production in which at least sixty-five percent 81
(65%) of the running time occurs from activities in Mississippi 82
shall be entitled to a credit against the taxes imposed by Section 83
27-7-5. The amount of the tax credit shall be equal to 84
twenty-five percent (25%) of the qualified expenditures made by 85
the production company. 86
(b) In addition to the tax credits authorized under 87
paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) of this subsection, a production 88
company eligible for the credit provided for in paragraph (a) of 89
this subsection (2), shall be entitled to a credit against the 90
taxes imposed by Section 27-7-5 in an amount equal to twenty 91
percent (20%) of payroll and fringes paid for any employee who is 92
not a resident and whose wages are subject to the Mississippi 93
Income Tax Withholding Law of 1968. However, if the payroll and 94
fringes paid for an employee exceeds Three Million Dollars 95
($3,000,000.00), then the credit is authorized only for the first 96
Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00) of such payroll and fringes. 97
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(c) In addition to the tax credits authorized under 98
paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of this subsection, a production 99
company eligible for the credit provided for in paragraph (a) of 100
this subsection (2), shall be entitled to a credit against the 101
taxes imposed by Section 27-7-5 in an amount equal to thirty 102
percent (30%) of payroll and fringes paid for any employee who is 103
a resident and whose wages are subject to the Mississippi Income 104
Tax Withholding Law of 1968. However, if the payroll and fringes 105
paid for an employee exceeds Three Million Dollars 106
($3,000,000.00), then the credit is authorized only for the first 107
Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00) of such payroll and fringes. 108
(d) In addition to the tax credits authorized in 109
paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this subsection, a production 110
company eligible for the credit provided for in paragraph (a) of 111
this subsection (2), shall be entitled to a credit against the 112
taxes imposed by Section 27-7-5 in an amount equal to five percent 113
(5%) of the payroll and fringes paid for employees, provided that 114
at least fifty percent (50%) of the employees are residents whose 115
wages are subject to the Mississippi Income Tax Withholding Law of 116
1968 and are employed as directors, producers and/or 117
cinematographers for the state-certified production. 118
(e) Qualified expenditures, payroll and/or fringes for 119
which a tax credit may be claimed under this section: (i) may not 120
be used or included for the purpose of satisfying any minimum 121
investment required in order to be eligible for a rebate under the 122
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Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Act or under Section 57-89-51 123
and (ii) may not be used for and shall not be eligible for any 124
rebate authorized under the Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive 125
Act or under Section 57-89-51. 126
(f) If a television production has physical production 127
activities and/or post-production activities both inside and 128
outside the state, then the production company shall be required 129
to provide an itemized accounting for each employee regarding such 130
activities inside and outside the state for the purposes of 131
proration of eligible payroll based on the percentage of 132
activities performed in the state. 133
(g) (i) If the amount of the tax credit authorized by 134
this section exceeds the total state income tax liability of the 135
production company for the credit year, the amount that exceeds 136
the total state income tax liability may be carried forward for 137
the ten (10) succeeding tax years. 138
(ii) In lieu of claiming a tax credit, the 139
production company may elect to claim a rebate in the amount of 140
seventy-five percent (75%) of the amount that would be eligible to 141
claim as a credit. The election may be made at any time after the 142
certification of the rebate. If the production company has 143
utilized a credit on an income tax return before making an 144
election to claim a rebate, then the available rebate will be 145
reduced by the amount of credit utilized. If claiming a credit 146
instead of a rebate, the production company shall claim the credit 147
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on the income tax return for the tax year for which the credit is 148
certified. 149
(iii) Credits authorized by this section that are 150
earned by a partnership, limited liability company, S corporation 151
or other similar pass-through entity, shall be allocated among all 152
partners, members or shareholders, respectively, either in 153
proportion to their ownership interest in such entity or as the 154
partners, members or shareholders mutually agree as provided in an 155
executed document. Partners, members or other owners of a 156
pass-through entity are not eligible to elect a refund of excess 157
credit in lieu of a carryforward of the credit. However, a 158
partnership or limited liability company taxed as a partnership 159
may elect to claim a rebate at the entity level on a form 160
