New Mexico film incentive guide
New Mexico film tax credit and incentives: how the 30% works
The New Mexico film incentive is a 25% refundable tax credit on qualified in-state spend, and shooting at our Albuquerque studio, a Qualified Production Facility, adds 5 more points, for 30%.
- 25% base + 5% facility uplift = 30%
- On the NM Film Office QPF list
- Your rebate modeled while you tour
Or call 818-861-7317 Albuquerque 818-934-3775 Burbank
Productions that have trusted us
The networks, the streamers and the studios have all shot here.
Hart to Heart, Aquaman 2, Inventing Anna, Bosch, The Mummy, Greenland, Deadliest Catch and national spots for T-Mobile, Amazon and Domino's. Full credit list
The incentive
How the New Mexico film incentive works
New Mexico runs one of the most aggressive production incentives in the country. The New Mexico film tax credit is a refundable credit on qualified production expenses paid in the state, the categories productions actually spend on, like cast, crew, post-production and catering. Two numbers add up to the 30%.
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25%
Base credit
The starting rate for qualifying productions, applied to qualified expenses paid in New Mexico.
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+5%
Qualified Production Facility uplift
Five more percentage points for productions that shoot at a state-designated Qualified Production Facility, bringing the total to 30%.
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= 30%
Refundable, at a Qualified Production Facility
Paid out by the state once your qualified spend is approved, even if you owe no New Mexico tax.
This isn't a deduction that only helps if you owe New Mexico taxes. Once a qualifying production's spend is reviewed and approved, the state pays the credit out, which is why producers also call it the New Mexico film rebate.
The facility uplift is the part of the program a studio can answer for. The program has other rules of its own. Eligibility, qualified-expense definitions and current program details are administered by the New Mexico Film Office (nmfilm.com), and the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department keeps its own film production tax credit page. Read both before you lock a budget.
Updated September 2026. Program rules change, so confirm current details with the New Mexico Film Office.
The math, in percentages
Every production's numbers are different, so think in rates rather than dollar figures. For every dollar of qualified expenses paid in New Mexico, the base program returns 25 cents. The uplift alone is a fifth more rebate on the same qualified spend.
“Refundable” is the word that matters.
When the New Mexico film rebate pays out
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Shoot
Shoot at a Qualified Production Facility and that becomes 30 cents on the spend that qualifies for the facility uplift.
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File
The clock runs on the state's review of your qualified spend, so clean books and a production accountant who knows New Mexico's program are what keep it moving.
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Payout
Because the credit is refundable, an approved production receives the payout from the state. In our experience the payout arrives roughly 6 to 12 months after filing, though timelines vary.
We're a studio, not tax advisors. Which expenses qualify, how caps apply and what the current program year looks like are questions for a production accountant who knows New Mexico's incentive, and for the New Mexico Film Office. What we can do is model your production against the rebate while you're on the floor, so the studio math and the incentive math get worked at the same time.
The facility
Why the Qualified Production Facility designation matters
The difference between 25% and 30% comes down to where you shoot. A Qualified Production Facility (QPF) is a designation New Mexico grants to production facilities that meet the film office's criteria, and the 5% uplift is tied to shooting at one. On the same qualified budget, that's five extra percentage points back, earned by a scheduling decision rather than by spending more. The Film Office's rules set how much of the shoot has to happen at the facility and which costs count toward the uplift, so build the schedule with your production accountant before you lock the board.
ABQ Castle Studios, our Albuquerque film studio at 8610 President Pl NE in the Journal Center corridor, about ten minutes from the Albuquerque Sunport, holds the Qualified Production Facility designation and is listed first under Albuquerque on the New Mexico Film Office's Qualified Production Facilities list. It is one of the largest virtual production stages in the world, and studio days here count toward the 30% track. The building sits inside one of the busiest production hubs in the country, with a deep New Mexico crew base to hire from.
