Sponsors (3)
The bill offers a temporary, transferable 30% tax credit to spur near-term theater renovations and local cultural activity, but it introduces future tax-basis adjustments, nonrefundable/transfer complexities, per-theater caps, and a 2030 sunset that limit and complicate long-term benefits.
Owners of U.S. movie theaters (small-business owners and other taxpayers) can claim a 30% tax credit for qualifying theater improvements—with a higher per-theater investment allowance (up to $500,000) and the ability to transfer the credit—reducing near-term federal tax burdens and helping finance renovations.
Local communities, patrons, and municipal partners receive time-limited federal support for cultural and entertainment venues through 2030, encouraging near-term capital investment and potentially boosting local economic activity and community amenities.
Transferability of the credit lets theater owners with little or no tax liability monetize the benefit by selling credits to other taxpayers, increasing liquidity and access to the incentive for otherwise ineligible owners.
Theaters that claim the credit must reduce the tax basis of the improved property, which can increase future taxable gain on sale and reduce future depreciation deductions for owners.
Because the credit is nonrefundable, owners with little or no federal tax liability may not fully benefit unless they transfer the credit—an option that can involve transaction costs, fees, and complexity that may exclude the smallest theaters.
Per-theater caps and lifetime limits may leave larger renovation projects partly unsupported and could particularly under-serve single-screen or high-cost small theaters that need more than the capped amounts.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a 30% nonrefundable tax credit for qualifying movie theater capital expenditures with per-theater lifetime caps and a 2030 expiration.
Official title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a credit to incentivize investments in movie theaters, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 23, 2026 by Claudia Tenney · Last progress July 23, 2026
Creates a federal tax credit — the Qualified Movie Theater Revitalization Credit — worth 30% of eligible revitalization expenditures for qualifying movie theaters, subject to per-theater lifetime caps and an overall expiration at the end of 2030. The credit applies to depreciable tangible property placed in service by the taxpayer, requires a basis reduction for property receiving the credit, is nonrefundable, and is included in the general business credit with transferability rules. The credit is limited to U.S. movie theaters that publicly exhibit copyrighted films rated by the Motion Picture Association, applies only to property placed in theaters that were in service for the prior five years and expected to remain in use for five years after, and becomes effective for amounts paid or incurred after enactment.