Kentucky Entertainment Incentive (KEI)
Kentucky offers a refundable credit (paid as cash even with no Kentucky tax): 35% on Kentucky resident labor, 30% on non-resident labor and qualifying spend — and 35% across the board if you film entirely in an Enhanced Incentive County. Minimum spend is $250K ($125K for a Kentucky company); $75M is available annually, $10M per project.
How the program works
- • 35% on Kentucky resident labor
- • 30% on non-resident labor
- • 30% on qualifying Kentucky expenditures
- • +5% — Enhanced Incentive County: Film entirely within a Kentucky Enhanced Incentive County and the 30% items (non-resident labor and qualifying spend) rise to 35%.
- Max effective rate: 35%
- • Minimum qualified spend: $250,000
- • Minimum spend: $250K feature/TV (out-of-state company) or $125K (Kentucky-based); documentaries $20K / $10K.
- • Above-the-line wages qualify only up to the first $1M per individual. Crew without Kentucky withholding are excluded.
- • Excludes airfare, legal/accounting, financing/completion-bond fees, contingency, online purchases, and more.
- • CPA / state audit required
- • Screen-credit / logo requirement
How it becomes cash
This is a refundable credit. The state pays out the amount above your tax liability as a cash refund, so you don't need in-state tax to benefit.
$75M is available per calendar year, awarded on rolling monthly KEDFA approvals, so it can be exhausted within a year — confirm remaining allocation before applying. $10M maximum per project.
Are you a film commissioner or agency with official updates to this program? If you have corrections to this documentation, please submit them here.
Submit an update →This is an estimate, not advice.
Every number here is an estimate generated from published program rules and your inputs. Programs change with each legislative session, and qualification depends on details a calculator can't see. This is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Before you make a financing decision, confirm everything with the state film office and a qualified CPA and entertainment attorney.