Overview
The Georgia Job Tax Credit (GAJTC) is a statutory tax credit for new and expanding companies. Companies may earn Job Tax Credits for creating new jobs in Georgia. These credits can effectively eliminate a company’s corporate income tax liability, and in certain areas can also reduce the company’s payroll withholding obligations.
Opportunity
Once a company has qualified to earn Job Tax Credits, it can earn a tax credit for each net new job it creates (and maintains) during the next five years. Each of those jobs can earn an annual credit for five years after it is created.
Special Zones
Certain areas have special designations. Companies in Less Developed Census Tracts (LDCT), Opportunity Zones (OZ), and Military Zones (MZ) are eligible for a $3,500 job tax credit that can be applied to 100 percent of corporate income tax liability. Any excess credits may be used to offset state payroll withholding liability. OZs and MZs, as well as Georgia’s 40least-developed counties, offer job tax credits to businesses of any nature, including retail businesses, that create at least two net new jobs.
Eligibility
A company may qualify for Georgia’s Job Tax Credit by creating net new full-time jobs at any location in the state. To qualify, the Georgia facility must be engaged in a specified operation, or the headquarters of a company engaged i na specified industry, including:
- Manufacturing
- Warehousing, Distribution and Logistics
- Software Development
- FinTech
- Data Centers
- Contact Centers
- Telecommunications
- Research and Development Facilities
To qualify, each job must be full-time, offer health insurance benefits consistent with what is offered to existing employees and pay more than the average wage of the county with the lowest average wage in the state ($484/week as of June 2018).
