- Georgia allows its local governments to form Tax Allocation Districts that capture increases in property tax revenues driven by new investment in the TAD to be allocated to pay for infrastructure costs or certain private development costs therein, primarily done via issuance of tax allocation district bonds. Jurisdictions choose whether or not to participate in a Tax Allocation District.
- Georgia offers a sales tax exemption for equipment in data centers if a company meets certain minimum requirements, which include creating at least 20 new high-paying jobs and meeting a minimum threshold of investment (based on the population of the county where it is located). A different sales tax exemption program is available for “high-tech companies,” which includes single user data centers and requires the qualifying purchases to exceed $15 million in a calendar year to qualify.
- Investment Tax Credit is available to companies that have had a manufacturing or telecommunications facility in Georgia for at least 36 months. The benefit amount depends on the tier status of the county in which the new investment is made.
- Job Tax Credit provides tax credits to companies that create new jobs in a specific industry sector such as manufacturing, distribution, and data processing. The credits range from $1,250 to $4,000 per job per year for five years, and credits earned for certain locations may be used against payroll withholding once a company’s corporate income tax liability is exhausted (these locations are Tier 1 counties, state opportunity zones, less developed census tracts, and military zones).
- Mega Project Tax Credit is designed for companies creating at least 1,800 new, full-time jobs and either investing a minimum of $450 M or having an annual payroll of $150 M. Companies may earn a tax credit of $5,250 per job per year for five years, which may be applied to payroll withholding once a company’s corporate income tax liability is exhausted.
- Port Tax Credit is a bonus which may be used in combination with the Job Tax Credit or the Investment Tax Credit if the company meets the requirements for one of those programs and increases imports and exports through a Georgia deepwater port by 10% over a previous base year. The base year port traffic must be at least 75 net tons, 5 containers, or 10 twenty-foot equivalent units. The credit may be used to offset up to 50% of the company’s corporate income tax liability and may be carried forward for ten years. When used with Job Tax Credits, it is a bonus of $1,250 per job per year up to five years; when used with Investment Tax Credits, it can increase the percentage amount of the investment that is used to calculate the credit.
- Quality Jobs Tax Credit provides a tax credit to companies creating high-paying jobs that pay at least 10% above the average wage of the county in which the jobs are created. For most locations, the company must create at least 50 new qualifying jobs in a 24-month period to begin earning the credits. In designated Rural Counties, the minimum will be either 10 or 25 new qualifying jobs created within a 12-month period. The tax credits range from $2,500 to $5,000 per job per year for five years, and may be used against payroll withholding if corporate income tax liability has been exhausted.
- Transportation Infrastructure Bank provides grants and low-interest loans to provide financing for highly competitive transportation projects enhancing mobility while driving economic development in Georgia communities, eligible applicants include local, regional, and state government entities in Georgia including CID’s, and projects must be fuel-tax eligible and costs may include preliminary engineering, right of way, and construction costs.
- Life Sciences Manufacturing Tax Credit is a bonus of $1,250 that may be added to each Job Tax Credit for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicines and medical equipment and supplies in Georgia. The credit may be used to offset up to 100% of the company’s corporate income tax liability and may be used against payroll withholding if corporate income tax liability has been exhausted.
- Research & Development Tax Credit may be earned for performing R&D in Georgia (each tax year the credit is equal to 10% of qualified R&D expenditures, minus a base amount). The R&D tax credit is applied to 50% of the company’s net Georgia corporate income tax liablity after all other credits have been applied; then any excess may be used to offset the company’s state payroll withholding.
