{{RELATEDLINKS}}Mississippi provides a variety of grant, loan and tax incentive programs and workforce training offerings to support businesses locating or expanding in the state, and state officials customize incentives to meet the needs of each project.

Grants and Loans

• The Mississippi Development Infrastructure Program provides grant assistance to counties or municipalities to finance public infrastructure projects to assist with the business location or expansion projects.
• The Mississippi Rural Impact Fund Program is designed to assist and promote businesses and economic development in rural areas by providing grants and loans to rural communities and loan guarantees to rural businesses.
• The Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) provides funding to local units of government for eligible improvements to publicly owned infrastructure and publicly owned buildings in support of businesses launching, locating or expanding in Mississippi that are creating job opportunities for state residents.
• The Economic Development Highway Act assists political subdivisions with highway projects that encourage private companies to engage in high economic benefit projects within their area. This program promotes industrial and other significant development in the state of Mississippi through the construction and/or improvement of highways in areas that demonstrate actual and immediate potential for the creation or expansion of major industries or other significant development.
• The Local Government Capital Improvements Revolving Loan Program provides loans to counties or municipalities to finance capital improvements in Mississippi to support economic or community development projects.
• The Mississippi Job Protection Program provides loans and grants to at-risk industries that have been operating in the state for at least three years and that have lost jobs or are at risk to lose jobs because such jobs have been outsourced.
• The Mississippi Existing Industry Productivity Loan Program provides loans to existing manufacturing industries that have been operating in the state for at least two years and that meet minimum criteria established by MDA.
• The Agribusiness Enterprise Loan Program is designed to encourage the extension of conventional financing and the issuance of letters of credit by private lending institutions to agribusiness enterprises in the state of Mississippi. Through this program, MDA provides interest-free loans to qualified agribusiness borrowers engaged in the production, manufacturing and processing of agribusiness-related goods and services.
• The Mississippi Port Revitalization Revolving Loan Program provides loans to state, county or municipal port authorities for the improvement of port facilities to promote commerce and economic growth in the state of Mississippi.
• The Mississippi Airport Revitalization Revolving Loan Program provides loans to airport authorities for the construction and/or the improvement of airport facilities located in the state of Mississippi.
• The Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Program provides loans to qualified private and public entities to promote the development and demonstration of efficient, environmentally acceptable and commercially feasible technologies, techniques and processes while effectively utilizing the state's existing alternative and conventional energy resources to foster economic and social growth.
• The Mississippi Minority Business Enterprise Loan Program combines state and private lending sources to assist new and existing minority businesses in gaining access to needed capital in the form of direct low-interest loans.

