State & Local Tax Credits and Incentives
Capitalize on tax credits and incentives across your business lifecycle
Uncover tax credits and incentives, make confident site selection decisions
Your investments in facilities, people, operations, innovation, and sustainability may qualify for state and local tax credits and incentives at every stage of the business lifecycle. Integrating statutory credits and negotiated incentives planning early in site selection processes for expansions, relocations, and consolidations can help you evaluate locations more strategically, lower costs, improve return on investment, and support broader growth objectives.
We help businesses identify and claim statutory credits, negotiate discretionary incentives, and navigate applications, agreements, reporting, and ongoing compliance. An AI-enabled approach supports the identification of possible state and local incentive programs and efficient benchmarking of similar incentive packages. Strategic credit reviews complement this coordinated approach by uncovering overlooked or underutilized opportunities and helping clients realize the full value of the benefits secured.
Our principal-led team combines state-specific and national tax knowledge, local relationships, industry experience, and site-selection capabilities to support informed investment and location decisions. We help clients evaluate jurisdictions, understand tax and operating-cost implications, strengthen their negotiating position, and pursue credits and incentives aligned with their business objectives.
How BDO Can Help
Unlock Incentives, Help Maximize ROI
Secure financial incentive packages and discretionary incentives by leveraging relationships with economic development agencies to achieve operational synergies and costs savings. We typically achieve ROI of 25% for most corporate location and expansion projects.
Strengthen Incentive Negotiations
Conduct an economic impact analysis to quantify a project’s potential benefits, then leverage the findings, along with our experience and government relationships, to prepare comprehensive applications and negotiate favorable incentive packages.
Enable Insight-Driven Decisions
Compare the benefits of different options for site selection through an analysis of both tax and financial operating cost by location. The right location — in terms of logistics, labor availability and quality, regulatory environment, and total costs — is critical for long-term success.
Enhance Hiring Strategy
Harness employment tax credit services to support hiring targeted individuals. Secure refunds related to employment tax credits.
Identify Opportunities
Help monetize tax credits and incentives fully by reviewing refunds for any overlooked opportunities or underutilized credits. Identify relevant credits and incentives based on your current and planned geographic footprint.
Support Sustainability
Learn how initiatives related to green energy and energy efficiency can qualify for sustainability credits and other tax (and non-tax) incentives.
Capabilities
Credits, incentives, and site selection go hand-in-hand. A coordinated approach allows organizations to uncover overlooked or underutilized credits through strategic reviews, navigate compliance requirements more effectively, and align location decisions with available incentives.
State and local tax credits are a valuable but often overlooked strategy for helping to reduce total tax liability. Many business leaders are not aware of the different credits available to them, while others may be aware but lack the time or resources to keep up with the constantly evolving landscape.
Businesses may be eligible for state and local tax credits that align with in-motion or planned investments, such as upgrading existing facilities, relocating, building new facilities, and hiring.
Our tax leaders use deep knowledge of the thousands of state and local tax credits available nationwide to help clients uncover and claim relevant credits, including income and franchise tax credits; tax rebates; sales and use, payroll, and real and personal property tax exemptions; and historic tax credits.
Whether you’re expanding, relocating, or consolidating operations, combining the site selection process with claiming and negotiating credits and incentives can offer significant opportunities for U.S. companies as well as for multinationals establishing a U.S. foothold. We help businesses lower costs and increase return on investment by leveraging our relationships with state and local economic development agencies throughout the site selection process, evaluating opportunities and helping reduce risk.
By bringing site selection, incentives strategy, and tax analysis together from the outset, we help businesses make confident location decisions. We define project requirements, identify and compare qualified communities, and evaluate the factors that can shape long-term performance, including workforce availability, infrastructure and utilities, supply chain access, real estate, business climate, regulatory requirements, operating costs, quality of life, and available economic development incentives.
Once a short list is established, we help clients assess sites, quantify potential benefits, engage state and local economic development agencies, and negotiate competitive packages of usable statutory and discretionary incentives before commitments are made. Our approach supports expansions, relocations, and consolidations across industries. We also assist with applications, approvals, agreements, and ongoing compliance to help clients realize the value secured. Experienced advisors with strong relationships across jurisdictions can help enhance outcomes by securing more favorable incentive packages tailored to a company’s specific business objectives.
Before you commit to a location or project, exploring negotiated incentives can help you preserve leverage, compare support from competing jurisdictions, and improve the project’s overall value. Starting early is particularly important when you are considering an expansion, relocation, consolidation, significant capital investment, job creation or retention, training, or research and development.
With decades of experience securing some of the largest incentives packages ever offered in North America, we have negotiated billions on behalf of our clients. We help businesses pursue usable benefits aligned with their investment, workforce, and operational objectives. Our demonstrated methodology is customized to be project specific and is designed to identify, negotiate, and secure the best package of usable incentives. We focus on the compliance process to help ensure that every dollar negotiated is collected. Discretionary business incentives include utility credits, real and/or personal property abatements, discretionary cash grants, and infrastructure assistance.
State and local tax credits are a valuable but often overlooked strategy for helping to reduce total tax liability. Many business leaders are not aware of the different credits available to them, while others may be aware but lack the time or resources to keep up with the constantly evolving landscape.
Businesses may be eligible for state and local tax credits that align with in-motion or planned investments, such as upgrading existing facilities, relocating, building new facilities, and hiring.
Our tax leaders use deep knowledge of the thousands of state and local tax credits available nationwide to help clients uncover and claim relevant credits, including income and franchise tax credits; tax rebates; sales and use, payroll, and real and personal property tax exemptions; and historic tax credits.
