Incentives
In addition to Missouri's business friendly tax climate, Johnson County offers a number of incentives, tax credits, exemptions and financing plans all designed to encourage successful businesses like yours to grow. Below are state, county, and local incentives that may be available to your business.
Contact JCEDC at 660.747.0244 to learn more about incentives that will best suit your project.
KEY STATEWIDE INCENTIVES (FROM MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND MISSOURI PARTNERSHIP)
- Missouri Business Use Incentives for Large Scale Development (BUILD): Financial incentives are offered for business location or expansion projects that create new jobs in Missouri. The program aims to help reduce expenses for equipment and public or private infrastructure. For more information or an application, please click here.
- Cultural Facility Revenue Bond Program: The Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB) offers tax exempt bonds for land or building acquisition, machinery and equipment, renovation and construction and other activities associated with the cost of purchase, construction, expansion or improvements to museums and recreational facilities. For more information or an application, please click here.
- Downtown Preservation: The program offers funds for redevelopment of downtown areas considered blighted or conservation areas. A portion of the state and local sales taxes created by new redevelopment projects can be placed in a fund to pay for public infrastructure and related costs. For more information or an application, please click here.
- MDFB Single Issue Tax-Exempt Industrial Revenue Bonds: By providing low interest rate loans by issuing tax-exempt revenue bonds, the acquisition, construction and equipping of manufacturing production facilities or equipment can be financed, as well as outstanding tax-exempt bonds can be refinanced. For more information or an application, please click here.
- Missouri Works: Offers refundable, transferable and/or saleable state tax credits and retention of state withholding tax to businesses that create jobs in Missouri. There are different tiers of incentives available for businesses based on the number of jobs created, the amount of the private capital investment, and the minimum average wage of the new workers. The program is offered to for-profit and non-profit headquarters, administrative, or research and development offices or businesses serving a multi-state area that were otherwise excluded. For more information or an application, please click here.
- Missouri Works Training: Provides training funds for businesses to build new or improved processes through technical training, quality training or soft skills training of new or current staff. The aim of the program is to provide funds for businesses improving technologies, products or processes, quality or productivity, or relocating or expanding. The program provides no cost recruitment, screnning, and pre-employment training of potential employees using state community college and Missouri Career Center training resources. Some training may require a company investment.
- Chapter 100 Sales Tax Exemptions: Missouri allows local government to offer sales tax exemptions to compete with other states for eligible companies to relocate or expand in the state. Local incentives are typically also offered to recruit companies offering wages and benefits above average. In addition, state and local sales tax can be exempted on personal property leased by the company from the city or county under Chapter 100. Certain industries are eligible, including manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, and research and development. For more information, please click here.
- Data Center Incentives: Exemptions from state and local sales taxes may be offered for a period of time to data centers for building a new facility or expanding a facility in Missouri. New and expanding facilities have different thresholds for the amount of new employees and wage minimums needed for participation. For more information or an application, please click here.
- Sales Tax Exemptions for Manufacturers: Machinery, energy, water, materials, and other sales tax exemptions are available to qualifying manufacturers in Missouri. The sales tax exemption may only apply if the items are used or consumed in the manufacturing process, in the process of recovering materials or in research and development activities for manufacturing, processing, compounding, mining, or producing products. For more information or to view the Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate, please click here.
- Income Tax Allocation: The amount of income considered taxable as only income earned in Missouri is taxed. Two allocation options are offered for calculating this income: (1) the three-factor formula, based on sales, property and payroll or (2) the single-factor formula, based only on sales. Missouri is one of only two states to allow companies to annually selected the income allocation formula that results in lower corporate income tax liability. For more information, please click here.
- Tax Credit for Contribution Program: The Missouri Development Finance Board grants 50% tax credits to donor contributions to several funds, including an Infrastructure fund, that grants local governments use of contribution proceeds to fund public infrastructure projects. For more information or an application, please click here.
- Low Interest Financing: Missouri allows cities and industrial development authorities to provide lower-interest financing for a variety of projects. Some examples of eligible projects include utility projects (including water, sewer, electric and gas), small manufacturing facilities, multi-family housing and/or elderly rental housing for low-income individuals, and bonds issued to provide loans for home ownership. For more information, please click here.
- Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Bonds: According to Chapter 349 of Missouri statute the IDA can issue bonds to assist in the following activities: An eligible project means "the purchase, construction, extension and improvement of plants, buildings, structures, or facilities, whether or not now in existence, including the real estate, used or to be used as a factory, assembly plant, manufacturing plant, processing plant, fabricating plant, distribution center, warehouse building, public facility, waterborne vessels excepting commercial passenger vessels for hire in a city not within a county built prior to 1950, office building, for-profit or not-for-profit hospital, not-for-profit nursing or retirement facility or combination thereof, physical fitness, recreational, indoor and resident outdoor facilities operated by not-for-profit organizations, commercial or agricultural facility, or facilities for the prevention, reduction or control of pollution. Included in all of the above shall be any required fixtures, equipment and machinery. Excluded are facilities designed for the sale or distribution to the public of electricity, gas, water or telephone, together with any other facilities for cable television and those commonly classified as public utilities."
