Montana film cap increases to $12M, if signed by governor
MISSOULA, Mont. — The cap placed on tax credits offered to film productions in Montana was increased this legislative session, but not by much, and officials say it’s a surprise.
The state capped the credits at $10 million just before the 2021 legislative session.
House Bill 340 aimed to increase the cap to nearly $250 million, but in the end the legislature capped it at $12 million.
With only a $2 million increase, officials tell us they don’t believe it will have much benefit for the film industry to grow in Montana.
Officials add they expect existing productions like "Yellowstone" and others to easily use all that credit, not allowing other larger films to take advantage of it.
“It certainly is going to have an impact on the future, and it’s going to have an impact on new studios looking at coming here, and unfortunately it is going to have a significant impact on developing production studios themselves,” director of Missoula County’s development district Dori Brownlow said.
Brownlow added Shadowcast Partners, which was expected to develop a $20 million studio in Missoula, is looking at what else they can do with the space.
