Puerto Rico Film Commission Raises Tax Credits Cap

HUGE news out of Puerto Rico as Governor Pedro R. P. Pierluisi raises the Film Tax incentives cap from $34m to $100m. This can encourage a growth of new investment in qualified film and media projects up to half a billion dollars!

“The film industry has great potential on our island. We have seen it in action over the past few years through highly renowned and successful local and national productions,” Pierluisi said. “The film industry has generated thousands of jobs and positively impacted the island’s economy. I support this industry and have provided more incentives to increase film production in Puerto Rico, which in addition to having a positive effect on economic development, promotes tourism on our island.” - Gov. Pierluisi

The new law will allow the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC by its Spanish acronym) to distribute $100 million among all eligible film projects. At least 10% of the total incentive is for local productions and documentaries.

Reach out to us at CereProds LLC if you’d like to discuss your next film project in Puerto Rico.

5 Reasons To Film in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is known for its idyllic beaches, historic cities and dense, verdant rainforests. As a film making destination it is highly sought after thanks to its climate, location and natural and man-made assets. Let’s look at 5 reasons you should be shooting your next project in Puerto Rico:

Climate

Puerto Rico is a tropical filming destination with an average temperature around 80˚F (27˚C) year round; typically dry in lowland and humid in rainforest areas. The predictable nature of weather patterns makes planning and preproduction a little easier and allows for reliable scheduling around potential weather disparities. Once a huge rainforest, Puerto Rico now has a number of economic and residential centers, including capital San Juan to the north and historic capital Ponce to the south. In the rainforest areas of El Yunque and smaller forests further west, typical moderate showers occur regularly to keep the lush vegetation well fed and flowers blooming in a range of powerful colors.

Incentives

While most states offer some form of tax incentives, Puerto Rico's Act 27 enables a wide array of economic incentives that help reduce film and media production expenses, including a 40% tax credit on all payments to resident companies and individuals. Coupled with 20% incentive for non-resident entities, qualifying productions can mitigate part of their cost with some of the most attractive film tax incentives in the world today.

Location

Aside from the local topography of stunning beaches, rainforests, historic architecture and naturally occurring caves and rock formations, Puerto Rico is also situated a short flight from mainland USA. As part of the United States no passport is needed for US citizens traveling to work, no currency exchange and no cross-border hassle. Transporting equipment is possible on all commercial airlines, however we are endowed with a wide range of high quality broadcast standard production equipment on the island.

Contrast

Few films take place in a single location or setting, and producers are responsible for deciding the optimal strategy for capturing all required content in the most sensible and economically-minded way. The island of Puerto Rico is a land of stark contrast: from ancient rainforests with tropical plants and animals, waterways and valleys, beaches and deserts to towering modern high rise buildings, historic colonial-era towns and angular cityscapes. Contained within a 100x35 mile island and supplemented by some of the worlds most beautiful beaches in Culebra and Vieques, as well as main island beach-centric areas such as Rincon, Luquillo and Mayaguez. Puerto Rico has hosted countless films, fashion shoots, TV shows and documentaries.

Expertise

It takes a village of people to bring an idea to life and when it comes to film production these people must be highly trained and dedicated individuals that are qualified and able to execute on direction time and again. At any one time Puerto Rico has upwards of three full feature productions worth of professionals in every distinction from hair & makeup through key grip and cinematography. Supported by the ICG 600 out of New York and IATSE 494, Puerto Rico has Hollywood-tier, locally based crew bringing their expertise to each vital, moving part of a full production.

We aim to reduce the work flow of creatives when filming in Puerto Rico, freeing them to concentrate of the creative elements of their respective projects and leave the logistics to us. CereProds has a wide range of experience across different media channels in providing production services at every stage of development and production. Contact us today to discuss your next project.