Georgia Job Tax Credit

Georgia Job Tax Credit

Supports Georgia companies that add jobs in qualifying counties through annual job-based tax credits.

Eligibility · United States · US-GA

The Georgia Job Tax Credit is a statutory annual tax credit program administered by the Georgia Department of Revenue and overseen by the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD). It allows companies in qualifying industries that create new jobs in Georgia to earn a per-job credit against their Georgia income tax liability, with credit amounts determined by the county-tier classification of the location where the jobs are created. Georgia classifies all 159 counties into four tiers based on economic conditions, with Tier 1 counties — the most economically distressed — offering the highest per-job credit amounts as an incentive to direct investment toward disadvantaged areas.

Eligible companies must operate in qualifying industries as defined under Georgia law, which broadly includes manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, processing, telecommunications, broadcasting, tourism, and certain research and development operations. New qualifying jobs must be net new positions — not replacements or relocations from within Georgia — and must meet minimum wage and benefits thresholds. Credits are self-calculated by the taxpayer and claimed on the annual Georgia income tax return filed with the Department of Revenue; there is no pre-approval or competitive application window. Unused credits may be carried forward for up to ten years.

A companion Quality Jobs Tax Credit offers an additional per-job credit for new positions that pay wages at or above 110% of the county's average wage, stackable with the base Job Tax Credit in some cases. Companies locating or expanding operations in Georgia and planning to hire across multiple county tiers should map their planned facility locations against the county-tier schedule published annually by GDEcD and the Department of Revenue, then factor both the base credit and potential Quality Jobs uplift into total incentive projections. GDEcD can be reached at +1-404-962-4000 for pre-application consultation.