Form IT-246: Claim for Empire State Commercial Production Credit (Tax Year 2025)

Form IT-246 is how production companies claim the Empire State Commercial Production Credit on their New York State tax return. It’s issued by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and applies to businesses that shoot television commercials in New York and want to reduce their state tax liability based on qualified production costs incurred during the year.

This isn’t a form for everyday taxpayers. It’s aimed specifically at advertising production companies, ad agencies, and independent producers who film commercials within New York State, whether that’s in New York City or in one of the qualifying upstate counties. The credit was created to encourage commercial production spending to stay in-state rather than moving to other jurisdictions with competing incentive programs.

Who Actually Needs This Form

You’d file Form IT-246 if your business produced a qualified commercial in New York and incurred production costs that meet the state’s threshold requirements. The credit calculation depends on things like total production expenditures, where the shoot took place (downstate versus upstate rates differ), and whether your spending crosses the minimum benchmark set for the tax year. Corporations, partnerships, and individuals involved in commercial production can all potentially claim this credit, depending on how the production entity is structured.

If your business doesn’t produce television commercials for a living, this form has no relevance to your filing. It’s a niche credit, but for companies in the advertising and media production space, it can represent a meaningful reduction in state tax owed.

When You Use Form IT-246

You file this form along with your New York State income tax return for the year in which the qualified production costs were incurred. For tax year 2025, that means attaching IT-246 to your 2025 New York return when you file it. The form requires you to detail your production expenditures, confirm compliance with the program’s eligibility rules, and calculate the exact credit amount you’re claiming.

Keep in mind that tax credit programs like this one often come with annual caps or program-wide limits set by the state. Producers should confirm before filing that the current year’s allocation hasn’t already been exhausted, since some New York incentive programs operate on a first-come, first-served basis once the application period opens.

How to Get and Complete the Form

Form IT-246 is available as a fillable PDF directly from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance website. Because it’s an AcroForm, you can type your figures directly into the document on your computer before printing or attaching it to your electronic filing, which cuts down on transcription errors compared to filling it out by hand.

When completing it, have your production cost records ready: invoices, payroll for crew working in New York, location fees, and any other documentation that supports your qualified spending. The form will walk you through separating New York-based expenditures from total production costs, since only the in-state portion counts toward the credit.

States generally require this kind of detailed tracking when businesses claim targeted tax incentives, similar to how California requires businesses to itemize tax expenditure items on Form FTB 4197. The underlying idea is the same across states: if you want the benefit, you need to document exactly how your spending qualifies.

If you’re unsure whether your production qualifies or how to calculate the credit amount, it’s worth consulting with a tax professional familiar with New York’s media and entertainment incentive programs before submitting your return. Errors on credit calculations can delay processing or trigger a request for additional documentation from the department.