Effective July 1, 2013, the state of Hawaii extended and expanded its existing production tax credit (now known as Act 88/89 for the production of films and digital media. It is a refundable tax credit based on a production company's Hawaii expenditures while producing a qualified film, television, commercial, or digital media project. The credit equals 20% of qualified production costs incurred on Oahu, and 25% on the neighbor islands (Big Island, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai).
In order to access the credit a production must, among other things, make reasonable efforts to hire local talent and crew and provide evidence of financial or in-kind contributions or educational or workforce development efforts toward the furtherance of the local film, television and digital media industries. Under the expanded program, the credit cap is increased from $8 million to $15 million per production, qualifies productions with Internet-only distribution, allows State and County location and facilities fees as a qualified expenditure, and extends the credit's sunset date to December 31, 2018.