Why film in New Hampshire?

The advantages benefit the actual cost of production from day one. 

Here’s how:

Financing
It is hard enough, especially if you are an independent, to raise the dollars needed to create a first class film, so why stress on finding and packaging unnecessary sums of money requiring you or your production company to give more to your backers --- lenders, investors, and often host community/state.

Expenses
In New Hampshire, a production budget can be as much as 40% less on real out-of-pocket expenses both above and below the line.

Cast and Crew

• No Personal Income Tax

Everyone retains more of his or her wages with no NH income tax.  Crews don’t mind coming here for work, as come income tax time, they have no additional filings in yet another state.

Your “big buck” people relish this benefit too, especially when other states, not only require payroll taxes and filings, but “piggy-back” their rates on an individual’s federal income tax rate.

No personal income tax, whether a resident or non-resident, makes it an easy sell to get cast and crew to work in NH --- they retain more of their earnings and enjoy working in a creative environment.

Your accounts department does not have to submit those dreaded weekly payroll reports to our State Department of Revenue.  Nor do you have to verify which personnel are residents of the state or meet quotes on hiring residents to qualify for a tax credit incentive.  The hassles of tracking for tax credits and after-the-expenditure rebates take time and cost money.

Set Construction, Expendables and Operations

• No Sales Tax
• No Use Tax

All those purchases you make --- whether it is lumber, paint, wardrobe, equipment, or computers --- there is no sales tax on anything you buy, not just if you buy it in NH, but even if you purchase elsewhere and ship to NH.

All the equipment you rent is also tax-free, as we have no use tax.

Once again, your accounts department does not need to track all the varying tax percentages or document that the purchase was from a NH vendor or manufacturer.  Here in NH, we believe in free trade, so you do business with vendors of your choice.

We hear that crew and cast love shopping in tax-free New Hampshire, whether they are buying clothing, electronics, cameras, antiques or gifts to take home.

Location, Location, Location

• No costly filming permits

NH has no general filming permits.  If you want to film on state property, be it a park, building, or historic site, there is an easy application.

Granite Media Center is fully permitted for film activity.  We will help you find other sites for shooting and, out of courtesy, we like to inform local town officials and work with them so your shoot is successful.

Another real NH savings, when other states often require costly permits and fees to film, as well as mandatory expenditures on law enforcement.

Studio Rental

Calculate the savings filming in Granite Media’s Production Box. The Box is $1650 per day. Utilities are extra, but at cost.  There are a host of space and amenities that you can add to your package if wanted.  We can accommodate you with office suites, phones, high-speed internet, and the logistic support to find caters, accommodations, rentals, equipment, crew, support personnel, interns, probably just about everything you need and at realistic prices.   As we say, be truly independent with our facility as your production center.

SMALL PRINT

Folks often ask how New Hampshire raises revenue.  Well, we do have a few taxes.  Dining out and sleeping about can cost you 8%.  Here’s how we help.  We will work with you to employ a talented chef and commissary staff, so you can control your catering expenses, not just your menu.

As for accommodations, Granite Media is located in the heart of the Lakes Region, an area that has defined hospitality for centuries.  We can find and negotiate great rates with hotels, inns, condos, cottages, etc. often on our beautiful lakes.  We promise you will not even notice the 8%.  And, unlike elsewhere, there are no hidden local or county taxes or special levies for visitors on these accommodations.  In towns and cities, outside New Hampshire, these hospitality taxes compound and can often be in the twenty percent range.

Accounts, Audits

• No bureaucracy
• No reporting
• No capital gains tax

New Hampshire is not in your business affairs.  If you film in New Hampshire, you are not required to use a New Hampshire CPA or submit an audit.  The cost – effectiveness of producing in New Hampshire is realized from the first purchase you make.  

There are no costly tracking requirements – legally or financially.

There are no intermediaries such as in expensive tax credit brokers.

There are no taxes gimmicks disguised as rebates or credits.

If you compare and analyze, most film tax credits at best are worth about 72-80 cents on the dollar --- and a whole lot less when you consider the state and local taxes you are paying and then add all the application, tracking, reporting, and brokering expenses a production company incurs.  Who truly benefits from film credits --- your financers, be they lenders or investors.

Here in New Hampshire, you can do it for less without sacrificing quality, creativity, or independence.  You control what you spend, where you spend, and how you spend.  Take a closer look, in the Granite State your budget will be as much as 40% less, giving your production the potential for a greater return.

Consider it  --- film in NH and there is less to raise, less to borrow, less legal paperwork, less costly tracking to meet your host’s requirements, and certainly less of your profits you will need to share.

Other Resources

• View our quick comparison chart.
• The NH Film Office has also compiled a list of incentives for filming in NH.
• For more information or assistance, contact:

  Eliza Leadbeater
  eliza@gmcNH.com
  603.528.7600 x301