Assistance & Incentives
We are ready to assist you in planning your Stephens County business. Below is a sampling of the incentives that are available.
Stephens County Development Authority Incentives
Bond Financing - Project financing with SCDA
SCDA has the potential to offer both tax-exempt and taxable industrial development revenue bond
financing to qualifying firms desiring to lease or to own. The Authority will aggressively seek to structure project financing most advantageous to the company.
Contact SCDA: 1-866-952-SCDA - Fax: 706-886-0010 -
Email
State Tax Credits
Georgia Job Tax Credit / Investment Tax Credit - Job creation or $50,000 local investment
Job tax credits or investment tax credits are available to a business or its
headquarters engaged in one of the following: Manufacturing,Telecommunications, Warehouse Distribution, Research & Development, Processing, Tourism.
Job tax credits in a tier 1 or tier 2 county can be used against 100% of income tax liability – Stephens County is a tier 2 county for 2009. Companies in tier 2 counties must create 10 or more jobs per year to qualify for a credit of $2,500 –3,000 per job, per year for five years. Unused credits can be carried forward for another 5 years. Stephens County businesses get $500 extra in tax credits because of SCDA’s participation in a Joint Development Authority.
Investment tax credits of 3% can be received by companies expanding in tier 2 counties that have invested $50,000. That credit increases to 5% for recycling, pollution control, and defense conversion activities.
Click to download Job Tax Credit Application
Tier 1 Tract in Toccoa
A large tract of land in Stephens County has been designated as tier 1, making investors in that area eligible for tax credit benefits if that business creates 5 jobs within one year. The credit for tier 1 is increased to $4,000 per job created and may be taken for five consecutive years in which those jobs are maintained. Excess credits may be carried forward for up to 10 years or may be used against employee withholding, which is a cash benefit to the company.
Click to Download Tier 1 Map
Port Job Tax Credit Bonus - Extra credit for increase in imports or exports
The port tax credit is a $1,250 per job bonus for taxpayers with large increases in imports and exports out of a Georgia port. For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2010, credits are determined by the change in port activity from the previous year. The $1,250 is added to the job tax credit.
Freeport Tax Exemption - Personal property tax waiver
Stephens County provides the maximum personal property tax exemption on business inventory allowable under Georgia law, 100%, on the following three classes of property:
● Manufacturer’s raw materials and goods-in-process inventory;
● Manufacturer’s finished goods held by the original manufacturer;
● Warehouse, distribution, or manufacturing firms with finished goods to be shipped outside of Georgia
Click to download Freeport Tax Exemption application
Sales and Use Tax Exemption - 7% for qualifying equipment
State sales tax exemptions are available on certain classes of manufacturing equipment and for pollution control equipment, including qualified manufacturing production machinery, machinery bought to upgrade existing machinery, primary material handling equipment of warehouses and distribution centers, computer equipment, and electricity. Sales tax exemption includes 4% state sales tax and 3% local sales tax or 7%. The total possible sales tax exemption allowed is dependent upon which option the Company elects to utilize; only one can be chosen:
● The regular investment tax credit
● The jobs tax credit
● The optional investment tax credit
Research & Development Tax Credit - Usable against 50% of remaining income tax liability
The R&D tax credit is available to companies engaged in one of the categories for which the jobs tax credit is available. The taxpayer must quality for a research credit under Section 41 of the 1986 IRS code to be eligible. R&D tax credits can be used against 50 percent of the remaining income tax liability after all other credits have been applied in a given year. Unused R&D tax credits can be carried forward 10 years and can be added to other tax credits. Credits are based on gross receipts and no longer require three consecutive years positive taxable net income as previously stipulated.
Read more...
Mega Tax Credit - Large investment required for $5,250 credit per job
Georgia is one of few states offering a tax incentive to companies creating large projects with high-paying jobs. This credit applies to the manufacturing, bio, energy, and financial sectors. This is a tax credit against payroll withholding liability to a company hiring 1,800 new employees with an investment of more than $450 million or an annual payroll greater than $150 million. The credit is $5,250 per job and may not be taken with other tax credits.
