By ERMW Team
Thursday, November 13, 2025

Enhanced Film Tax Incentives: Maximizing Your Budget

New Mexico’s film tax incentive program is one of the most competitive in the U.S., strategically designed to reward long-term investment, television series, and economic growth in rural areas.

Core Refundable Tax Credit: The base incentive offers a 25-30% refundable tax credit on qualified expenditures within New Mexico.
The Uplift Zones (Up to 40%): The credit can reach a maximum of 40% through key "uplifts":

Qualified Production Facilities (QPF) Uplift: An additional 5% is available for productions utilizing a certified soundstage or standing set in the state.
Series Television Uplift: An additional 5% for TV series with an order of at least six episodes and a New Mexico budget of $50,000 or more per episode.
Rural Uplift Zone: A significant 10% uplift is offered for qualified expenditures made in areas at least sixty miles outside the city halls of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, intentionally driving economic development to smaller communities.

Funding Viability: The annual cap on total tax credits paid out has been incrementally increased to sustain the industry's rapid growth and ensure long-term funding reliability for incoming projects.
Learn more: New Mexico Film Office Incentives Site

Expanding Studios and Infrastructure

The state’s physical infrastructure is scaling quickly to meet demand, focusing heavily on soundstage space and advanced production facilities.

Albuquerque Studios (Netflix Studios): Serving as a cornerstone of the industry, this facility (expanded by Netflix) offers a massive number of sound stages, production offices, and post-production capabilities.
Cinelease Studios Expansion: Major industry companies like Cinelease are significantly increasing their studio space in the Albuquerque area, boosting the total available soundstage square footage.
Arrowhead Game Studios: New investments, such as the $15 million Arrowhead Game Studios project at NMSU in Las Cruces, are establishing robust production and training hubs outside the central corridor, attracting projects to Southern New Mexico.

Workforce Development and NextGen Training

New Mexico ensures a steady supply of trained, high-quality local talent through state-backed training and educational programs, catering specifically to the needs of modern filmmaking.

Industry-Driven Training

Film Crew Advancement Program (FCAP): This essential on-the-job training program incentivizes productions to hire and mentor New Mexico residents. It offers up to a 50% reimbursement of wages for hours worked by an approved trainee (up to 1,040 hours).
The Media Arts Collective (The MAC): The MAC offers free and low-cost training, including the Innovation Track which provides advanced instruction in cutting-edge technologies like Virtual Production (VP) and AI-driven workflows.

**The Media Arts Collective (The MAC)** **building rendering by SMPC Architects**

Academic and Vocational Pipelines

Community College Certification: Institutions like Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) offer practical film technology certificates and degrees.
University-Level Degrees: New Mexico State University (NMSU) and the University of New Mexico (UNM) provide four-year degrees in film and digital media.

Next Generation Media Academy (NGMA): This major statewide initiative, often referred to as the NextGen Academy, represents a significant investment in cohesive, industry-standard training across the state.

Goal: To create a highly skilled, set-ready workforce for the film, television, and digital media industries.
Collaboration: NGMA operates in collaboration with multiple higher education institutions statewide, ensuring a core curriculum that meets industry and union standards (IATSE Local 480).
Focus Areas: NGMA's curriculum is focused on both traditional production crafts and emerging focus areas like Virtual Reality (VR), Extended Reality (XR), and Volumetric Production.

El Raton Media Works (ERMW): Based in Raton, this innovative non-profit serves as a crucial partner in delivering NGMA's goals to Northern New Mexico, directly supporting the Rural Uplift Zone.

Film Studio and Training Center: ERMW is transforming a historic elementary school into a state-of-the-art training center, serving as a regional hub for workforce development.
The Regional XR Studio: A key feature of the ERMW Center is the development of one of the region's first Extended Reality (XR) Studios, which provides hands-on training in advanced filmmaking techniques, such as ICVFX, utilizing LED walls.
Comprehensive Vocational Training: ERMW’s programs will go beyond camera operation, also offering instruction in the essential vocational trades needed on set, such as carpentry, costume design, and electrical work, helping to build a complete local economy around production.
Community Engagement: ERMW actively engages local youth through programs like the Film Prize Junior New Mexico Mentorships and introductory media workshops, building the talent pipeline from the ground up.

El Raton Media Works groundbreaking in November 2025.

Diverse Scenic Locations and Regional Support

New Mexico’s geographical diversity is its natural asset, now coupled with localized support to streamline logistics and permitting.

Iconic Backdrops: The landscapes can double for virtually any location—from the lunar-like White Sands National Park to the historic Spanish colonial architecture of Santa Fe, and rugged deserts to lush mountain forests.
Regional Film Liaisons: The New Mexico Film Office (NMFO) provides statewide support, but regional and city film liaisons (e.g., in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Film Lea County in Hobbs) offer specialized local knowledge, assist with permits, and connect productions with vendors in their specific areas, making rural filming more accessible.

Not just deserts, New Mexico has a wide range of landscapes.

Crew, Talent, and Industry Events

Experienced Workforce: New Mexico boasts a deep pool of union-affiliated (IATSE Local 480) and non-union professionals who have worked on countless major projects, ensuring a skilled workforce. The diverse local population also facilitates authentic and diverse casting.
Vibrant Film Festivals: Prominent events like the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival and the Albuquerque Film & Music Experience provide crucial networking and showcase opportunities, enriching the local film culture.

New Mexico's comprehensive strategy—uniting the nation's most aggressive 40% tax incentives with state-of-the-art infrastructure expansion and rigorous, future-focused workforce training—creates an ecosystem designed for success. By choosing New Mexico, filmmakers don't just secure a stunning backdrop and a strong budget; they partner with a state that is actively investing in the long-term viability and innovation of their production, solidifying its status as a premier, world-class production locale.