Since the tax credit\u2019s inception in 2004, key features have remained consistent: Films and TV show productions are eligible for a transferable tax credit equal to 25%<\/a> of the production\u2019s cost, as long as it spends 60% of its budget on Pennsylvania goods and services. Tax credits can reduce federal tax liability or be sold to individuals or companies to offset production costs.<\/p>\n In 2004, state legislators allocated only $10 million to the film tax credit\u2019s budget in its first year. The budget increased to $75 million in its second year, and has been $100 million in recent years. No single project can receive more than 20% of that budgeted amount in a year.<\/p>\n To receive their tax credit, productions are required to create an economic impact report \u2014 that\u2019s how the Pittsburgh Film Office collects precise data on how much each production spends.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bulk of all of it is people,\u201d Keezer says. \u201cPersonnel is the highest cost on any project, and, luckily for Southwest PA, we have over 5,000 people that live here that work in this industry. So they hire predominantly local, which was something we worked really hard toward creating.\u201d<\/p>\n After that comes what Keezer calls the sexy stuff: hotels, car rentals, office supplies and, most importantly, bottled water.<\/p>\n \u201cMy favorite statistic: \u2018The Dark Knight Rises\u2019 was so long ago at this point, but they spent $1 million on water during the 12 days they were filming,\u201d Keezer explains, adding that the film spent $21 million in the region total without even receiving a tax credit. \u201cThat\u2019s not what people think about when they think about the movie set.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2025, the greater Pittsburgh region was the backdrop for 50 feature films, eight television projects, five commercials and 19 other projects, according to a press release from the Pittsburgh Film Office. Chief among them were the television series: Paramount\u2019s \u201cMayor of Kingstown,\u201d Apple TV\u2019s \u201cParallax,\u201d and HBO Max\u2019s \u201cThe Pitt.\u201d<\/p>\n While \u201cMayor of Kingstown\u201d and \u201cParallax\u201d are both current or former tax credit recipients, \u201cThe Pitt\u201d is not.<\/p>\n Keezer says that bringing TV series to the region has been a goal since she started at the film office in 1994 because shows come back season after season to continually inject money into the local economy.<\/p>\n Plus, it raises Pittsburgh\u2019s national recognition.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time you see an image of Pittsburgh \u2014 small or large \u2014 you start changing people\u2019s perception,\u201d Keezer says. \u201cThe amount of attention and PR we get from \u2018The Pitt\u2019 being the No. 1 show, getting all these accolades and set here? They\u2019ve shot here a total of seven, maybe eight days total over two seasons. They\u2019ll be back again. We welcome them back every time because they hire local, they do all the things. You can\u2019t buy that kind of advertising.\u201d<\/p>\n Amid marked successes, Keezer says the next step is to increase Pennsylvania\u2019s film tax credit budget.<\/p>\n While Pittsburgh\u2019s sheer number of industry employees is attractive, other states have much stronger tax credit programs.<\/p>\n New York state has a $900 million budget and offers 30% tax credits<\/a>\u00a0 \u2014\u00a0 with an additional 10% added if it\u2019s shot outside of New York City. Georgia similarly offers 30% tax credits<\/a>, but has an uncapped budget.<\/p>\n \u201cNew Jersey is eating everyone\u2019s lunch, because not only did they do a tax credit to work there, they\u2019ve done a tax credit if you build there, which is why Netflix bought an army base,\u201d Keezer adds. \u201cCompounding our issues in Pennsylvania is we have two production centers: There\u2019s us and Philly. Most other states are lucky to get one.\u201d<\/p>\n Keezer hopes the budget grows to at least $300 million, as producers often want to know how much is left in the budget before asking about filming locations. But while the film tax credit program often receives bipartisan support from Pennsylvania legislators, it\u2019s nowhere near their to-do lists, she adds.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout a huge increase, it just limits the opportunities, it limits the amount of work that we can see in the commonwealth,\u201d Keezer says.<\/p>\n In the meantime, Pittsburgh will continue to appear on big and small screens throughout 2026.<\/p>\n The season four trailer for \u201cMayor of Kingstown\u201d prominently features aerial and internal shots of State Correctional Institution-Pittsburgh. <\/p>\n \u201cHershey,\u201d a biopic about the renowned Pennsylvania chocolatier and philanthropist Milton Hershey, is expected to release this July. Heist movie \u201cHow to Rob a Bank,\u201d which brought Pete Davidson, Zo\u00eb Kravitz, Nicholas Hoult and other big names to Pittsburgh for filming last year, should be out by September.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/512788204_1133260272173086_1871292397630629177_n.jpg\")
From left: Producer Dan Hank, state Sen. Camera Chatham Bartolotta and the Pittsburgh Film Office\u2019s Dawn Keezer pose on the set of \u201cHershey.\u201d Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Film Office.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-pitt-filming.png\")
Damian Marcano, left, and Michael Hissrich filming on location in Pittsburgh for \u201cThe Pitt.\u201d Photo courtesy of IMDB. <\/p>\n