Taxes & Incentives

The following summary covers incentives available to companies that (a) invest in Charlotte or other locations in Mecklenburg County, (b) meet individual incentive program criteria, and (c) receive formal approval from the government authorities and utility companies who administer these programs.

The incentives described below come in nine basic programs.  Please click on the the bold links for more detailed information.

1. Job Development Investment Grants from the State of North Carolina, paid as a percentage of state withholding taxes collected on new jobs created by approved projects;
2. Cash grants from the One North Carolina Fund, a discretionary state program for projects that generate significant jobs and investment;
3. Article 3J tax credits that are applicable to three North Carolina taxes: the state corporate income tax, the state business franchise tax, and/or -in the case of insurance companies- the state premiums tax
4. Tax credits for Research and Development;
5. Cash grants available under the Charlotte/Mecklenburg Business Investment Program for investment in special zones or, in the case of "large economic impact" projects, anywhere in the City of Charlotte;
6. Cash grants available from the towns of Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson and Mint Hill;
7. Electricity and natural gas rate discounts;
8. Training support + reimbursement of training expenses under North Carolina's New & Expanded Industry Training (NEIT) program; and
9. Free Employee Recruitment and Screening services from the North Carolina Employment Security Commission.

Please note that the Article 3J tax credits described above are significantly increased if the investment project locates in Charlotte's Urban Progress Zone, which overlaps in several areas with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Business Investment Program (BIP) zone and includes all of downtown Charlotte. Qualifying investors in the overlapping zones are eligible for both cash grants and significantly enhanced tax credits.