New York’s film and TV business is growing as the state expands its tax credit

New York’s film and television industry is growing while much of the country’s production base shrinks, and a richer state tax credit is one of the factors the industry points to.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a budget in May 2025 that set the annual cap on production tax credits at $800 million, the highest in state history. That total includes a new $100 million independent film credit. The law also eliminated the $500,000 limit on above-the-line pay, which covers stars, directors and producers.

It also added a “Production Plus” bonus. Companies that file at least two applications totaling $100 million or more in qualified New York spending after Jan. 1, 2025 (or $20 million for independents) can earn a 10% bonus on later projects, or 5% for independents. The city’s media office says the bonus applies through 2028.

Producers also get paid faster. Credits can now be claimed in the same year rather than spread over two or three years.

Production data since the change show growth. In the fourth quarter of 2025, New York’s filming count rose 31% and production spending rose 23% to $1.07 billion, per ProdPro data reported by The Hollywood Reporter. U.S. production spending overall fell 8% that quarter. Variety reported this week that second-quarter 2026 spending climbed 57% year over year. The figures track activity and don’t isolate the effect of the credits.

Studio executives have also shifted. In ProdPro’s annual survey, New York ranked as the top preferred filming hub for 2026, after no U.S. state made the top five the year before. ProdPro’s report said the move was supported by recent changes to the state’s incentive framework.

Infrastructure is expanding too. Sunset Pier 94 Studios opened in Manhattan in January as the borough’s first purpose-built studio campus, with six soundstages. The city’s film office says Wildflower and Borden have also joined the roster of studios. As of May 2025, it said its “Made in NY” training programs, which include production assistant, post-production and animation tracks, had graduated more than 1,200 New Yorkers.

Still, the growth is relative. ProdPro data show the U.S. share of global production at 38% in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 52% in 2022. Spending on U.S. productions with budgets of $40 million or more fell 20% in 2025 to $12.15 billion, according to ProdPro, which counts a project’s full budget in the period when shooting starts. ProdPro also says global scripted-television spending remains 23% below its 2022 peak.

The competition is escalating. California more than doubled its credit cap to $750 million in July 2025, and New Jersey offers $430 million a year, with Netflix building a $1 billion East Coast base there.