The Georgia Job Tax Credit program provides a tax credit to certain eligible businesses that create net new jobs in the state.  Each year the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) ranks the 159 counties in Georgia into tiers using three factors: unemployment rate, per capita income and percentage of residents whose incomes are below the poverty level and the job credits are determined by county tier and meeting minimum new jobs thresholds.  To be eligible for credits, businesses (or their headquarters) must be engaged in manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, processing, telecommunications, broadcasting, tourism, or research and development industries.

If businesses are located in counties recognized and designated as the 40 least developed counties, in Military Zones or in Opportunity Zones, they may be engaged in any industry (including retail).

The Georgia Job Tax Credit amount is determined by county rank or specially designated areas such as less developed census tracts (“LDCT”), Military Zones (“MZ”) or Opportunity Zones (“OZ”) and the number of net new jobs created.

Annual changes in an area’s designation can have a significant impact on the credits available to businesses locating or expanding in those particular areas.  For example, if a business is located in a Tier 1 county in 2016 and the county ranking changes to a Tier 2 in 2017, the credit per net new job created in 2017 may be reduced from $3,500 per net new job to $2,500 per net new job.  Businesses planning job creation in counties affected by tier ranking changes or specially designated area designation changes are eligible to preserve 2016 Job Tax Credit benefits by filing a Notice of Intent (NOI) by February 15, 2017.  Filing a timely NOI locks in a business’s 2016 tier ranking or special area designation (and corresponding credit amount per net new job) for three years. 

A list of counties benefited by filing NOIs to preserve 2016 benefits can be found in the 2017 Job Tax Credit Program Memo and Credit Ranking Detail issued by the DCA (which can be found here or on their website).  The Notice of Intent form can also be found on the DCA website. 

Should you have any questions about filing the Notice of Intent or about the Georgia Job Tax Credit Program, please contact Rose Davidson at rose.davidson@ctillc.com or 404-719-2262.

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