Illinois SB 1911: Why the 35% Film Tax Credit Just Made the Midwest Competitive Again

For more than a decade, Illinois carried a reputation as a capable but slightly underpowered production state: strong crews, world-class infrastructure, and a city that can double for almost anywhere, paired with an incentive that quietly trailed the headline rates in Georgia, New Jersey, and California. That gap closed on December 12, 2025, when Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1911 into law, enacting the most significant overhaul of the Illinois Film Production Services Tax Credit in over a decade. The enhancements apply to productions commencing on or after July 1, 2025, and the program is now authorized through 2039, providing a long runway that matters as much to studio planners as the rate itself.

The headline is simple: the base credit moves to 35%. But the real story, as any line producer will tell you, is in the structure underneath it.

What SB 1911 Actually Changes

At the center of the bill are two rate increases that producers will feel immediately. Qualified spending on Illinois resident labor now earns a 35% credit, up from 30%, on wages up to $500,000 per worker. Spending with Illinois-based vendors also moves to 35%, again up from 30%. Together, those two changes reset the baseline math on nearly every Illinois budget.

The legislation also loosens the constraints around out-of-state talent. Non-resident wages continue to earn a 30% credit on the first $500,000 per worker, but the number of eligible non-resident positions other than actors, which includes key crew along with writers, directors, and up to two executive producers, expands to 13, up from the prior cap of 9. That is a meaningful shift for productions that need to bring in key department heads. Non-resident actors remain at a 30% credit on their first $500,000, with the number of qualifying actors tiered by a production’s Illinois spend: four for productions with under $20 million in Illinois spending, five for those between $20 million and $40 million, and six for those above $40 million. For a television series, the non-resident wage limits are applied per episode across the season, which is an important wrinkle for anyone budgeting a multi-episode order.

The credit remains transferable and uncapped and is now authorized through 2039, with a minimum qualified-spend threshold of $100,000 for productions running longer than 30 minutes (and $50,000 for shorter formats).

The Stackable Bonuses Are Where the Math Gets Interesting

A 35% base rate is competitive on its own. What makes SB 1911 genuinely aggressive is the layer of stackable bonuses sitting on top of it. The bill introduces:

• A 5% regional bonus on Illinois resident labor for productions filming outside Chicago’s core counties (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will) designed to push activity and infrastructure into central and southern Illinois.
• A 5% relocating-series incentive for television series that move their operation into the state.
• A 5% green-production bonus for productions that adopt a certified sustainability plan.
• A 15% uplift for hiring workers from designated economically disadvantaged areas.

SB 1911 also adds a notable travel provision: airfare now qualifies as a production expense when purchased from an airline headquartered in Illinois. Separately, productions staying 30 or more consecutive days in the same hotel continue to qualify for Illinois’s long-standing permanent-resident exemption from hotel occupancy tax, where the combined state and municipal hotel taxes are among the highest in the country.

Because several of these bonuses can be combined, the effective credit can climb well beyond the 35% base. Industry analyses commonly cite a practical ceiling in the mid-50% range for productions that qualify for multiple uplifts. The precise effective rate depends entirely on where a production shoots, who it hires, and how it operates, but the direction is unmistakable: Illinois has built a system that rewards productions for going greener, going regional, and committing for the long term.

How Illinois Now Stacks Up

Put SB 1911 next to the rest of the field and the competitive repositioning becomes clear. Georgia’s well-known program offers a 20% base with a 10% uplift for including a promotional logo, landing most productions at an effective 30%, providing a strong incentive, but without a comparable stackable bonus architecture.

Illinois, by contrast, now pairs a 35% base on both resident labor and vendor spending with an uncapped allocation, a long legislative horizon through 2039, deep IATSE crew strength, and established stage facilities. The state’s recent production volume reinforces the point: 2025 expenditures hit a record $703 million, an all-time high, and roughly a 25% jump over pre-pandemic 2019. SB 1911 is, in effect, the legislative response to that momentum. It is a bet that a stronger, more predictable incentive will keep the work coming.

What It Means for Productions Monetizing the Credit

A larger, transferable credit is only as valuable as a production’s ability to convert it efficiently. Because Illinois credits are transferable, productions that cannot use the full value against their own Illinois tax liability can transfer the credit to a third party. The structure of that transfer has a real effect on a project’s capital stack and overall economics. Demand, timing, and the specifics of each credit all influence how a transfer comes together, so productions generally benefit from planning the monetization path early rather than treating it as an afterthought once a project wraps.

This is the part of the process where an experienced facilitator earns its place. As an intermediary that connects credit-generating productions with parties positioned to use those credits, Fallbrook helps productions navigate the transfer process and the documentation it requires before a final claim. The goal is straightforward: help a production realize the full intended value of an incentive that, under SB 1911, is now one of the most generous in the country.

For producers weighing the Midwest, the calculus has shifted. The crews, the studios, and the architectural versatility were always there. With SB 1911, the numbers finally match the talent, and Illinois enters 2026 with one of the strongest production incentive packages in the United States.

Sources

1. Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Illinois Film Production Tax Credit — https://dceo.illinois.gov/whyillinois/film/filmtaxcredit.html
2. Illinois Production Alliance, Film Tax Credit — https://www.illinoisproduction.org/film-tax-credit
3. Variety, “Illinois Approves Increases to Production Tax Credit Program” (Dec. 17, 2025) — https://variety.com/2025/film/news/illinois-production-tax-credit-increase-pritzker-1236610906/
4. Entertainment Partners, “What Illinois’ Enhanced Film Tax Credit Program Means for Productions” — https://www.ep.com/blog/what-illinois-enhanced-film-tax-credit-program-means-for-productions/
5. Withum, “Illinois Film Production Services Tax Credit: Overview and SB 1911 Updates” (May 4, 2026) — https://www.withum.com/resources/illinois-film-production-services-tax-credit-overview-and-sb-1911-updates/
6. Reel Chicago, “Illinois Strengthens Film Incentives as Gov. Pritzker Signs SB 1911” (Dec. 13, 2025) — https://reelchicago.com/article/illinois-strengthens-film-incentives-as-gov-pritzker-signs-sb-1911/
7. Reel Chicago, “New Details Emerge About the SB 1911 Tax Incentives” (Nov. 6, 2025) — https://reelchicago.com/article/new-details-emerge-about-sb-1911-tax-incentives/
8. Shamel Studio, “Illinois Film Tax Incentives 2026: Credit, Rates & Caps” — https://www.shamelstudio.com/tools/film-tax-incentives/illinois

_{^{Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, financial, or investment advice. Tax credit programs, including Illinois’s Film Production Services Tax Credit under SB 1911, are subject to change, and eligibility, qualification requirements, and program terms should be independently verified with the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and confirmed with a qualified tax advisor or attorney prior to making any business or financial decisions. Fallbrook Financial Services acts solely as a facilitator and intermediary in connecting productions with parties interested in acquiring tax credits and does not provide tax, legal, or investment advice, nor does it act as a broker-dealer. Nothing in this article should be construed as a guarantee of credit value, transferability terms, or monetization outcomes, which vary by transaction and market conditions.}}