Missouri Show MO Act Film Tax Credit St Louis Production Incentive: 20% to 42% Credits Rebuilding a Lost Decade
Missouri’s film incentive landscape represents one of the most dramatic comeback stories in American production policy. After the state’s original tax credit program expired in 2013 leading to a decade in which Missouri lost major productions including Netflix’s “Ozark,” a series set in the Missouri Ozarks but filmed primarily in Georgia due to competitive incentives Governor Mike Parson signed the Show MO Act into law in July 2023, reinstating tax credits for film and television production. The Missouri Show MO Act film tax credit St Louis production incentive structure offers a base 20 percent credit with bonus provisions that can push the total to 42 percent, creating one of the most layered and potentially generous incentive structures in the Midwest. For anyone providing St Louis videographer services or evaluating Missouri as a production destination, the Show MO Act fundamentally changes the competitive calculus that has governed production decisions for the past decade.
The Core Credit: 20% with Four 5% Bonuses
The Show MO Act, codified as Senate Bill 94 and sponsored by Senator Denny Hoskins and Representative Kurtis Gregory, authorizes a base tax credit of 20 percent on qualifying expenses for eligible motion media productions. Four additional 5 percent bonuses are available for productions that meet specific criteria: a Majority Missouri Bonus if at least 50 percent of the project is filmed in Missouri; a Rural Area Bonus if at least 15 percent of qualified expenses are incurred in a rural or blighted area; a Resident Advancement Bonus if at least three departments hire a Missouri resident advancing to the next level in a specialized craft position; and a Positive Portrayal Bonus if the Department of Economic Development determines the script positively markets a city, region, tourist attraction, or the state itself. An additional Select County Bonus of 2 percent applies when the production office is located in a qualifying smaller county.
The program provides $16 million in annual tax credits, split equally between $8 million for film productions and $8 million for episodic/series productions, and is slated to run through December 31, 2029. Credits are transferable and can be sold to other Missouri taxpayers for no less than 60 percent of their value. Minimum spend thresholds are $50,000 for projects 30 minutes or under and $100,000 for projects over 30 minutes. Above-the-line wages qualify up to 25 percent of total qualified spend. Projects must employ Missouri resident apprentices or veterans, with requirements scaling from two for smaller productions to eight for projects spending $15 million or more.
The Lost Decade and the Rebuild
Missouri Film Office Director Andrea Klund has acknowledged that the state lost a lot of ground in the ten years without incentives. In 2024, the Missouri Film Office approved 39 projects for the program, with productions spending an estimated $33.5 million and receiving nearly $12.4 million in incentives. Three productions completed and premiered in 2024: Hallmark’s “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story,” Lifetime’s “Girl in the Garage,” and Max’s “Second Chance Stage.” The MO Film Enhancement Act (HB 1499) proposes consolidating the separate film and episodic caps into a single $16 million stream for greater flexibility.
The incentive gap’s most visible casualty was “Ozark,” which became one of Netflix’s most successful series while filming in Georgia rather than the Missouri location it was named for. The Show MO Act is designed to prevent such losses from recurring, but advocates recognize that rebuilding production infrastructure, crew depth, and industry relationships requires sustained investment beyond the tax credit itself. The Missouri Chamber of Commerce has supported the program, citing its economic development potential. Producer Sasha Yelaun, who wrapped the low-budget film “Boris Is Dead” in Missouri, has described the program as one of the more competitive in the country well-thought-out, with accountability and transparency built in.
