State Brief · ND

North Dakota Film Tax Incentives

Headline rate, caps, minimum spend, payroll fringe, and the official film office for North Dakota. Reference data for producers, line producers, and financiers structuring a North Dakota shoot.

Program Type
No Active Program
No active program
Labor & Fringe
Payroll Burden
20–22%
Workers' Comp
2.5%
Sales Tax
5%
No official link on file

Illustrative reference. Verify before deal.

Production Brief

North Dakota has no statewide film production incentive. Location fees on state-managed land are waived for approved productions, and the North Dakota Tourism Division serves as a resource for location scouting and permitting. The state's wide-open prairies, Badlands formations, and small-town settings offer a Northern Plains visual identity for productions with location-specific creative needs.

North Dakota film incentive, at a glance.

The questions producers ask first when sizing a North Dakota shoot, answered against the state's current program structure and fringe environment.

Is the North Dakota film tax credit refundable or transferable?
North Dakota does not currently offer a statewide film production incentive. Producers shooting on location should plan to absorb the full cost of qualified spend without a state-level rebate or credit.
What is the payroll burden for film production in North Dakota?
Typical payroll burden in North Dakota runs 20–22% on top of gross wages, covering payroll taxes, statutory insurance, and applicable union pension/health/welfare contributions. Workers' compensation rates for production work generally fall around 2.5%, and production purchases are subject to 5%.
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See how North Dakota stacks up on the full map.

Headline rate is the start, not the end. Compare North Dakota side-by-side with every other U.S. jurisdiction on caps, minimum spend, refundability, and fringe before locking the location.

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