Here you’ll find primary tax credits extended to new and existing companies. These tax credits give Georgia businesses the opportunity to minimize or even eliminate state corporate income tax. View full details on Georgia taxes and incentives.
The City of Roswell offers a variety of fee reduction incentives for projects that provide significant economic benefit to the city and meet certain criteria, including number of jobs, average salary, compatibility with the city’s comprehensive plan, and whether the project will serve as a catalyst for additional economic development.
Projects can apply for waived or reduced permit fees, impact fees, and business registration fees.
The Child Care Tax Credit provides an incentive for employers to purchase or build qualified child care facilities or to provide or sponsor child care for employees.
For employers who purchase or build a state-licensed facility, the credit is equal to 100% of the cost of purchase or construction which is earned over 10 years. Unused credits can be carried forward for three years. Employers who provide or sponsor child care at a state-licensed facility are eligible for a credit equal to 75% of the employer’s direct costs. Credits that are related to providing or sponsoring child care may be carried forward for five years.
All child tax credits can be applied to 50% of the corporate income tax liability.
A tax credit of 20% may be available to digital/interactive entertainment production companies with a minimum of $250,000 in qualified expenditures in Georgia. An additional 10% uplift can be earned by including an embedded Georgia logo and web link on the project’s promotional webpage, or through approved alternatives in they offer equal or greater marketing opportunities for the state.
Interactive entertainment companies will be eligible for this credit only if their gross income is less than $100 million.
The tax credit may be used against Georgia income tax liability and any excess can be used on the company’s state payroll withholding liability.
Investment tax credits help Georgia manufacturing and telecommunication companies grow by making it more affordable to expand and improve facilities.
Companies in manufacturing or telecommunications support that have operated in Georgia for at least three years are eligible to earn investment tax credits for upgrades or expansions. Credit earned amounts to 1 percent to 5 percent of qualified capital investments of $100,000 or more. higher credits (3-8%, depending on tier status) are available for investment in recycling or pollution control equipment, and defense plant manufacturing conversion to a new product.
Investment tax credits can be used to offset up to 50 percent of a company’s Georgia corporate income tax liability. If the earned credit exceeds that limit, then the unused credit can be carried forward for up to 10 years and applied to future years’ tax liability.
Companies should compare the benefits of the investment tax credit with those of the job tax credit, as taxpayers are allowed to claim one or the other, but not both.
A job credit is a tax credit that helps fuel company expansion by rewarding job creation. In Georgia, job credits provide as much as $4,000 in annual tax savings per job for up to five years.
The exact value of the job credits depends on two factors – how many jobs are created, and where. A downloadable map shows how all Georgia counties and census tracts rank as “economic tiers” based on three factors: unemployment rate, per capita income and poverty rate. The credit value is earned for the first five years of the job’s existence as long as the job is maintained.
Fulton County is a Tier 3 zone. The job tax credit for this zone is $1,750 per net new full-time job for 5 years, with a minimum requirement of 15 net new jobs.
Georgia companies that claimed Job Tax Credits or Quality Jobs Tax Credits for jobs created in tax year 2016 or later now have the option of claiming jobs at pre-COVID-19 levels even if they are not able to meet the job maintenance requirement. These companies can “carryover” or use their claimed 2019 qualifying job number in lieu of their actual 2020 and/or 2021 tax years.
The Quality Jobs Tax Credit is another job tax credit for jobs that pay higher-than-average wages. It can give Georgia companies a significant tax break and help drive growth.
Fulton County is a tier 3 zone. Companies in this zone qualify for the credit if they have created at least 50 net new jobs in a 24-month period and the jobs must pay wages that are at least 110% of the county’s average wage. The credit may be applied against 100% of the state corporate income tax liability, and once that liability has been exhausted, the credit may be used to offset the company’s state payroll tax. Claimed but unused credits may be carried forward for 10 years.
