TEXAS FILM
INCENTIVES
TMIIIP is administered by the Texas Film Commission, the only authority on whether a project qualifies and on how any rule is read. Every figure below was read against the Commission's own pages on September 28, 2026. Before you budget against any of it, confirm it with them at 512-463-9200. Coming from out of state? Start with Filming in Texas.
Qualification Rules
(01)
Production
At least 60% of the total production must be completed in Texas. The state measures the production, not the shooting days.
(02)
Crew & Cast
Two separate tests on a film or series. At least 35% of paid crew must be Texas residents, and separately at least 35% of paid cast including extras. A show can clear a combined 35% and still fail one leg. Commercials, reality, video games and animation run one combined 35% count instead. The figure is keyed to your first day of principal photography, and it steps to 40% on September 1, 2027.
(03)
Minimum Spend
Eligible Texas spend sets your rate, not your budget. On a film or series it is 5% once eligible in-state spend reaches $250,000, 10% at $1 million, and 25% at $1.5 million. A $4 million picture that spends $900,000 here is in the 5% band.
(04)
Application Timing
You cannot apply directly, and the window closes before you shoot. Submit the Commission's Incentives Inquiry Form first. Someone from the incentives team contacts you, and if the project qualifies they send the application link. Applications run from 180 days before your first day of production to 5 PM on the fifth business day before it. Documentation of your Texas spend is then due within 60 days of your final Texas expenditure.
(05)
Content Review
The Commission reviews project content as part of eligibility. Ask them how it applies to yours before you budget against the grant.
GET THE
FREE GUIDE
What Texas pays, and what it takes to earn it.
State and local programs, the rules underneath them, and the paperwork that decides whether you keep the money. Shooting in another state? Get that state's free incentive guide.