How shooting at ABQ Castle Studios qualifies
Beyond the designation itself, the way the studio works keeps more of your budget inside New Mexico, where it can qualify. The location is a photoreal virtual set that appears around your cast live, in camera, on our stage. You see the finished shot on the monitor while you film. Albuquerque runs the same CastleVision pipeline as our Burbank studio: we pioneered real-time virtual production in 2007, now patented. Instead of flying a unit out of state or building and striking physical sets, you load any of 250+ ready-to-film virtual sets and capture the finished shot on the day, in-state: a New York street, a Texas courtroom or an airliner cabin, with the spend staying in New Mexico.
- Qualified Production Facility designation: studio days here reach the 30% rate
- Location work happens on the stage: no out-of-state travel, builds or company moves
- New Mexico-based crew and local department heads: in-state spend on the rebate ledger
- Three ARRI Alexa 35 cinema cameras with Fujinon cinema zooms, a telescoping crane and a multi-camera Unreal Engine pipeline
- 36 Aputure Nova P300c fixtures across the grid and floor, and a full grip package
- 250+ virtual sets: every virtual standing set from our Burbank studio is available here
- Production offices, dressing rooms, makeup and a furniture and prop warehouse on site: support spend stays local too
- Included in every rental: the virtual system operator who runs the sets in real time
For a select number of productions we choose to back, investor-backed financing is available before shoot day. Offered at our discretion and subject to qualification.
On the floor
The Albuquerque studio that qualifies
ABQ Castle Studios is a Qualified Production Facility, which is where the extra 5% uplift comes from.
Click any photo to enlarge.
Watch
Walk the New Mexico studio before you budget it
The full Albuquerque tour, Old Town Albuquerque captured and composited live, and feature and episodic work on virtual sets. Click to play with sound.
Location work stays in state
Out-of-state locations, shot in New Mexico
New York, the U.S. Capitol, a Texas courtroom, an airport and an airliner cabin, Hong Kong, Lisbon and Venice: load them on the Albuquerque floor instead of sending a unit there.
Check availability
Price your Albuquerque shoot on the 30% track
Tell us the format, your dates and how many studio days you need. A producer replies with availability and a quote, and we model the rebate with you on the tour.
- ABQ Castle Studios is a New Mexico Qualified Production Facility, so studio days here count toward the 30% track
- Turnkey. The studio, the sets, lighting and audio, and the operator who runs the virtual sets are all included
- Tours by appointment at 8610 President Pl NE, about ten minutes from the ABQ Sunport
Rather talk it through? 818-861-7317 · Albuquerque
818-934-3775 · Burbank
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Your inquiry is in.
A producer will reach out to talk through your project and next steps. Need us sooner? Call 818-934-3775 (Burbank) or 818-861-7317 (Albuquerque).
What you can shoot in Albuquerque
Albuquerque is our feature film studio, and features are most of what is produced there. Mr. Spaceship, an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novelette, a feature captured almost entirely in camera on the Albuquerque stage, was made with a New Mexico resident crew, an all-New Mexico cast and New Mexico vendors. The Running Woman also shot at ABQ Castle Studios. Beyond features, the studio handles single- and multi-camera formats, from talk shows and game shows to commercials and vertical drama, with sets that load in seconds between setups.
Which formats and costs qualify for the New Mexico film tax credit is the Film Office's call, not ours, so have your production accountant confirm it for your project. If you are still choosing between Los Angeles and New Mexico, our film studio rental page compares the two studios side by side.
Questions
New Mexico film tax credit questions producers ask
- How much is the New Mexico film tax credit?
- The base rate is 25% of qualified production expenses paid in New Mexico. Shoot at a Qualified Production Facility and the 5% facility uplift brings it to 30%. That is 25 cents back on every qualified dollar, and 30 cents on the spend that qualifies for the facility uplift. The state program has other rules of its own, which the New Mexico Film Office publishes, so confirm the full picture for your project with a production accountant.
- What is the New Mexico film tax credit?
