Tennessee offers a variety of grants, loans and incentives to encourage sustainable job creation and substantive community development. Learn about the taxes and incentives for Obion County Tennessee by selecting any of the topics below.

 Incentives

  • Tennessee Tax Incentives make Tennessee a smart decision for doing business. Tennessee has long been considered a state with one of the most business- friendly economic climates in the nation with one of the nation's lowest per capita tax burdens, no tax on personal income and no state property tax.
  • Tennessee’s FastTrack Program ECD’s FastTrack program assists Tennessee communities in attracting companies, jobs and capital investment. FastTrack assists companies with relocation and training of new employees as well as helps communities develop public infrastructure to assist expanding or relocating companies. There are three FastTrack programs: FastTrack Job Training Assistance, FastTrack Infrastructure Development and the FastTrack Economic Development Fund.

    Under Tennessee law, ECD is required to post quarterly FastTrack reports that include the name of the company or entity receiving FastTrack funds, the amount of the FastTrack funds received, the number of jobs to be created by the project funded by FastTrack funds and the location of a project funded by FastTrack funds.
  • Loans for Small Businesses allow one of Tennessee’s most vibrant economic sectors to grow.
  • Private Activity Bonds are available to help companies finance building and equipment improvements.
  • Tennessee Job Skills is a discretionary fund available to new and existing businesses to train their workforce. The focus is on employers and industries that promote high-skill, high-wage jobs for emerging and high-technology manufacturing operations.
  • Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars are available to communities with a population of fewer than 50,000 residents for the purpose of attracting new or expanding existing companies, as long as the projects align with one of three objectives (The funds were allocated under a procedure authorized by the Tennessee General Assembly):
    1. Principally benefit low and/or moderate income people.
    2. Eliminate or prevent slums and/or blight.
    3. Address imminent health and/or safety problems.
  • Obion County Opportunity Zone The Office of Research, Outreach, and Economic Development has partnered with the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development (TNECD) to promote the Opportunity Zones (OZ) in West Tennessee.
    Click here to download the Investment Prospectus

What are incentives based on?

The amount of the incentives is based on:

  • Number of new jobs created
  • Amount of capital invested
  • Type of business

Can any type of company qualify for the incentives?

No. Tennessee’s incentives are limited to the following types of companies:

  • Headquarters – Administrative, research and development, planning, marketing, personnel, legal not manufacturing, distribution, wholesaling or call centers
  • Manufacturing – Principle business is fabricating or processing of tangible property for resale
  • Data Centers – Building or buildings, either newly constructed or remodeled, housing high-tech computer systems and related equipment
  • Warehousing and Distribution – Storage or distribution of finished tangible personal property. Does not include a location where tangible personal property is processed, manufactured, sold to customers or assembled
  • Call Centers – Uses telecommunications in customer service, soliciting sales, reactivating accounts, surveys or research, fundraising, collecting receivables, reservations, taking or receiving orders

Taxes

What are Tennessee’s tax credits for expanding or relocating businesses?

Tax credits include:

  • Standard Job Tax Credit – A tax credit of $4,500 per job that can be used to offset a company’s franchise and excise tax liability.
  • Enhanced Job Tax Credit – A tax credit that of $4,500 per job that is in addition to the Standard Job Tax Credit for companies that locate or expand in Tennessee counties designated as Tier 2 or Tier 3 Enhancement Counties, which are those with greater economic distress.
  • Super Job Tax Credit – A $5,000 per job tax credit for either (a) companies making a capital investment of $100 million or more and creating a minimum of 100 new jobs paying at least 100% of Tennessee’s average occupational wage or (b) companies establishing or expanding a regional, national or international headquarters with a capital investment of $10 million or more and creating 100 HQ jobs paying at least 150% of Tennessee’s average occupational wage.
  • Industrial Machinery Tax Credit – A tax credit of 1% - 10% for the purchase, third-party installation and repair of qualified industrial machinery.

What are Tennessee’s sales and use tax exemptions?

The exemptions include:

  • State sales tax exemption for industrial machinery and reduced state sales tax rate for utilities at qualified manufacturing facilities.
  • Reduced state sales tax rate for qualified personal property purchased for a qualified headquarters facility
  • State sales tax exemption for certain equipment purchased for a qualified warehouse or distribution center.
  • Tax exemption on any sales of interstate telecommunication and international telecommunication services to a business for use in the operation of one or more qualified call centers.
  • State sales tax exemption for certain hardware and software purchased for a qualified data center.

What are the basic business taxes in Tennessee?

  • Franchise Tax 0.25% – Greater of the company’s net worth or book value of its real or tangible property owned or used in Tennessee.
  • Excise Tax 6.5% – An apportionment formula based on the proportion of the company’s payroll, sales and property in Tennessee, with the sales proportion double-weighted.
  • Sales and Use Tax – 7% at the state level plus 1.5% to 2.75% at the local level. Applied to tangible personal property purchased or used within the state.
  • Property Tax Information for Obion County

Why isn’t taxpayer information available for companies receiving tax incentives?

Taxpayer confidentiality provisions in Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-1-1702 state that all returns, tax information and tax administration information is confidential. In addition, except as authorized in the law, no officer or employee of the state or any other person who has access to such information can disclose any tax information obtained as a result of performance of the officer or employee’s duties or obtained by any other means.

Other Programs, Grants, and Funding Opportunities in Tennessee

  • TN Department of Environment & Conservation Funding Opportunities and Programs
    • Click here for a list of funding opportunities available to TN communities. Program availability and application deadlines are subject to change. Match requirements vary depending on the program. Check with funding agencies directly for more information. Information is current as of October 2019.
  • Rural Development Assistance Programs and Grants
    • Click here to view PDF information on all programs and grants available.
      • Types include:
        • Downtown Revitalization
        • Asset-Based Community Development
        • Site Development
        • Small Business Assistance
        • Federal Programs
        • Broadband Accessibility
        • Other Rural Development Programs