PANAMA

With its unique blend of colonial structures and modern skyscrapers, Panama City is an eye-catching and underutilized location in Central America. Easy to navigate with a sophisticated underground metro system, the city also has easy access to the country’s pool of multilingual crew. Filmmakers can take advantage of Panama’s rainforests, beaches and resort towns, and recent productions have included Quantum of Solace, Contraband and James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad

• Economic return of 25% on qualified productions.

• A foreign production company that must invest at least $500,000 in qualified local expenses in Panamanian territory.

• Requires the international production company, through a local production company, to hire a certified public accountant (CPA) to conduct an audit of financial documents detailing all expenses incurred in the course of film production activities in Panama, to subsequently present your certification for economic return, subject to verification and approval by the General Directorate of Revenue (DGI).

Offering beautiful Caribbean backdrops without a passport required for your American cast and crew, Puerto Rico can easily stand in for other Latin American locations and features visual charms all its own. The island, complete with lush rain forests and sugar-white beaches, has been utilized by the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Driven (doubling as San Diego), and representing Fast Five (standing in for Rio de Janeiro). The Peacock series The Resort, starring Cristin Milioti and William Jackson Harper, also used Culebra and San Juan as stand-ins for Mexican resort towns.

Incentive Type Transferable Non-Refundable Tax Credit

Incentive Amount 40-55% (residents), 20% (non-residents)

Minimum Spend $50,000

Application Submit your application through the film commission’s online portal

Hotel Occupancy Tax Relief No