Please note that a qualifying job can earn the Quality Jobs Tax Credit or the Jobs Tax Credit, but not both.
Mega project tax credits benefit Georgia companies that meet the following requirements 1) hire at least 1,800 net new full-time employees; 2) either invest a minimum of $450 million or have a minimum annual payroll of $150 million; and 3) either pay an average wage above specified minimums or show high growth potential. Companies that meet these requirements may claim a tax credit of $5,250 per job per year for the first five years of each net new job position.
A maximum of 4,500 new jobs created by any one project may be eligible to receive these credits, and companies that claim these credits forego claiming other credits, except the R&D and Retraining Tax Credits are allowed.
Georgia’s fight against COVID-19 includes the creation of a new Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) Tax Credit Bonus that rewards job creation that expands the manufacturing of PPE and hand sanitizer in Georgia.
Eligible PPE manufactures can claim an additional $1,250 per job per year for five years. Manufactures must also be eligible to claim the Job Tax Credit to claim the PPE Bonus. The credit may be used to offset up to 100% of the company’s corporate income tax liability, and any excess credits are applicable to payroll withholding. Unused credits may be carried forward for 10 years. The PPE Bonus is available only for tax years ending between 1/1/20 through 12/31/24. However, qualifying jobs claimed for tax years ending on or before 12/31/24 can claim the full five years of the credit.
Please Note: If the facility produces multiple products, only those jobs dedicated to manufacturing PPE or hand sanitizer may qualify.
The port tax credit bonus rewards new or expanding Georgia companies that increase imports or exports through a Georgia port by at least 10 percent over the previous or base year.
The port tax credit bonus may offset up to 50 percent of the company’s corporate income tax liability. Unused credits may be carried forward for 10 years. The Port Tax Credit Bonus can be used in conjunction with either the Job Tax Credit or Investment Tax Credit if the company 1) meet the requirements for on of those programs and 2) increases imports or exports through Georgia ports during a specific tax year and by a specified amount.
Note: The Port Tax Credit cannot be used with the Quality Jobs Tax Credits.
Georgia offers a tax credit against the annual premium tax applied to insurance companies in the state. The tax credit is earned based on new job creation in Georgia.
The amount of the per-job tax credit, how the credits can be used, and the qualification requirements depend on the community’s location. A downloadable map shows how all Georgia counties and census tracts rank as “economic tiers”. Once a company has qualified to earn the premium tax credit, each job can earn an annual credit for years two through six, as long as the job is maintained.Companies must create 5-25 net new jobs in a year to qualify, depending on the tier of the county.
Fulton County is a Tier 3 county which mean companies must create a minimum of 15 jobs to qualify for a $1,250 credit that may be applied to 50% of Georgia premium tax liability.
To qualify, the new jobs must have:
- No predetermined end date
- A regular work week of 35 hours or more
- The same benefits provided to other regular employees of the local company
- An average wage above the average wage of the county with the lowest average wage in the state ($541/week as of June 2020)
Research and development (R&D) tax credits are a valuable benefit for companies developing new products and services in Georgia.
R&D tax credits are available to any company that increases its qualified research spending. Brand new companies, existing companies embarking on R&D for the first time, established companies expanding their R&D budget – all are eligible for R&D tax credits.
The credit can be used to offset up to 50% of net Georgia income tax liability, after all other credits have been applied. Any unused R&D tax credits can be carried forward for up to 10 years.
Retraining tax credits enable Georgia businesses to offset their investment in employees. Whether retraining workers to use new equipment or new technology, companies can afford more training, more often, thanks to Georgia’s tax credit program.
To qualify for the credit, retraining expenses must be approved by the Technical College System of Georgia. The Retraining Tax Credit value is calculated at 50% of the employer’s direct costs, up to $500 per employee per approved retraining program per year, with the total credit per employee not exceeding $1,250 per year. The credit can be used to offset up to 50% of the company’s state corporate income tax liability and unused credit can be carried forward for 10 years.