- It's a refundable state incentive on qualified production expenses paid in New Mexico. The structure is a 25% base credit plus a 5% uplift for productions that shoot at a Qualified Production Facility, for a 30% refundable credit in total. The official rules, definitions and application process are administered by the New Mexico Film Office.
- What does “refundable” mean here?
- The state pays the credit out once a qualifying production's spend is reviewed and approved, so it helps even if you owe no New Mexico tax. In our experience the payout arrives roughly 6 to 12 months after filing, though timelines vary by production.
- Is the New Mexico film rebate the same thing as the tax credit?
- Yes. Same program, two names: producers call it the New Mexico film rebate because the credit is refundable and the state pays it out.
- What is a Qualified Production Facility?
- A Qualified Production Facility (QPF) is a state designation for facilities that meet the New Mexico Film Office's criteria, and shooting at one adds the 5% uplift to the 25% base credit. ABQ Castle Studios holds the QPF designation.
- Does shooting at ABQ Castle Studios qualify for the 30% credit?
- Yes. ABQ Castle Studios at 8610 President Pl NE in Albuquerque is a Qualified Production Facility, so studio days here count toward the 30% track rather than the 25% base. The Film Office's rules set how much of the shoot has to happen at the facility, so build the schedule with your production accountant. We'll model your production against the rebate while you're touring the studio.
- Is ABQ Castle Studios on the New Mexico Film Office list of Qualified Production Facilities?
- Yes. ABQ Castle Studios appears on the New Mexico Film Office's official list of Qualified Production Facilities, under Albuquerque.
- Can we shoot out-of-state locations without leaving New Mexico?
- Yes. The location is a photoreal virtual set that appears around your cast live, in camera, in our Albuquerque studio. Choose from 250+ ready-to-load sets, or send us references and our artists build one to your spec. Your production accountant can confirm which of those costs qualify for the credit.
- Does hiring New Mexico crew and vendors help with the credit?
- Qualified expenses paid in New Mexico include cast, crew, post-production and catering, so local hiring is where the credit does its work. New Mexico-based crew and local department heads are on call at the Albuquerque studio. Your production accountant confirms which wages qualify.
- Can we split a shoot between Burbank and Albuquerque?
- Yes. Every standing set in our Burbank studio is also available in Albuquerque on the same pipeline, so a production can split between the two studios without losing continuity. The New Mexico film tax credit applies to qualified spend in New Mexico, so plan which days and departments sit in Albuquerque with your production accountant.
- Do I still need a production accountant?
- Absolutely. We're a studio, not tax advisors. Eligibility, caps and qualified-expense rules are set by the state and change over time. Run your budget past a production accountant familiar with New Mexico's program and confirm current rules with the New Mexico Film Office before you lock numbers.
Plan a New Mexico shoot on the 30% credit
The studio, the sets and the people behind the rebate math.
- Albuquerque film studio The Qualified Production Facility itself: the floor, the gear, the address.
- Book a studio tour By appointment. We model the rebate while you walk the floor.
- Feature film and series production How features and episodic shoot on virtual sets.
- Film studio rental in Burbank and Albuquerque Compare the two studios side by side.
- Browse all 250+ virtual sets Every standing set loads in Albuquerque.
- City street sets New York streets and a Lisbon square without the travel.
- Courtroom, police station and jail sets Procedural staples, ready to load.
- Any location, built or captured When the library does not have it, we build it or capture the real place.
- CastleVision, our patented method How the live, in-camera composite works.
- Rates and what drives the cost Quote drivers, and what a virtual set takes off the budget.
- Production financing Investor-backed, for a select number of productions.
- Burbank studio Split a shoot between Los Angeles and New Mexico on the same sets.
- Sci-fi and spaceship sets Spaceship interiors, labs and alien worlds, ready to load.
- Credits Features, series and specials finished on our sets.
Tell us your dates and studio days. We reply with availability and a quote, and model the rebate with you on the tour.