prescribed by the Department of Revenue. 161
(iv) Rebate requests must be submitted to the 162
Department of Revenue on forms prescribed by the department. The 163
Department of Revenue then will provide the production company 164
with a voucher for the approved amount. Within twelve (12) months 165
of the issuance of the voucher by the Department of Revenue, the 166
production company may submit the voucher to the department to 167
receive payment. Rebates shall be made from current tax 168
collections. 169
(h) The total amount of credits and rebates authorized 170
in any fiscal year shall not exceed Forty-two Million Dollars 171
($42,000,000.00) in the aggregate. 172
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(2) A production company desiring a credit under this 173
section must submit a request to the Department of Revenue upon 174
completion of the project. The request must include a detailed 175
accounting of the qualified expenditures made by the production 176
company, the amount of payroll and fringes paid by the production 177
company and any other information required by the Department of 178
Revenue. 179
(3) The Department of Revenue shall have all powers 180
necessary to implement and administer the provisions of this 181
section, and the Department of Revenue shall promulgate rules and 182
regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative 183
Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this section. 184
SECTION 2. Section 57-89-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 185
amended as follows: 186
57-89-7. (1) (a) A motion picture production company that 187
expends at least Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) in base 188
investment, payroll and/or fringes, in the state shall be entitled 189
to a rebate of a portion of the base investment made by the motion 190
picture production company. Subject to the provisions of this 191
section, the amount of the rebate shall be equal to twenty-five 192
percent (25%) of the base investment made by the motion picture 193
production company. 194
(b) In addition to the rebates authorized under 195
paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) of this subsection, a motion picture 196
production company may receive a rebate equal to twenty-five 197
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percent (25%) of payroll and fringes paid for any employee who is 198
not a resident and whose wages are subject to the Mississippi 199
Income Tax Withholding Law of 1968. However, if the payroll and 200
fringes paid for an employee exceeds Five Million Dollars 201
($5,000,000.00), then the rebate is authorized only for the first 202
Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) of such payroll and fringes. 203
(c) In addition to the rebates authorized under 204
paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of this subsection, a motion picture 205
production company may receive a rebate equal to thirty percent 206
(30%) of payroll and fringes paid for any employee who is a 207
resident and whose wages are subject to the Mississippi Income Tax 208
Withholding Law of 1968. However, if the payroll and fringes paid 209
for an employee exceeds Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00), then 210
the rebate is authorized only for the first Five Million Dollars 211
($5,000,000.00) of such payroll and fringes. 212
(d) In addition to the rebates authorized in paragraphs 213
(a), (b) and (c) of this subsection, a motion picture production 214
company may receive an additional rebate equal to five percent 215
(5%) of the payroll and fringes paid for any employee who is an 216
honorably discharged veteran of the United States Armed Forces and 217
whose wages are subject to the Mississippi Income Tax Withholding 218
Law of 1968. 219
(e) Base investment, payroll and/or fringes for which a 220
rebate may be requested under this section: (i) may not be used 221
or included for the purpose of satisfying any minimum investment 222
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required in order to be eligible for a rebate under Section 223
57-89-51 or under Section 1 of this act and (ii) may not be used 224
for and shall not be eligible for any rebate authorized under 225
Section 57-89-51 or under Section 1 of this act. 226
(f) If a motion picture has physical production 227
activities and/or post-production activities both inside and 228
outside the state, then the motion picture production company 229
shall be required to provide an itemized accounting for each 230
employee regarding such activities inside and outside the state 231
for the purposes of proration of eligible payroll based on the 232
percentage of activities performed in the state. 233
(g) The total amount of rebates authorized for a motion 234
picture project shall not exceed Ten Million Dollars 235
($10,000,000.00) in the aggregate. 236
(h) The total amount of rebates authorized in any 237
fiscal year shall not exceed Twenty Million Dollars 238
($20,000,000.00) in the aggregate. 239
(2) A motion picture production company desiring a rebate 240
under this section must submit a rebate request to the Department 241
of Revenue upon completion of the project. The request must 242
include a detailed accounting of the base investment made by the 243
motion picture production company and any other information 244
