Incentives

Several state and local programs are available to encourage new job creation and investment across Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade and Walker counties. Tax exemptions, tax credits, labor-recruiting assistance and Georgia's Quick Start Training Program are just some of the incentives that make expansion here rewarding.

State Job Tax Credit

Georgia's statutory Job Tax Credit applies against state income-tax liability for businesses in qualifying sectors — including manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, processing, telecommunications, broadcasting, tourism and biomedical manufacturing.

Credit amounts are tied to each county's economic tier, with an additional $500 per job Joint Development Authority credit available in every member county:

*Includes the $500 per-job Joint Development Authority credit. Credits are earned for five years per qualifying job; jobs added in the four years after the initial year also qualify. Unused credits carry forward five years. Tiers are re-ranked annually by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs; figures reflect 2026 rankings.

In Tier 1 counties (Chattooga) and designated less-developed census tracts, credit in excess of income-tax liability may be applied against payroll withholding.

Quality Jobs Tax Credit

An alternative to the Job Tax Credit for higher-wage projects: companies creating 50 or more new jobs within 24 months that pay at least 110% of the county average wage may earn $2,500–$5,000 per job per year for five years, scaled to wage level. A job may claim either the Job Tax Credit or the Quality Jobs Tax Credit, not both.

Sales and use tax exemptions

Georgia exempts manufacturing machinery and equipment, repair and replacement parts, energy used in manufacturing, raw materials, and packaging from state sales and use tax. These exemptions are statutory and require no negotiation.

Freeport (inventory) tax exemptions

Most unincorporated areas and municipalities across the region provide 100% Freeport exemptions on qualifying business inventory — including manufacturer raw materials, finished goods held by the original manufacturer, and distributor or wholesaler inventory destined for shipment out of state.

Additional programs

• Tax abatements on qualifying real and personal property for new and expanding companies
• Inventory tax exemption — Georgia levies no state property tax; qualifying inventory may also be exempt from local property tax through Freeport
• Quick Start employee training — fully customized workforce training at no cost
• State deal-closing funds — Regional Economic Business Assistance (REBA) and OneGeorgia EDGE grants may support infrastructure, real estate, construction or equipment for projects choosing Georgia over a competing state. Applied for by the local development authority with a Georgia Department of Economic Development recommendation.

How the process works

1. Confidential start. Contact the Authority. Projects are assigned a code name and handled under NDA through announcement.
2. Project profile. We ask for a short request for information: projected jobs, wage profile, capital investment (real property vs. machinery and equipment), square footage, utility requirements, timeline, and competing locations.
3. State proposal. We submit the project to a Georgia Department of Economic Development project manager, who returns a written incentive proposal covering tax credits, Quick Start training and any applicable state funds.
4. Local package. We work with the county and its development authority on site, infrastructure and any local participation, and package state and local together.
5. Site visit and scoping. Site tours, utility meetings and Quick Start training scoping.
6. Commitment. Performance agreement (jobs, investment, dates), then public announcement.
7. After location. The company claims Job Tax Credits on Form IT-CA with its Georgia return; withholding elections are filed online with DCA and DOR.

For a project-specific incentive estimate, contact the Authority or email info@northwestgeorgia.us.