07 — Economic Development Incentives & Tax Credits
Jurisdictions compete for operations like yours. Make them compete.
Identifying, negotiating, securing, complying with and reporting on every program a location will actually offer.
Maximize employment and R&D creation.
- A new facility, expansion or relocation where a jurisdiction is still to be chosen
- A project creating jobs or capital investment at a scale a state will compete for
- Reshoring or domestic manufacturing where programs are specifically targeted
- Existing awards with compliance obligations that need tracking and reporting
Cities and states offer generous packages to attract operations, train workforces and stay competitive. Our incentives and transactions teams work together to identify, negotiate, secure, comply with and report on every available program.
Incentives are negotiated, not published. The programs are real — job creation credits, training grants, tax abatement, R&D and capital investment programs, utility rate support — but what a jurisdiction will actually award depends on what it is competing against and when it is asked.
Which is why timing decides value. Once a site is chosen and announced, the leverage is gone; the negotiation has to run while multiple locations are still live. And an award is not the end of it — most programs carry hiring, wage, investment and reporting obligations, and clawback provisions if they are missed.
The work, itemized.
Program identification
What each candidate jurisdiction has available at state, county, municipal and utility level.
Eligibility analysis
Which programs the project actually qualifies for, based on jobs, wages, capital investment and industry.
Value modeling
The realistic value of each package, modeled into the site comparison rather than treated as an afterthought.
Negotiation
Running jurisdictions competitively while the location decision is still genuinely open.
Structuring
Agreements structured so the obligations are achievable against the business plan, not just the best case.
Securing awards
Applications, approvals and documentation through to executed agreement.
Compliance
Tracking hiring, wage and investment commitments against what was agreed.
Reporting
The ongoing annual reporting most programs require to keep the benefit in place.
Four stages, in order.
What clients ask first.
When do we need to start the incentives conversation?
Before a site is selected, and certainly before anything is announced. Incentives are awarded to influence a decision — once the decision is visibly made, the reason to offer them has gone.
What kinds of incentives are available?
Commonly job creation and retention credits, workforce training grants, property and sales tax abatement, R&D and capital investment credits, infrastructure support and utility rate programs. Availability varies significantly by state and municipality.
What obligations come with an award?
Typically commitments on headcount, wage levels, capital investment and timing, with annual reporting and clawback provisions if targets are missed. Structuring those obligations against a realistic plan matters as much as the headline value.
Do incentives change which site we should choose?
Sometimes, but they should be modeled rather than assumed. A large package attached to a site with a weak labor market or a slow interconnection timeline is rarely the better outcome.
Can you help with awards we already have?
Yes — compliance tracking and annual reporting are ongoing obligations, and lapses are a common way that awarded value is quietly lost.