Site navigation
Tax Services

State Credits & Incentives

Cherry Bekaert's State Tax Credits & Incentives team helps businesses identify and secure specific tax credits or incentives to lower a company’s effective tax rate.  

On this page:

What State Tax Credits and Incentives Can My Company Use?

There are many state and local tax credit programs available. Identifying and securing the specific tax credits or financial incentives applicable to your business’s unique situation can be complicated. 

Tax credits can reduce the tax amount a business owes to state governments and encourage economic development, job creation, investment and other activities that benefit the state’s economy. Likewise, negotiated incentives can increase your return on investment. Cherry Bekaert’s State Credit & Incentives team offers a comprehensive review to help determine how you can take advantage of these tax benefits. 

Tax credits are statutory, low-risk opportunities for income tax benefits that may lower a company’s overall effective tax rate. Financial incentives are generally performance-based incentives that can increase your company’s cash flow. Both credits and incentives are often overlooked. Our professionals have deep technical knowledge and extensive experience working with state and local program administrators and can identify the full spectrum of in-depth state credits and incentives, as well as additional tax services available for your company.

What Are the Benefits of Claiming State Tax Credits and Incentives?

Our State Credit & Incentive review process helps you identify opportunities for: 

  • Relevant & Applicable State Credits
  • Refundable or Transferable Credits
  • Location-Based Credits
  • Potential Grants, Tax Abatements, Tax Exemptions or Tax Refunds & Rebates
  • Training Benefits
  • Infrastructure or Free Land Assistance
  • Research & Development Tax Credits
  • Sales and Use Tax Exemptions
  • Operating Cost Reductions

Who Can Benefit From State Tax Credits and Incentives?

  • All Employers
  • Multistate Taxpayers with Tax Liabilities
  • Companies that Train Their Employees
  • Companies Entering New Markets, Adding Production Lines
  • Businesses Restructuring, Planning Expansions, Mergers or Consolidations
  • Businesses with Significant Capital Expenditure Budgets or Recurring Annual Equipment Costs (Retooling)
  • Companies with Real Estate Issues (i.e., Lease Expiration, Obsolete Factory, Considering Relocation)
  • Companies Importing or Exporting Product Through State Ports

Available State Tax Credits and Incentives

Statutory Credit Review

States offer tax credits for investment and employment-related activities. These are often low-risk opportunities that are underutilized by companies. Most of these statutory credits can be claimed on a retroactive basis, which could result in a tax refund or a reduction in the company’s estimated tax payments. Certain credits may be refundable or transferable, and other credits may be carried back or carried forward for an indefinite period. 

Incentives Negotiations

State and local governments often offer financial and tax incentives to companies expanding or relocating to their jurisdictions. These incentives may include cash grants, property tax abatements, sales tax refunds, utility incentives, infrastructure assistance and training benefits. The benefits are received as the company meets the investment and employment commitments made with the taxing jurisdictions. 

Site Selection Services

For companies expanding, relocating or consolidating anywhere in the U.S., we can assist with identifying potential sites through negotiating and securing financial and tax incentives. Our team is able to assist with a site selection that analyzes the breakdown of:

  • Labor
  • Real Estate
  • Cost of Doing Business in the Area
  • Available Incentives
  • The Tax and Regulatory Environment
  • Utilities & Infrastructure
  • Transportation

By conducting a site selection strategy and location identification assessment for expansion, we can help drive the key business requirements, growth and talent needed to maximize profitability, sustainability and economic incentives.   

Employment Tax

Payroll is regularly the single largest expense businesses incur, but there are huge savings that can be found in payroll tax departments. You can positively impact your company’s bottom line through recovering overpaid taxes, complying with tax law requirements and detecting potential issues before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Cherry Bekaert’s State & Credit Incentives team can work with human resource and payroll professionals to reduce risk and address critical issues as they occur. Our team is able to provide assistance with: 

  • Identifying, quantifying and recovering overpaid payroll taxes
  • Complying with federal and state tax law requirements during mergers, acquisitions and restructurings
  • Securing abatement of penalties for payroll-related assessments

Your team will work closely with our professionals to address payroll concerns before they develop into significant tax issues. 

Statutory Credit Review

States offer tax credits for investment and employment-related activities. These are often low-risk opportunities that are underutilized by companies. Most of these statutory credits can be claimed on a retroactive basis, which could result in a tax refund or a reduction in the company’s estimated tax payments. Certain credits may be refundable or transferable, and other credits may be carried back or carried forward for an indefinite period. 

Incentives Negotiations

State and local governments often offer financial and tax incentives to companies expanding or relocating to their jurisdictions. These incentives may include cash grants, property tax abatements, sales tax refunds, utility incentives, infrastructure assistance and training benefits. The benefits are received as the company meets the investment and employment commitments made with the taxing jurisdictions. 

Site Selection Services

For companies expanding, relocating or consolidating anywhere in the U.S., we can assist with identifying potential sites through negotiating and securing financial and tax incentives. Our team is able to assist with a site selection that analyzes the breakdown of:

  • Labor
  • Real Estate
  • Cost of Doing Business in the Area
  • Available Incentives
  • The Tax and Regulatory Environment
  • Utilities & Infrastructure
  • Transportation

By conducting a site selection strategy and location identification assessment for expansion, we can help drive the key business requirements, growth and talent needed to maximize profitability, sustainability and economic incentives.   

Employment Tax

Payroll is regularly the single largest expense businesses incur, but there are huge savings that can be found in payroll tax departments. You can positively impact your company’s bottom line through recovering overpaid taxes, complying with tax law requirements and detecting potential issues before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Cherry Bekaert’s State & Credit Incentives team can work with human resource and payroll professionals to reduce risk and address critical issues as they occur. Our team is able to provide assistance with: 

  • Identifying, quantifying and recovering overpaid payroll taxes
  • Complying with federal and state tax law requirements during mergers, acquisitions and restructurings
  • Securing abatement of penalties for payroll-related assessments

Your team will work closely with our professionals to address payroll concerns before they develop into significant tax issues. 

Our Professionals

Connect With Us

Martin Karamon

Tax Credits & Incentives Advisory Leader

Partner, Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC

Melinda Young

Tax Credits & Incentives Advisory

Director, Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC

Contact Our State Tax Credits & Incentives Professionals