Whether you’re expanding, relocating, or consolidating operations, combining the site selection process with claiming and negotiating credits and incentives can offer significant opportunities for U.S. companies as well as for multinationals establishing a U.S. foothold. We help businesses lower costs and increase return on investment by leveraging our relationships with state and local economic development agencies throughout the site selection process, evaluating opportunities and helping reduce risk.
By bringing site selection, incentives strategy, and tax analysis together from the outset, we help businesses make confident location decisions. We define project requirements, identify and compare qualified communities, and evaluate the factors that can shape long-term performance, including workforce availability, infrastructure and utilities, supply chain access, real estate, business climate, regulatory requirements, operating costs, quality of life, and available economic development incentives.
Once a short list is established, we help clients assess sites, quantify potential benefits, engage state and local economic development agencies, and negotiate competitive packages of usable statutory and discretionary incentives before commitments are made. Our approach supports expansions, relocations, and consolidations across industries. We also assist with applications, approvals, agreements, and ongoing compliance to help clients realize the value secured. Experienced advisors with strong relationships across jurisdictions can help enhance outcomes by securing more favorable incentive packages tailored to a company’s specific business objectives.
Before you commit to a location or project, exploring negotiated incentives can help you preserve leverage, compare support from competing jurisdictions, and improve the project’s overall value. Starting early is particularly important when you are considering an expansion, relocation, consolidation, significant capital investment, job creation or retention, training, or research and development.
With decades of experience securing some of the largest incentives packages ever offered in North America, we have negotiated billions on behalf of our clients. We help businesses pursue usable benefits aligned with their investment, workforce, and operational objectives. Our demonstrated methodology is customized to be project specific and is designed to identify, negotiate, and secure the best package of usable incentives. We focus on the compliance process to help ensure that every dollar negotiated is collected. Discretionary business incentives include utility credits, real and/or personal property abatements, discretionary cash grants, and infrastructure assistance.
Credits and Incentives We Support
- Annual refunds of withholding taxes for periods up to 10 years
- Property tax abatements
- Utility rate reductions
- Infrastructure grant assistance
- Training grant assistance
- Sales tax sharing incentives and special exemptions
- Discretionary cash grants
- Income/franchise tax credits
- Tax rebates
- Income/franchise, sales and use, payroll, and real and personal property tax exemptions
- Historic tax credits
- Utility credits
- Real and/or personal property abatements
- Infrastructure assistance

Diverse Industry Experience
Working across industries including manufacturing and warehouse/distribution, life sciences, data centers, commercial real estate, and retail and consumer, our team helps clients with projects ranging from identifying and evaluating new greenfield sites for major facilities, to locating new corporate headquarters, to advising on back-office relocations and renewals. Our geographic and technical tax knowledge of incentives programs, combined with relationships with key government and economic development professionals, provide our clients with a distinct competitive advantage.
State & Local Tax Credits and Incentives Case Studies
Credits & Incentives and Site Selection Frequently Asked Questions
- Lease Renewal – 50,000 square feet or more
- Relocations – Movement of entire facilities or departments
- Job Creation, Retention or Consolidation – 25 people or more
- Capital Investment – $5 Million or more
- Training – $1 Million or more
- R&D – $1 Million or more
- M&A – Activities of any type
Poor site selection can lead to increased operational costs, supply chain inefficiencies, difficulty in attracting talent, regulatory challenges, and ultimately, reduced competitiveness and profitability.
Businesses may face challenges like understanding zoning regulations, increased utility competition, navigating complex legal processes, and balancing various criteria like cost and accessibility.
No. In order to help maximize incentives offered, it is recommended to have two or more jurisdictions compete for the opportunity. While specific sites may be identified and terms negotiated prior to finalizing incentives, incentives agreements should be established prior to execution of real estate agreements.
Some key considerations for expansion and relocation are:
- Labor: demographics and growth projections, educational attainment, and training programs
- Infrastructure: availability and costs of utilities, proximity to transportation such as rail and highways
- Supply Chain: proximity to suppliers, customers, and key markets
- Business Climate: state and local taxes, regulatory environment, permitting, incentives
- Quality of Life: cost of living, crime rates, recreational options
- Real Estate: topography, climate, available infrastructure
Work with an advisor who will short-list communities, to help ensure your business is successful. Incentive negotiations are a portion of the overall business cost analysis and should start after a short list of locations (state/county) have been identified.
Establish a reliable compliance framework that supports consistent data collection, accurate calculations, and timely reporting. Reporting obligations often requires gathering detailed information, such as employment data, payroll figures, and capital investment details, and these requirements and associated deadlines can vary by jurisdiction and incentive type. A third party can help manage these complexities.
A strategic credit review is a comprehensive assessment of a business’s operations, investments, and prior tax filings to identify state and local tax credits and incentives that may have been overlooked or underutilized. Through this process opportunities for refunds, credits, or other above-the-line savings may be uncovered. The review also includes analyzing previously filed income and franchise tax returns and developing an action plan to claim eligible credits while maintaining compliance.
They can help lower costs and increase return on investment in both capital and people that will add to a company’s bottom line. If credits were overlooked, refund claims can be filed so these credits are properly reflected on subsequent tax returns. Initiatives related to green energy and energy efficiency can qualify for sustainability credits and other tax (and non-tax) incentives. Additionally, above-the-line savings opportunities like withholding, franchise, and sales tax refunds, can add value even if your business operates at a tax loss.
Businesses can maximize opportunities by integrating incentives planning into site selection, quantifying the project’s economic impact, comparing jurisdictions, and negotiating before making binding commitments. A strong compliance process is also essential to help secure approvals, meet reporting requirements, and realize the full value of the incentives awarded.
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