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Story From Reinvent Albany, https://reinventalbany.org/2026/08/nys-taxpayers-paid-hollywood-producers-1-2-billion-in-2025/
New York State Taxpayers Paid Hollywood Film/TV Producers $1.2 Billion in Subsidy Payments in 2025
ESDC Report Shows Q4 Reimbursable Tax Credits of $308 million
According to data published by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), New York State taxpayers paid Hollywood producers a record $1.2 billion in 2025. In the fourth quarter alone, NYS paid out reimbursable tax credits worth $308 million to producers shooting TV shows and films in New York State.
Bizarrely, ESD previously disputed Reinvent Albany’s previous projection based on three quarters of state data that film/TV subsidies would exceed $1 billion in 2025.
2025 NYS Taxpayer Subsidies to Hollywood Producers By Quarter
| 2025 Quarter | Credit Issued Amount |
| Q1 | $229,886,154 |
| Q2 | $92,957,901 |
| Q3 | $568,236,130 |
| Q4 | $308,310,997 |
| Total: | $1,199,391,182 |
Despite the enormous public cost, the state continues to lavish taxpayer dollars on major Hollywood studios and multinational entertainment corporations, leaving New Yorkers to foot the billion-dollar bill.
These record levels of corporate handouts reveal the staggering cost of New York’s film/ TV subsidy program and the growing burden it places on taxpayers. Reinvent Albany continues to urge the Governor and Legislature to wean productions off the film/TV tax credit and channel the money into programs that deliver far greater benefits for taxpayers, such as public transit, clean water, and education. With the State facing $31.7 billion in deficits by fiscal year 2030, the time is now to finally cut the film/TV subsidy program.
| Top 10 Projects Receiving Largest Tax Credits | ||||
| Quarter | Project | Studio | Company | Credit Issued Amount |
| 3 | Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The-S5 | Amazon Studios | Picrow Streaming, Inc. | $43,291,051 |
| 3 | Gilded Age, The-S2 | Warner Bros. Discovery | Heydey Productions, LLC | $35,318,864 |
| 4 | Inventing Anna | Netflix | Thimble Pea Pictures, LLC | $31,585,400 |
| 3 | Kaleidoscope-S1 | Netflix Studios | Netflix Productions, LLC | $29,824,500 |
| 2 | White House Plumbers | Warner Bros. | Random Productions, LLC | $29,384,652 |
| 4 | Power Book III: Raising Kanan-S1 | Lionsgate Studios | Kanan Productions, Inc. | $28,852,490 |
| 4 | Equalizer, The-S3 | NBCU | Universal Television LLC | $25,902,726 |
| 3 | Succession-S4 | Warner Bros. Discovery | Sourdough Productions, LLC | $25,747,913 |
| 3 | FBI Most Wanted-S3 | Comcast Corporation | Universal Television LLC | $25,697,073 |
| 3 | And Just Like That-S2 | Warner Bros. Discovery | North Center Productions, Inc. | $25,299,761 |
Full Reinvent Albany 2025 analysis as downloadable data.
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