(a) Authorized applicant means a qualified film production company that is scheduled to begin principal and ongoing photography on a qualified film after submitting a complete initial application to the department and intends to shoot a portion of principal and ongoing photography on a stage at a qualified film production facility on a set or sets.

(b) Allocation year means the particular tax year for which tax credits allocated pursuant to section 24(e) of the Tax Law, which year shall be determined based upon receipt of a complete final application.

(c) Certificate of conditional eligibility means a notification by the department to the authorized applicant indicating that the applicant appears to meet the criteria set forth in section 170.6(a) of this Part and is being considered for the Empire State film production tax credit, pending successful completion and approval of the final application. Such notification may include, but not be limited to, the following information: name and address of the authorized applicant, taxpayer identification number, a statement that the initial application meets the criteria for conditional eligibility under section 170.6(a)(1)-(12) of this Part and a disclaimer stating that actual receipt of the tax credit is subject to completion and approval of the final application.

(d) Certificate of tax credit means a certificate issued by the department which states the amount of the Empire State film production tax credit that the approved applicant has qualified for, based on the department’s analysis under section 24 of the Tax Law and the provisions of this Part. Such certificate may include, but not be limited to, the following information: name and address of the approved applicant, name of the qualified film the credit applies to, the amount of the tax credit to be received by the approved applicant, allocation year of the tax credit earned, a disclaimer stating that the tax credit shall not be claimed before the later of either the taxable year the production of the qualified film is complete or the taxable year immediately following the allocation year for which the film has been allocated credit, and a disclaimer stating that actual receipt of the tax credit is subject to the statutory maximum amount of credits that are allocated for the program.

(e) Complete application means that all required information is provided in the form and manner prescribed by the department.

(f) Completion of a qualified film means that the process of post production of a qualified film has been finished and a cut negative, video master or other final locked form of the qualified film is ready for the striking of prints or electronic copies, and/or ready for broadcast or delivery to a distributor. All activities and expenses related to marketing and distribution, including, but not limited to, the making of release prints, video dupes or other forms of copies, promotional images, and poster art are considered to occur after the production of a qualified film is completed.

(g) Commissioner means the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Economic Development.

(h) Department means the New York State Department of Economic Development.

(i) End credit requirements means those acknowledgements that a qualified film production company or qualified independent film production company, which has applied for credit under the provisions of this section, agrees to include in each qualified film as a condition for the granting of the credit. Each qualified film shall include either:

(j) Feature-length film means a production intended for commercial distribution to a motion picture theater or directly to the consumer viewing market that has a running time of at least 75 minutes in length.

(k) Film production facility means a building and/or complex of buildings and their improvements and associated back-lot facilities in which films are or are intended to be regularly produced and which contain at least one sound stage; provided, however, that an armory owned by the State or City of New York located in the City of New York shall not be considered to be a “film production facility” unless such facility is used by a level one qualified production or it meets the criteria contained in the definition of a qualified film production facility in subdivision (z) of this section. Specifically, an armory located in the City of New York used by a level two qualified production must be certified by the Department.

(l) Final application means information concerning actual expenditures regarding a qualified film that could make it eligible for the Empire State film production tax credit under section 24 of the Tax Law and the provisions of this Part provided in a form and manner as prescribed by the department and submitted by an applicant after it has completed production of a qualified film. Such application may include, but not be limited to: actual data with regard to the qualified film’s total budget, the total production costs at film production facilities in and outside of New York, the total number of shooting days in and outside of New York and any other information the department determines is necessary.

(m) Initial application means information concerning projected expenditures regarding a qualified film that could make it eligible for the Empire State film production tax credit under section 24 of the Tax Law and the provisions of this Part provided in a form and manner as prescribed by the department and submitted by an authorized applicant. Such application may include, but is not limited to, the following information: the estimated total budget for the qualified film, estimates of expenditures at a qualifying production facility, estimates of shooting days and expenditures in New York State and outside of New York State and any other information the Department determines is necessary.

(n) Level one qualified production means a qualified production that has a maximum production budget of $15 million and is being produced by a qualified independent production company in which no more than five percent of the beneficial ownership is owned directly or indirectly by a publicly traded entity.

