SPOTLIGHT PROGRAMS

Economic Development Tax Increment Finance Tax Credit (EDTIF): Businesses that locate in Economic Development Zones may be eligible to receive refundable, post-performance tax credits.  The value of the EDTIF credit is up to 30% of new state revenues generated by a business attraction or expansion project over a typical period of 5 to 10 years.  No more than 50% of the total award can be claimed in any single year. To qualify, a business must create at least 50 jobs with wages that meet or exceed 110% of the county average wages within both rural and urban communities.  This discretionary program is available to businesses that operate within one of the state’s targeted industry sectors. The jurisdiction within which a project is to locate must provide local incentives and establish an Economic Development Zone.‍

‍

High-Cost Infrastructure Tax Credit (HCITC): The HCITC supports investments in qualifying cost-intensive, natural resources-based infrastructure projects and is available to businesses who:

• Invest in the expansion or creation of industrial, mining, manufacturing, or agricultural activity;
• Include at least 10 percent (or $10,000,000) of infrastructure costs; and
• generate incremental, new state revenues directly attributable to newly expanded or created activity.

Qualifying (certified) infrastructure investment will generally receive a non-refundable tax credit of 30 percent of qualifying infrastructure-related state revenue generated during a qualifying tax period. The total tax credit authorized for a project will be 50 percent of the cost of the infrastructure investment. The tax credit will generally only apply to new state revenues that are directly attributable to new infrastructure investment.

‍

‍

TAX CREDITS

Research Activities Credits: Businesses engaged in qualified R&D may be eligible for one (or more) of the following non-refundable income tax credits:

• 5% of qualified R&D research expenses in Utah for the current tax year in excess of a base amount.
• 5% of payments made to a qualified organization for basic research in Utah for the current taxable year that exceed a base amount (unused credits may be carried forward for up to 14 years).
• 7.5% of qualified research expenses for the taxable year (unused credits cannot be carried forward).

‍

‍Rural Economic Development Tax Increment Financing Credit: This program offers refundable tax credit to companies who create or expand their operations in rural locations in the state of Utah. The award is a refundable tax credit which acts as a rebate of up to 50% of the new state tax revenues generated over the life of the project, generally limited to 5-to-10 year term. The incentive may be available to Utah companies and others seeking to relocate or expand operations to Rural Utah.

‍

‍Technology & Life Sciences Tax Credits: This program offers tax credits for investors in qualifying technology and life science businesses. The tax credit may be up to 35% of the investment amount, disbursed over three years. The program is allocated $300,000 per year and applications are reviewed on a quarterly, first-come-first-served basis. Investors must invest at least $25,000 and cannot have already had a 30% or more stake in the company.  Applicants must submit their application before finalizing investment.

‍

‍Enterprise Zone Tax Credits: Businesses that locate in Enterprise Zones and create new jobs are eligible for corporate income tax credits valued at $750 per job with an additional $500 if the newly created job has wages at or above 125% of the average county wage. There are also additional credits available for those adding value to agricultural commodities through manufacturing. Other incentives include a 25% credit on the first $200,000 invested in renovating a vacant building. An additional credit of 5% is available for investment exceeding $750,000 in manufacturing plant and equipment.  All credits are non-refundable and non-transferable.  Unused credits may be carried forward for up to 3 years.

‍

‍

‍

TAX EXEMPTIONS

Sales & Use Tax Exemptions are available for new and replacement manufacturing equipment.

‍

‍

‍

DIRECT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Industrial Assistance Account (IAA)*: Discretionary, post-performance grants are available to companies that create at least 50 high-paying jobs in urban counties.  To qualify, the wages of the newly created jobs must be at least 110% of the county average wages within both rural and urban communities, and the company must operate within one of the state’s targeted industry sectors.  Corporate headquarters projects are also eligible. The jurisdiction within which a project is to locate must provide local incentives.‍

‍

Rural Economic Development Incentive Program (REDI)*: Post-performance grants for businesses creating new high-paying jobs in rural counties, or in cities or towns with populations of 10,000 or less. To qualify, businesses must create new jobs that pay at least 110% of the average county wage. These jobs can be remote, in a satellite hub/office, or physically located in the same county as the business. They also cannot be primarily engaged in construction, retail, staffing or public utilities industries. A business considering the REDI grant must apply for and receive approval through GoUtah in advance of creating a new position. Qualifying businesses can receive $4,000 to $6,000 for each new full-time employee position. The incentive has an annual cap of $250,000 per company.
‍

*These incentives are stackable in conjunction with EDTIF SPECIAL ZONING

‍

‍

‍

‍

JOB TRAINING

Custom Fit Training: Discretionary grants may cover up to 50% of job training costs, and are administered through Utah’s community college system.‍

‍

Talent Ready Utah Grants: Talent Ready Utah grants have been designed to strengthen collaboration between education, industry, and economic development in order to better respond to the needs of regional and statewide-designated clusters. Talent Ready Utah has been a successful model for collaboration in cluster industries and has demonstrated success in developing new educational programs supporting industry growth.‍

‍

Utah Works: This new program, under the direction of the center and the talent-ready board, shall develop workforce solutions and incentive grants that meet the needs of the businesses that are creating jobs and economic growth in the state.

‍

‍

‍

Last Updated: May 2023