Quality Jobs Tax Credit - For creation of 50+ high-paying jobs
Replacing the former "Headquarters Tax Credit", the Quality Jobs Tax Credit rewards companies for creating 50+ high-paying, quality jobs, which are defined as:
1) located in Georgia
2) work week of 30+ hours
3) is not a job that was already located in Georgia regardless of which taxpayer the individual performed services for
4) pays 110% or above of the average wage of the county
5) has no predetermined end date
Companies receive a credit, allowable against payroll withholding liability, on an increasing scale ($2,500 - $5,000) for establishing jobs that pay higher than the average wage in the county.
Strategic Industries Tax Credit - $500 credit per new job for existing industries
Strategic Industries Tax Credit is a $500 per job tax credit bonus for each new full-time position created by existing business enterprises that have been headquartered in the state for 3 or more years.
Georgia Clean Energy Property Tax Credit - New qualified clean energy property tax break
Georgia offers tax credits for certain types of energy efficient
and renewable energy property as well as for the delivery of
wood residuals to qualified biomass facilities as part of
Conserve Georgia. The credits are to taxpayers placing qualified clean energy property in service between July 1, 2008 and December 31, 2012. View & Print Preapplication
Single Factor Corporate Income Tax - Only in-state gross receipts subject to Georgia income tax
Under this new apportionment formula which came into effect in 2008, income tax is substantially reduced for companies based in Georgia that deliver a large portion of products or services to customers outside the state. The Gross Receipts or sales element is now the only factor used in determining the apportionment of a company’s income in Georgia. This applies to manufacturing, sales, and service companies doing business in Georgia – whether manufacturing products within the state of Georgia, selling goods from a Georgia base, or rendering services from a Georgia base but selling those products or services to customers in other states. Georgia is the first state in the southeast to adopt a single factor apportionment.
Read more...
Training & Education
Georgia’s Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP)- Expedited curriculum lowers training costs
ICAPP Advantage provides education for specified knowledge in high demand but short supply. ICAPP Advantage helps companies meet their hiring needs – and save thousands on training and hiring costs – with an expedited curriculum designed by the company with a college or university.
Georgia Work Ready Program - Quickly determine candidate eligibility with this free assessment 
Employers can simplify the hiring and training process by matching job profile information with assessment scores of
Georgia Work Ready Certified potential employees. The Georgia Work Ready Assessment Program is a complete
solution for companies to quickly assess whether a person's skill levels match the job requirements. The Georgia Work Ready assessment is available to all Georgians at no cost.
Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship - Free college tuition for Georgia residents
The Lottery-funded HOPE Scholarship makes continuing education affordable to Georgia residents who maintain a “B” average at the high school and/or college level. The scholarship covers many tuition, fees, and books costs for students pursuing an associate or bachelor's degree in Georgia's public and private colleges and universities.
Quick Start Training - Free customized workforce training
Georgia’s highly acclaimed program offers sophisticated customized workforce training, jointly developed with your Company. This cost-free program covers development of all training plans and materials, plus actual training conducted in the Company’s facilities or in one of the state-of-the-art technical schools.
Contact: Vice Pres. of Economic Development, NGTC, Mark Ivester, (706) 754 -7703. Email
Retraining Tax Credit - Equal to 50% of employee retraining costs
Employers who provide retraining for employees are eligible for a tax credit equal to 50% of the costs of retraining each full-time employee up to $500. The training must:
1) Enhance the skills of employees on new equipment, technology or operating systems;
2) Be provided at no cost to the employee.
Read more...
Community & Family
Child Care Credit - For up to 75% of operations cost to employer
Employers who provide or sponsor child care for employees are eligible for a tax credit of up to 75% of the direct cost of operation to the employer. The credit cannot exceed more than 50% of the taxpayer’s total state income tax liability for that taxable year. Employers who purchase or build qualified child care facilities are eligible to receive Georgia income tax credits equal to 100 percent of the cost of construction.
Drugs Don’t Work - 7.5% savings on Worker's Comp premiums
Businesses can access 7.5% savings on their Worker’s Compensation insurance premiums by getting the “Drugs Don’t Work“ Certification.
Contact: Toccoa-Stephens Co. Chamber of Commerce, (706) 886-2132
