According to film location scout Wilson Wu, the “rent” or “location fee” earned by a homeowner for a film shoot is free from federal taxation as long as you don’t have more than 14 film shoots in a tax year. (Check with your tax advisor to see if you qualify!)
Good deal, eh? Especially in this economic time when a location fee can easily pay for a whole month’s mortgage.
I’ve assisted location scouts with residential, commercial and municipal properties in the last few years. A few examples:
The filmmaker for the indie film “Once Beautiful Past” rented a home we had on the market, Hayward City Hall made some money by renting out office space for an evening, and a vacant closed-down fast-food restaurant in south Hayward was used for a TV commercial shoot.
Are you interested in offering up your property for a film crew to use?
