The Broadway tax credit program has found enough money to last at least another month.
The NYC Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit, which allows commercial productions to subsidize up to 25 percent of their production costs, will now extend its window and accept applications from shows that have their first paid performance by Oct. 20, 2025. The program had previously said it would run out of funding by October and closed applications for shows that had their first performance after Sept. 15.
Broadway producers had also been warned in July that the remaining funding had already been spoken for, but were still encouraged to submit applications in case additional money was found.
The extension means that the Broadway plays Liberation and Scott Rudin’s Little Bear Ridge Road and musicals Chess and The Queen of Versailles could now be eligible for the credit.
The program began in 2021 and had been doling out about $100 million a year. In July, the Empire State Development Fund, which runs the program, said about $365 million of the $400 million program funding total had already been allocated and they would soon run out.
This caused consternation among members of the Broadway community, as the tax credit has been used to incentivize investment in productions, as it helped assuage concerns about recoupment.
Now, the Empire State Development Fund says some money still remains. The fund found this after receiving the final numbers on production costs from completed projects, as compared to the estimates in their initial applications.
“While most of the $400M has been allocated, ESD will continue to monitor all program data in real time, including making any necessary refinements based upon completed project outcomes,” a spokesperson for the fund said. “Current conservative projections suggest that by late October, the full amount of program funds will be expended.”
The Broadway Journal first reported the news of the funding extension.
“We’re glad to see the program re-opening for a portion of the fall. For the productions that qualify, this makes a big difference in their ability to open and build an audience. Our priority is growing Broadway’s economic impact and supporting its 100,000 jobs. We look forward to working with the State to extend the successful tax credit program for three years at its current levels, and to provide some additional funding to ensure productions in this current season have the resources they’d anticipated. We know there are smart ways to strengthen the program and stretch it further,” Jeff Daniel, president of the Shubert Organization and head of The Broadway League’s Government Affairs Committee, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Daniel previously told THR that the League, the trade association for Broadway producers and general managers, plans to advocate for a three-year extension of the NYC Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit that maintains the funding level of $100 million per year. The League also plans to ask for additional funding for the shows that will not receive the credit this year due to the funds running out.
One key change will be asking shows that end up being financially successful to give back a portion of the credit. But the League also faces an uphill battle to secure funding, as New York is contending with federal spending cuts that were passed as part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.