required by the Department of Revenue. Rebates made by the 245
Department of Revenue under this section shall be made from 246
current income tax collections. The Department of Revenue shall 247
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not approve any application for a rebate under subsection (1)(b) 248
of this section after July 1, 2017. 249
(3) The Department of Revenue shall have all powers 250
necessary to implement and administer the provisions of this 251
section, and the Department of Revenue shall promulgate rules and 252
regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative 253
Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this section. 254
(4) The State Auditor may conduct performance and compliance 255
audits under this article according to Section 7-7-211(o) and may 256
bill the oversight agency. 257
SECTION 3. Section 57-89-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 258
amended as follows: 259
57-89-51. (1) As used in this section, the following terms 260
shall have the meanings ascribed in this subsection unless the 261
context clearly indicates otherwise: 262
(a) "Base investment" means the actual investment made 263
and expended in Mississippi by a production company in connection 264
with the production of a state-certified production in the state. 265
The term "base investment" includes amounts expended in 266
Mississippi by a production company as per diem and housing 267
allowances in connection with the production of a state-certified 268
production in the state. The term "base investment" shall not 269
include payroll. However, in the case of a production company, or 270
its owner, principal, member, production partner, independent 271
contractor director or producer, or subsidiary company that (i) is 272
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designated and pre-qualified by the Mississippi Development 273
Authority as Mississippi-based or a Mississippi resident; (ii) has 274
filed income taxes in the State of Mississippi during each of the 275
previous three (3) years; and (iii) has engaged in activities 276
related to the production of at least two (2) series in 277
Mississippi during the past ten (10) years, base investment may 278
include payroll and fringes paid for any employee who is not a 279
resident and whose wages are subject to the Mississippi Income Tax 280
Withholding Law of 1968, if so requested by the production 281
company. A production company must submit such a request to the 282
Mississippi Development Authority at the time the company submits 283
an application for approval as a state-certified production. In 284
addition, if base investment includes payroll and fringes, and the 285
payroll and fringes paid for an employee exceeds Three Million 286
Dollars ($3,000,000.00), then only the first Three Million Dollars 287
($3,000,000.00) of such payroll and fringes may be included in 288
base investment. 289
(b) "Employee" means an individual directly involved in 290
the physical production and/or post-production of a series 291
produced in the state and who is employed by a: 292
(i) Production company that is directly involved 293
in the physical production and/or post-production of a series in 294
the state; 295
(ii) Personal service corporation retained by a 296
production company to provide persons used directly in the 297
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physical production and/or post-production of a series in the 298
state; or 299
(iii) Payroll service or loan-out company that is 300
retained by a production company to provide employees who work 301
directly in the physical production and/or post-production of a 302
series in the state. 303
(c) "Fringes" means costs paid by a production company 304
for employee benefits that are not subject to state income tax. 305
Fringes may include, but are not limited to, payments by an 306
employer for unemployment insurance, Federal Insurance 307
Contribution Act (FICA), workers' compensation insurance, pension 308
and welfare benefits and health insurance premiums. 309
(d) "Series" means a nationally distributed connected 310
set of television program episodes, consisting of not less than 311
two (2) episodes made in Mississippi, in whole or in part, for 312
viewing through: traditional television that is broadcast via 313
cable, satellite or over-the-air aerial antenna systems; the 314
digital distribution of television content as streaming media over 315
the Internet through streaming platforms, which may be viewed on 316
digital devices, such as a personal computer or handheld device; 317
or through DVD release. The term "series" shall not include any 318
production or work described in this paragraph (d) that contains 319
any material or performance defined in Section 97-29-103. 320
(e) "Production company" means a company engaged in the 321
business of producing series. The term "production company" shall 322
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not mean or include any company owned, affiliated, or controlled, 323
in whole or in part, by any company or person which is in default 324
on a loan made by the state or a loan guaranteed by the state, or 325
any company or person who has ever declared bankruptcy under which 326
an obligation of the company or person to pay or repay public 327