Tax Incentive Programs

• The Advantage Jobs Incentive Program is a cash rebate program that provides eligible businesses with a rebate equal to a percentage of their Mississippi payroll for up to 10 years. Businesses that create and maintain a minimum number of jobs and pay their employees at that location an average wage of at least 110 percent of the state or county wage, whichever is lower, may qualify for this program.
• The Jobs Tax Credit provides companies locating or expanding in the state with a corporate income tax credit for creating jobs. These credits are equal to a percentage of payroll for each newly created job. Companies can either use these credits, which range from 2.5% to 10% of payroll depending on the business location, or they can opt for a job training grant as a direct reduction of workforce training costs. Credits are available for a five-year period and are taken in years two through six after jobs are created. Job training grants can cover up to 75% of the cost of training employees and range from $1,000 to $2,000 per worker, depending on the business location. A business must create and maintain between 10 and 20 jobs, depending on the location of the company’s operations, to qualify for this program.
• The Mississippi Research and Development Skills Tax Credit provides an income tax credit of up to $1,000 per year for a five-year period for any position requiring research or development skills.
• The Existing Manufacturer Tax Credit provides existing manufacturers that have operated in Mississippi for at least two years and invest an additional $1 million or more in buildings and/or equipment with an income tax credit equal to 5% of their additional investment in buildings and/or equipment used in the manufacturing process.
• The Rural Economic Development (RED) Tax Credit provides businesses utilizing industrial revenue bonds issued by the Mississippi Business Finance Corporation with an income tax credit based on the amount of bond-related debt service. Credits can be used to offset up to 80% of a company’s state corporate income tax liability each year for the life of the bonds.
• Mississippi offers an Ad Valorem Tax Credit equal to the property taxes a manufacturing, processing, distribution, wholesale or retail business pays on inventory.
• Mississippi provides a 10-Year Exemption from Property Taxes on land, buildings and equipment to qualifying manufacturers, processors, research and development facilities, refineries, warehouse and distribution facilities, data and information processing companies and telecommunications and technology-intensive industries. School taxes are not exempt, and local authorities must approve the exemption, which is available for up to 10 years.
• Mississippi offers manufacturers, processors, distributors, wholesalers or retailers an Exemption from Property Taxes on Finished Goods that will remain in Mississippi. Any taxes paid become a direct credit to Mississippi income tax. School taxes are not exempt, and local authorities must approve the exemption.
• Mississippi provides a half or full Sales and Use Tax Exemption, depending on the county in which the facility is located, on eligible machinery and equipment purchases related to a new or expanded facility and on building materials used in construction, provided the materials are purchased directly by the eligible business.
• Mississippi’s Free Port Warehouse Exemption provides an exemption from property taxes paid on finished goods inventories leaving the state.
• The Growth and Prosperity Act (GAP) gives the Mississippi Development Authority the authority to approve eligible businesses located in a GAP-designated area of the state with an exemption from state income and franchise taxes and certain local/property taxes for a 10-year period.
• The Mississippi Clean Energy Initiative program provides tax incentives to companies that manufacture systems or components used to generate clean, renewable or alternative energy, including nuclear, solar, wind, and hydro-generation. The program provides qualifying companies with a 10-year exemption from state income and franchise taxes, as well as a sales tax exemption to establish a plant or expand an existing production facility. To qualify, businesses must commit to invest a minimum of $50 million and create 250 full-time jobs and must be certified by the Mississippi Development Authority.
• Mississippi's Aerospace Initiative Incentives program provides tax incentives to companies that manufacture or assemble components for the aerospace industry or provide research, development or training services for the sector and are looking to locate or expand in the state. These incentives include a 10-year exemption from income and franchise taxes, as well as a sales and use tax exemption for the start-up of the facility. In order to qualify, companies must invest a minimum of $30 million and create at least 100 full-time jobs.
• Mississippi's Data Center Incentives provide a state sales tax exemption for all computing equipment and software used by companies certified as data centers by the Mississippi Development Authority. Both new and replacement equipment qualify for the tax exemption. The certification requires a minimum investment of $50 million and the creation of at least 50 new jobs paying 150 percent of the average state wage.
• The Mississippi Health Care Industry Zone Incentive Program provides tax incentives to health-care related businesses that locate or expand within a qualified Health Care Zone in the state. To qualify for assistance through this program, health care-related businesses must commit to create at least 25 full-time jobs and/or invest $10 million and must be certified by the Mississippi Development Authority. Eligible businesses receive an accelerated, 10-year state income tax depreciation deduction and a sales tax exemption for equipment and materials purchased from the date of the project’s certification until three months after the facility is completed.
• Mississippi provides incentives to businesses locating, transferring or expanding their national or regional headquarters operations in the state. To qualify for these incentives, a company must plan, direct and control all aspects of its regional or national operations from Mississippi, perform centralized activities at its Mississippi facilities and create at least 20 new headquarters jobs in the state. Headquarters incentives include an income tax credit for each position assigned to the Mississippi headquarters operation and a sales and use tax exemption on component materials used in the construction, expansion or improvement of a headquarters building or its machinery and equipment. The income tax credit is based on the number of new full-time jobs created and their salaries, and credits are available for a five-year period.

Mississippi State Contact:
David Ramsey
Director of Global Business
Mississippi Development Authority
P.O. Box 849
Jackson, MS 39205-0849
(601) 359-3449

Incentive and tax information is provided to Area Development by each state's economic development or commerce agency for information purposes only and is subject to revision at any time by the state government. Please contact the state agency directly for full requirements and offerings.