- Enhanced Enterprise Zone (EEZ): This program was designated on July 27, 2016 and is in effect until July 27, 2041. The EEZ spans approximately 175 square miles and includes portions of unincorporated Johnson County and the cities of Centerview, Holden, Leeton, and portions of Warrensburg. Available commercial and industrial sites, buildings, and industrial parks are included. Prime industrial sites are available for development, many with a full range of public services including convenient access to highways, air transportation, and telecommunications. EEZ provides a minimum of 50% abatement on new real property tax for at least 10 years. New or expanded business facilities with two new employees and $100,000 new investment or a replacement business facility with 2 new employees and $1 million investment (which may include a combination of personal property and real estate, with new real property tax qualifying for abatement) are qualified. For more information, click here.
- Chapter 100 Industrial Development Bonds (IDB): Missouri law authorizes municipalities to issue Industrial Development Revenue Bonds (IDBs), also known as Chapter 100 bonds, to provide a tax incentive for industrial development projects. IDBs issues by a municipality do not require voter approval and may be issued as tax-exempt or non tax-exempt. Upon issuance of taxable Chapter 100 bonds, the property taxes on bond-financed property may be abated. The City must maintain legal ownership of the property while the bonds are outstanding in order for the property to be eligible for tax abatement. Sections 100.010 to 100.200 RSMo set forth the requirement governing IDBs. Eligible costs include industrial plants, warehouses, distribution facilities, research and development facilities, office industries, services facilities providing interstate commerce, agricultural processing industries, land, buildings, fixtures, and machinery.
- Tax Increment Financing (TIF): Tax Increment Financing (TIF) permits the use of a portion of a state and local property and sales taxes to assist funding the redevelopment of certain designated areas within a community. A TIF area must contain property classified as blighted or conservation areas. A TIF area can have multiple Project Areas within a Redevelopment Area. A City appointed TIF Commission is charged with all the responsibilities for bringing a TIF redevelopment project to completion. Sections 99.800 to 99.865 of the Revised Statutes for the State of Missouri (RSMo) authorize Missouri municipalities to implement tax increment financing and provide more detailed information regarding the use of this tool. Eligible costs include professional fees, studies, surveys, plans, land acquisition, site preparation, and construction costs of both public and private improvements.
- Opportunity Zone: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 established Opportunity Zones as a mechanism to provide tax incentives for investment in designated census tracts. Investments made by individuals through special funds in these zones would be allowed to defer or eliminate federal taxes on capital gains. The designated zones: Opportunity Warrensburg NW and Opportunity SW, make up a large portion of the western half of Warrensburg and encompass a vibrant and historic downtown, the University of Central Missouri campus and a several light industrial, residential, commercial and mixed-use development-ready properties. Please visit www.opportunitywarrensburg.com for more information
- Sales Tax Sharing Agreement: In December 2012, the City Council of the City of Warrensburg adopted Resolution 2066 outlining the process whereby the City would enter into agreements to finance the costs of certain public improvements projects with future commercial project sales tax revenues. In order to qualify, projects must meet criteria related to anticipated sales tax receipts, public infrastructure costs, total projects costs, and job creation. Eligible costs include public infrastructure improvements that demonstrate a substantial and significant public benefit.
- Cost Share Development Agreement: The City of Warrensburg recognizes from time to time there will be worthy developments in areas that are undeveloped, or only partially developed with public infrastructure, that will not generate new sales tax revenues due to the nature of the business. In these cases, the City will consider a public-private, cost-share partnership for the extension of public infrastructure improvements when the project demonstrates substantial and significant public benefit. Eligible costs include street, storm water, sewer, or associated infrastructure facilities.
- Downtown Façade Grants: The goal of the program is to encourage historically appropriate façade improvements to existing buildings downtown in a manner that promotes the success of the businesses while preserving the unique historical characteristics of those buildings. The applicant can either be a property owner or the tenant of a building that is at least 75 years old and is located within the DREAM boundary. Both the applicant and the owner must sign the application form. The work paid for by the grant funds or applicant't matching funds can take place on either the front or rear façade of the building and must be visible to the public. Masonry repair, signage, awnings, painting, cornice repair and other improvements are eligible activities.
For more information, please visit the City of Warrensburg Incentive Tools page.