Illinois Live Theater Production Tax Credit Program

• The Program provides for a transferrable credit of 20% of all qualified Illinois expenditures including:
  • Illinois production spending (vendors)
  • Illinois resident salaries (non-talent) up to $100,000 per worker
• 15% additional credit- applicants will receive an additional 15% tax credit on salaries of individuals who live in economically disadvantaged areas whose unemployment rate is at least 150% of the State's annual average.
• Credits may be transferred within 1 year of issuance.
• A total of $2,000,000 is available per fiscal year (July 1 to June 30).  This amount is distributed amongst 7 groups based on the 501(c)3’s annual budget:

• Credits will be awarded on a first-come, first served basis, based on the date on which each properly completed application for an Accredited Theater Production Certificate is received by the Department.  If more than one application is received on the same day, the credits will be awarded based on the time of submission of that day.  Each Theater Tax Credit Award shall be limited to $500,000 per Accredited Theater Production per tax year.  If an Accredited Theater Production receives only a portion of the Theater Tax Credit Award to which the Department has determined it is entitled due to the annual fiscal cap on the amount of credits that can be awarded, the Accredited Theater Production shall not be entitled to any Theater Tax Credit Award in the following Tax Years.

Applicants must submit a Non-Profit Live Theater Tax Credit Application and if applicable, a Rights and Designee Affidavit.

• The Illinois Live Theater Non-Profit Tax Credit Program will begin accepting submissions on February 14, 2025. 
• Applications submitted before February 14, 2025, will not be accepted, and will not be considered complete.  Additionally, such applications will not secure a place in line for available credits.
• Available for productions opening on or after January 1, 2025.
• Application must be submitted no sooner than 180 days prior to opening night.
• The minimum qualifying Illinois spend for the production is $10,000.
• Productions must be produced by a 501(c)3 non-profit registered in Illinois for at least 5 years.
• 501(c)3 non-profit must be registered in Illinois for at least 5 years.
• Productions must be at least 75 minutes in length.
• Eligible theaters must have a seating capacity of at least 50 seats.
• Must file a diversity plan and report diversity outcomes.
• Must be willing to educate and train students in Illinois’ colleges & universities, and they have the intent of creating diversity. 

• The Applicant must also document that it made “good faith efforts” in attempting to achieve a racially diverse crew and vendors.
• The applicant must agree to track his/her progress in reaching the State’s diversity goals by using the following diversity tracking forms:
  • Employee Diversity Form
  • Employee Diversity Tracking Spreadsheet
  • Vendor Diversity Form
  • Vendor Diversity Tracking Spreadsheet
• The applicant must provide the Illinois Film Office (IFO) with gender and ethnicity of the Illinois crew. After the shoot, the Film Office will review the final diversity numbers of the production's Illinois crew. Women and racial minorities are assessed separately. If good-faith-efforts are shown, IFO will proceed with finalization of the tax credit. This is more than collecting tracking sheets. The production office must provide documentation of efforts made to hire a diverse crew. This can include e-mail confirmations to those people contacted but not hired. A list of names, dates and times of people that were contacted for employment may be considered as well.
  
  The IFO will contact those individuals to verify.
  
  If the production has low racial minorities and/or low females on crew, it may be denied. These are not vendor or talent hires, these are crew and production office hires. A production will have 30 days to prove "good-faith-efforts" in hiring practices, if they are denied based on diversity. Caucasian women and racial minorities are assessed separately. If the production can prove the efforts were made, the credit will then be approved. If the production fails to show "good-faith-efforts" were made a final denial determination will be made.

The credit may be claimed upon completion of production in Illinois but no later 60 calendar days after the end of the Illinois production run.

The tax credit will be issued upon IFO’s verification of all costs submitted by an independent Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and verification that the applicant has met or made good-faith efforts in achieving the goals of their diversity plan.

• The Program provides for a transferrable credit of 20% of all qualified Illinois expenditures including Illinois resident salaries (non-talent) up to $100,000 per worker.
• The minimum Illinois spend for the production is $100,000 for Illinois labor and marketing expenditures.
• An eligible applicant includes: a theater producer, owner, licensee, operator or presenter.
• Eligible theaters must have a seating capacity of at least 1,200 seats.
• A production must either be:
• Long-Run - runs longer than 8 weeks with a t least 6 performances per week,
• Pre-Broadway - scheduled for Broadway’s Theater District in New York City within 12 months after its Illinois presentation, or 
•  Commercial Broadway Touring - plays in more than 2 other markets in North America outside of Illinois within 12 months of its presentation.
• Application must be submitted no sooner than 180 days prior to opening of ticket sales and no later than the last business day prior to the opening.

Credits will be awarded on a first-come, first served basis, based on the date on which each properly completed application for an Accredited Theater Production Certificate is received by the Department.  If more than one application is received on the same day, the credits will be awarded based on the time of submission of that day.  Each Theater Tax Credit Award shall be limited to $500,000 per Accredited Theater Production per tax year.  If an Accredited Theater Production receives only a portion of the Theater Tax Credit Award to which the Department has determined it is entitled due to the annual fiscal cap on the amount of credits that can be awarded, the Accredited Theater Production shall not be entitled to any Theater Tax Credit Award in the following Tax Years.

For more information, contact us at: LiveTheater@Illinois.gov.