EDTIF / REDTIF — Economic Development Tax Increment Financing

EDTIF / REDTIF — Economic Development Tax Increment Financing

Provides Economic Development Tax Increment Financing refunds for qualifying businesses expanding in targeted Utah industries.

The Economic Development Tax Increment Financing (EDTIF) program, administered by the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, is a post-performance refundable corporate tax credit available to businesses that relocate or expand operations in Utah. EDTIF applies to urban counties — Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, and Weber — and delivers a credit of up to 30% of new state revenues generated by the qualifying project, including sales, corporate income, and withholding taxes. The rural counterpart, REDTIF (Rural Economic Development Tax Increment Financing), applies in rural counties including Box Elder, Cache, Iron, Summit, Tooele, and Washington, with enhanced credit rates of 30–50% depending on project size and classification. No cash is disbursed upfront; the credit is paid out over time against actual new tax revenues generated.

Eligibility for EDTIF is restricted to for-profit businesses in one of five targeted industries: Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace & Defense, Financial Services, Life Sciences & Healthcare, and Software & Information Technology. New jobs created by the project must pay at least 110% of the average county wage in the relevant urban county. REDTIF targets similar industries but at 100% of average county wage, with some flexibility for smaller and rural-context projects. Nonprofits, universities, and individual applicants are excluded from both programs.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with no fixed deadlines. The approval process involves four steps: a pre-application review, a full application submission, an incentive committee review, and a public board meeting — a timeline of as little as three months from start to approval for qualified projects. Companies in targeted industries relocating to Utah or consolidating operations from out-of-state are the primary target applicant. The program was historically administered by GOED (Governor's Office of Economic Development), renamed GOEO in 2021.