Taxes & Incentives

Union County offers our businesses 100% Freeport. Raw materials, goods in process and finished goods bound for out-of-state shipment that are held in factories and warehouses in Union County are 100% exempt from County ad valorem taxes.

Georgia’s 5.75 percent corporate income tax rate applies only to the portion of income that is earned in Georgia. Companies operating in Georgia use a "Single Factor Gross Receipts" apportionment formula. This formula substantially reduces Georgia income tax for companies based in the state that deliver a large portion of products or services to customers outside Georgia. Gross Receipts, or sales in Georgia, are the only factor used to determine the amount of a company’s income that is subject to Georgia income tax.

Georgia’s broad definition of what sales qualify as out-of-state means that tax savings in Georgia will likely exceed those of other states that use single-factor apportionment.

Georgia and Union County offer attractive and highly competitive incentives to newly-located and expanding companies. Our incentives are designed and negotiated to both ensure our competitiveness for your project and to ensure your company has every competitive advantage during start up and continuing through long-term operations.

• • Jobs Tax Credits: provides $1,750/job created (minimum 15 new jobs) each year
• • Port Tax Credit Bonus: increases Jobs or Investment credits if port activity is increased by 10%
• • Quality Jobs Tax Credit: provides $2,500-$5,000 per job (minimum 50 new jobs over a 24-month span) with above-average wages for five years
• • R&D Tax Credit: credit up to 10% of increased qualified R&D expense over gross receipts
• • Investment Tax Credits: provides tax credits equal to 1-3% of qualified capital investment for manufacturers and telecommunications companies that have operated in Georgia for at least three years
• • Retraining Tax Credit: credit up to $500/yr per employee for direct investment in training
• • Child Care Tax Credit: credit of 75-100% of employer-sponsored child care for employees
• • Mega Project Tax Credit: $5,250 credit for project with 1,800+ jobs or $450+ million investment
• • Premium Tax Credit: $1250 per job credit (minimum 15 new jobs) against the annual premium tax applied to insurance companies in the state, based on new job creation in Georgia
• • Parolee Tax Credit: $2,500 per job credit for hiring an individual granted parole within 12 months of date of hire
• • Sales & Use Tax Exemption: on equipment and electricity used directly in manufacturing

• Quick Start: Georgia’s nationally acclaimed employee training program provides customized training for new employees in skill-based jobs at no cost to qualifying companies. Quick Start provides training space, instructors and all materials related to the company’s customized program. Quick Start can potentially save companies hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in training costs.

• Enterprise Innovation Institute: Georgia Institute of Technology offers world-class IT, engineering and other services to help companies with issues related to process productivity, quality and international standards, energy and environmental management, lean enterprise transformation, trade adjustment assistance, new product design and development, and information technology strategies.

• Centers of Innovation: Georgia provides several Centers across the state that support different strategic industry sectors including manufacturing, aerospace, agriculture and logistics. Georgia companies can utilize university-sponsored research, public and private sector talent and other state and private sector resources for their innovation and growth strategies needs.

• Hope Grant: allows any Georgian to complete a degree or certificate program through the State Technical Colleges, which allows Georgia companies to take advantage of additional training opportunities for their employees and business.