funds or monies was discharged as a part of such bankruptcy. 328
(f) "Payroll" means salary, wages or other compensation 329
including related benefits paid to employees upon which 330
Mississippi income tax is due and has been withheld. 331
(g) "Resident" or "resident of Mississippi" means a 332
natural person, and for the purpose of determining eligibility for 333
the rebate provided by this section, any person domiciled in the 334
State of Mississippi and any other person who maintains a 335
permanent place of abode within the state and spends in the 336
aggregate more than six (6) months of each year within the state. 337
(h) "State" means the State of Mississippi. 338
(i) "State-certified production" means a series 339
approved by the Mississippi Development Authority produced by a 340
production company in the state. An application for approval as a 341
state-certified production must be submitted to the Mississippi 342
Development Authority before production of the project begins. 343
(2) (a) A production company that expends at least Fifty 344
Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) in base investment, payroll and/or 345
fringes, in the state shall be entitled to a rebate of a portion 346
of the base investment made by the production company. Subject to 347
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the provisions of this section, the amount of the rebate shall be 348
equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the base investment made by 349
the production company. 350
(b) In addition to the rebates authorized under 351
paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) of this subsection, a production 352
company may receive a rebate equal to twenty percent (20%) of 353
payroll and fringes paid for any employee who is not a resident 354
and whose wages are subject to the Mississippi Income Tax 355
Withholding Law of 1968. However, if the payroll and fringes paid 356
for an employee exceeds Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00), 357
then the rebate is authorized only for the first Three Million 358
Dollars ($3,000,000.00) of such payroll and fringes. 359
(c) In addition to the rebates authorized under 360
paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of this subsection, a production 361
company may receive a rebate equal to thirty-five percent (35%) of 362
payroll and fringes paid for any employee who is a resident and 363
whose wages are subject to the Mississippi Income Tax Withholding 364
Law of 1968. However, if the payroll and fringes paid for an 365
employee exceeds Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00), then the 366
rebate is authorized only for the first Three Million Dollars 367
($3,000,000.00) of such payroll and fringes. 368
(d) In addition to the rebates authorized in paragraphs 369
(a), (b) and (c) of this subsection, a production company may 370
receive an additional rebate equal to five percent (5%) of the 371
payroll and fringes paid for any employee who is an honorably 372
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discharged veteran of the United States Armed Forces and whose 373
wages are subject to the Mississippi Income Tax Withholding Law of 374
1968. 375
(e) Base investment, payroll and/or fringes for which a 376
rebate may be requested under this section: (i) may not be used 377
or included for the purpose of satisfying any minimum investment 378
required in order to be eligible for a rebate under the 379
Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Act or under Section 1 of 380
this act and (ii) may not be used for and shall not be eligible 381
for any rebate authorized under the Mississippi Motion Picture 382
Incentive Act or under Section 1 of this act. 383
(f) If a series has physical production activities 384
and/or post-production activities both inside and outside the 385
state, then the production company shall be required to provide an 386
itemized accounting for each employee regarding such activities 387
inside and outside the state for the purposes of proration of 388
eligible payroll based on the percentage of activities performed 389
in the state. 390
(g) The total amount of rebates authorized in any 391
fiscal year shall not exceed Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00) 392
in the aggregate. 393
(2) A production company desiring a rebate under this 394
section must submit a rebate request to the Department of Revenue 395
upon completion of the project. The request must include a 396
detailed accounting of the base investment made by the production 397
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ST: Income tax; authorize tax credit for
companies engaged in television productions.
company and any other information required by the Department of 398
Revenue. Rebates made by the Department of Revenue under this 399
section shall be made from current income tax collections. 400
(3) The Department of Revenue shall have all powers 401
necessary to implement and administer the provisions of this 402
section, and the Department of Revenue shall promulgate rules and 403
regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative 404
Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this section. 405
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from 406
and after January 1, 2026. 407