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Georgia Jobs Tax Credit

Active • No Sunset Date • Georgia General Assembly

Basic Incentive Information

Credit Duration
5 years
You can claim this tax credit every year for five consecutive years for each qualifying job you create. After five years, you stop receiving credits for that specific job.
Carryforward Period
10 years
If you can't use all your credits in one year because you don't owe enough taxes, you can save them and apply them to your taxes for up to ten years in the future. Think of it like rolling over unused credits until you need them.
Transferable
No
You cannot sell or give your tax credits to another company or person. The credits stay with your business and can only be used to reduce your own tax bill.
Refundable
No
If your credits are bigger than your tax bill, the state won't write you a check for the difference. You can only use the credits to reduce what you owe down to zero.
CPA Audit Required
No
You don't need to hire an independent accountant to verify your numbers before claiming this credit. However, you still need to maintain accurate records and meet all program requirements.
DOL Certification
Yes
You must get official paperwork from the Georgia Department of Labor confirming that your new employees were previously unemployed or underemployed. This certification is required to claim the credit.

Tax Liability Offset

Tier 1 & 2: Credit can offset up to 100% of state income tax liability

Tier 3 & 4: Credit capped at 50% of state income tax liability

See Your Potential Credit

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Your Potential Annual Credit
$18,750 - $93,750

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Eligible Industries & Business Types

The Georgia Jobs Tax Credit supports businesses across diverse sectors that create quality jobs. Your business must operate in one of these qualifying industries to claim the credit.

Manufacturing

Production of goods including automotive parts, aerospace components, food products, textiles, paper products, chemicals, plastics, and industrial equipment. Also covers alternative energy products for solar, wind, battery, bioenergy, biofuel, and electric vehicle enterprises.

Auto Parts Food Production Clean Energy

Warehousing & Distribution

Facilities for storing, managing, and distributing goods including fulfillment centers, cold storage facilities, third-party logistics (3PL) operations, regional distribution hubs, cross-docking facilities, and e-commerce fulfillment operations.

Fulfillment Centers 3PL Operations Cold Storage

Processing

Transformation of raw materials or intermediate goods including food processing, mineral processing, recycling operations, chemical processing, timber and lumber processing, and agricultural product processing.

Food Processing Recycling Agriculture

Telecommunications

Communication services and infrastructure including internet service providers, fiber optic networks, wireless communication services, data centers, network operations centers, and telecommunications equipment providers.

Data Centers ISPs Network Ops

Broadcasting

Media production and distribution including television stations, radio broadcasting, streaming media services, podcast production studios, content creation facilities, and digital media platforms.

TV/Radio Streaming Media Production

Tourism

Hospitality and visitor-oriented businesses including hotels, resorts, attractions, entertainment venues, convention centers, tour operators, and destination management services.

Hotels/Resorts Attractions Events

Research & Development

Innovation-focused operations including pharmaceutical research, biotechnology labs, engineering R&D, technology development centers, materials science research, and applied research facilities across all scientific disciplines.

Biotech Labs Tech R&D Engineering

Biomedical Manufacturing

Production of medical devices, pharmaceutical products, diagnostic equipment, surgical instruments, prosthetics, medical supplies, laboratory equipment, and biotechnology products.

Medical Devices Pharmaceuticals Diagnostics

Healthcare Services

Services for the elderly and persons with disabilities including assisted living facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home healthcare agencies, rehabilitation centers, adult day care centers, and disability support services.

Assisted Living Home Health Rehabilitation

Data Centers & Cloud Services

Large-scale computing infrastructure including enterprise data centers, colocation facilities, cloud computing platforms, server farms, disaster recovery facilities, and edge computing locations supporting digital infrastructure and services.

Data Centers Colocation Cloud Infrastructure

⚠️ Important Exclusion

Retail businesses do NOT qualify for this tax credit. Retail operations focused on direct-to-consumer sales of finished goods are explicitly excluded from eligibility, including traditional storefronts, online retail, and retail chains.

Check if Your Business Qualifies

Not sure if your business is eligible? Our team can review your situation and determine if you qualify for the Georgia Jobs Tax Credit.

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Credit Amounts by County Tier

All 159 Georgia counties are ranked annually and placed into one of four tiers based on economic factors including unemployment rate, per capita income, and poverty levels.

County Tier Annual Credit Per Job Credit Duration
Tier 1 $3,500 5 years
Tier 2 $2,500 5 years
Tier 3 $1,250 5 years
Tier 4 $750 5 years

Job Quality Requirements

All new full-time employee jobs must meet the following standards:

  • Minimum 35 hours per week of work required
  • Wages at or above the average wage of the lowest average wage county in Georgia as reported in the Georgia Employment and Wages Averages Report
  • Health insurance coverage must be made available to employees (employer is not required to contribute toward coverage)
  • Jobs must be maintained each year to continue claiming the credit

Do Your Employees Qualify?

Unsure if your current or planned positions meet the job quality requirements? We'll help you verify eligibility and maximize your credit.

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Special Designation Areas

Certain geographic areas qualify for enhanced benefits and reduced job creation thresholds.

Opportunity Zones

Special

Military Zones

Premium

Bottom 40 Counties

Enhanced

Less Developed Census Tracts

Priority

How to Apply

  1. Create Qualifying Jobs: Ensure your business creates the minimum number of new full-time jobs required for your county tier designation.
  2. Obtain DOL Certification: Acquire certification from the Georgia Department of Labor that the new full-time employees are unemployed or underemployed.
  3. File Georgia Income Tax Return: Submit your Georgia income tax return with the attached schedule (Form IT-CA01) detailing:
    • Number of new jobs created
    • Location of the new jobs
    • Date the new jobs were created
    • Average annual wage of the new jobs
  4. Claim Credits: Credits must be claimed within one year of the earlier of the date the original tax return was filed or the date such return was due (including any extensions).

Required Form

Georgia Form IT-CA01: Georgia Job Tax Credit schedule must be attached to your income tax return.

Work with Incentify to Get the Georgia Jobs Tax Credit

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Key Limitations

Additional Information

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only as of October 28, 2025. The content on this website is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, accounting, or tax advice. You should consult with your own legal, accounting, or tax advisors to determine how this general information may apply to your specific circumstances. Information is based on the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Title 48, Chapter 7, Article 2, Section 48-7-40.