(o) Level two qualified production means a qualified production that has a production budget over $15 million, or which is being produced by a qualified film production company in which more than five percent of the beneficial ownership is owned, directly or indirectly, by a publicly traded entity.

(p) Pre-production means the process of preparation for actual physical production which begins after a qualified film has received a firm agreement of financial commitment with, for example, the establishment of a dedicated production office, the hiring of key crew members such as a unit production manager and location manager, and includes, but is not limited to, activities such as location scouting, hiring of crew, and execution of contracts with vendors of equipment and stage space.

(q) Principally engaged in the production of a qualified film and controls the qualified film during production means that the legal entity is responsible for payment of the direct production expenses (including pre- and post-production) and is a signatory to the qualified film’s contracts with its payroll company and facility operators.

(r) Post-production means the final stage in a qualified film’s production after principal and ongoing photography is completed, including, but not limited to, editing, Foley recording, automatic dialogue replacement, sound editing, special effects, scoring and music editing, beginning and end credits, negative cutting, soundtrack production, the addition of sound/visual effects, and dubbing. Advertising and marketing activities and expenses are not included in post-production.

(s) Premature application means an initial application in which the department reasonably determines that the applicant cannot commence principal and ongoing photography within 180 days of the date the initial application was submitted. Such determination shall be based on, among other things, completeness of the applicant’s answers on the initial application and lack of documentation supporting an applicant’s initial application.

(t) Principal and ongoing photography means the filming of the major and significant portions of a qualified film that involves the principal actors/actresses.

(u) Production costs means any costs for tangible property used and services performed directly and predominantly in the production (including pre-production and post-production) of a qualified film. Production costs shall not include:

(v) Program means the Empire State film production tax credit program.

(w) Qualified certified public accountant means a New York State certified public accountant approved by the department to conduct a third party verification.

(x) Qualified film means a feature-length film, television film, relocated television production, television pilot and/or each episode of a television series, regardless of the medium by means of which the film, pilot or episode is created or conveyed. Qualified film shall not include:

(y) Qualified film production company means a corporation, partnership, limited partnership, or other entity or individual which or who is principally engaged in the production of a qualified film and controls the qualified film during production.

(z) Qualified film production facility means a film production facility in New York State, which contains at least one sound stage having a minimum of 7,000 square feet of contiguous production space; provided, however, that except with respect to a qualified film production facility being used by a qualified independent film production company:

(aa) Qualified independent film production company means a corporation, partnership, limited partnership, or other entity or individual, that or who:

(ab) Qualified production costs means production costs only to the extent such costs are attributable to the use of tangible property or the performance of services within New York State directly and predominantly in the production (including pre-production and post-production) of a qualified film. For the purpose of this definition, attributable to the use of tangible property or the performance of services within New York State shall only include costs and their pro rata portions which are incurred directly in New York State.

(ac) Relocated television production shall mean, notwithstanding the limitations in subparagraph (i) of paragraph three of subdivision (a) of section 31 of the Tax Law, a television production that is a talk or variety program that filmed at least five seasons outside the State prior to its first relocated season in New York, the episodes are filmed before a studio audience of 200 or more, and the relocated television production incurs at least $30 million in annual production costs in the State, or at least $10 million in capital expenditures at a qualified film production facility in the State.

(ad) Sound stage means a large interior room or space which provides a controlled environment in which filming takes place on sets built or assembled specifically for the production.

(ae) Television film means a production that has a running time of at least 90 minutes in length (inclusive of commercial advertisement and interstitial programming, if any) regardless of the medium or mode of its distribution.

(af) Television pilot means the initial episode produced for a proposed television series. This category will include shorter formats which are known as television presentation, a production of at least 15 minutes in length, produced for the purpose of selling a proposed television series, but not intended for broadcast.

(ag) Television series means a regularly occurring production intended to run in its initial broadcast, regardless of the medium or mode of its distribution, in a series of narrative and/or thematically related episodes, each of which has a running time of at least 30 minutes in length (inclusive of commercial advertisement and interstitial programming, if any).

(ah) Third party verification means a review conducted by a qualified certified public accountant of an applicant’s final application using agreed upon procedures as prescribed by the department to verify that all criteria pursuant to section 170.6(b) of this Part have been met. Such agreed upon procedures shall be posted online.