Statesboro-Bulloch County has the toolkit to build your business from the start. We welcome business with a customized package of incentives that includes Georgia’s Tier I Job Tax Credit, the most lucrative level of job tax credits offered by the state. Statesboro-Bulloch will incentivize your start-up or relocation according to need and circumstance, using one or more of these options:

Job Tax Credits

Job tax credits are available to a business or to its headquarters engaged in any of the following six categories. Taxpayers may choose between job tax credits or investment tax credits.

• Manufacturing
• Telecommunications
• Warehouse Distribution
• Research & Development
• Processing
• Tourism

Job tax credits in Bulloch County are at the highest tier 1 $4,000 per job each year for five years.  For more information, please visit Georgia Job Tax Credit Program.

Georgia Business Expansion Support Act

Job Tax Credits are available for companies engaged in manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, processing, tourism, and research and development. Companies creating 25 or more new jobs in Bulloch County will receive a $4,000 tax credit.

Capital Investment

Manufacturers that have been in operation for three years may receive tax credits for plant expansions or facilities construction. An investment of $3 million receives a 3% credit that rises to 5% for recycling, pollution control, and defense conversion activities.

Quality Jobs Tax Credit

Companies that create 50+ jobs and pay wages at least 110% of the county average are eligible to receive a credit of $2,500 to $5,000 per job, per year, for up to five years. Credits may be used to offset the company’s payroll withholding once all other tax liability has been exhausted and may be carried forward ten years.

Research & Development Tax Credit

Ten percent of a company’s increased qualified research and development expense over its gross receipts may be claimed as a tax credit. Georgia taxpayers must qualify for a research credit under the IRS code to be eligible. Emerging companies can apply the credit to offset payroll withholding once all other tax liability has been exhausted for their first five years.

Retraining Tax Credit

A company’s direct investment in training can be claimed as a tax credit: 50 percent of the employer’s direct cost up to $500 per training program. The total amount of credit cannot exceed $1,250 per employee per year.

Training programs must be approved by the Technical College System of Georgia. This tax credit can be used to offset up to 50 percent of a company’s state corporate income tax liability. The credit is available to all Georgia businesses that file a Georgia income tax return. The retraining program must be for quality and productivity enhancements and certain software technologies. Unused credits can be carried forward 10 years. These credits can be combined with other tax credits.

Childcare Tax Credit

Childcare credits range from 100 percent to 75 percent of costs. Employers who purchase or build qualified childcare facilities are eligible to receive Georgia income tax credits equal to 100 percent of the cost of construction. Employers that provide or sponsor childcare for employees are eligible for a credit against Georgia income tax equal to 75 percent of employers' direct costs.  

All childcare credits can be used against 50 percent of taxpayer's income tax liability in a given year. Unused childcare credits from the purchase or construction of a childcare facility can be carried forward three years. The credit is for the cost of construction over 10 years [10 percent each year]. Credits related to the operating cost of the facility may be carried forward five years.

Example: Taxpayer has direct childcare cost of $400,000 in a given year; and is eligible to receive $300,000 tax credit [75% x $400,000]. Taxpayer invests $1 million in a building for the childcare and is eligible for a credit in the first year of $100,000 [10% x $1 million]. Taxpayer can add the $300,000 tax credit and the $100,000 credit if the total credits do not exceed 50% of the tax liability in a given year.

Industrial Revenue Bonds

Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRBs) are financing instruments issued through the Development Authority of Bulloch County, Georgia. Both taxable and tax-exempt industrial revenue bond financing is available at competitive, below-prime interest rates. IRBs provide financing for land, building, and equipment acquisition for new and expanding manufacturing plants.

Freeport Exemption

Bulloch County's freeport inventory tax exemption is fully implemented at the 100% level. Exemption from ad valorem taxes for inventories of finished goods held by original manufacturers; raw materials and goods in process; finished goods held by distributors, wholesalers, and manufacturers but destined for out of-state shipment.

One-Stop Environmental Permitting

Georgia offers efficient, one-stop environmental permitting through its Environmental Protection Division. It’s also approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue federally required permits. Costly and time-consuming environmental impact statements are not required.