On May 28, 2024, Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 24-1358, Film Incentive Tax Credit. The act extended Colorado’s film tax credit, until then written for 2024 only, through the 2031 tax year. It took effect on August 7, 2024.
What the Law Changed
Before the act, the credit was available only in years when state revenue ran at least $50 million over the state’s spending limit. The act removed that condition and set these terms:
- A credit of no more than 22% of a production company’s qualified spending in Colorado.
- At least $100,000 in qualified spending to be eligible.
- No more than $5 million in credits, across all productions, in one calendar year.
- A reservation before work starts, confirmed in writing by the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media, with the certificate issued once the work is done and the requirements are met.
Under the act, reservations end after December 31, 2029, and production work has to be finished by December 31, 2031. The Denver Gazette reported that Donald Zuckerman, then Colorado’s Film Commissioner, said it was the first time his office’s funding covered more than a single year.
The Program in 2026, and in Boulder
As of October 2026, the state describes the incentive as a refundable tax credit of up to 20% of qualified Colorado spending, or 22% when half the production takes place in an Enterprise Zone. A production has to hire at least 50% local cast and crew and show proof of 80% financing. Its application, approval by the Colorado Economic Development Commission and a state contract all come before principal photography. Applications are rolling until the calendar year’s funds are gone.
On February 28, 2025, the state said the feature “The Man Who Changed the World” had been approved for a $1.8 million refundable tax credit, and called it the largest Colorado-originating production to use the credit passed in 2024. Its crew filmed outside the Boulder Theater on March 27, 2025. In a June 2026 column, our Film Commissioner, Bruce Borowsky, wrote that with the Film Commission now part of the Boulder Chamber, the Chamber’s advocacy team can work with the state film office on improving the incentive.
Terms change, and this is news, not tax advice: check the state’s Colorado Film Incentive page before you budget. Our Resources page has a Film Incentives entry, and Plan Your Production is where to start a project in Boulder County.
Read the full story at The Denver Gazette.
