State of Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development

Enterprise Zone Tax Credit - Employee Credit

| Resume a previously saved form
Resume Later

In order to be able to resume this form later, please enter your email and choose a password.

Page 1

goed logo

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL APPLICATIONS ARE DUE 4 WEEKS PRIOR TO ANTICIPATED TAX FILING

The Enterprise Zone Tax Credit program is available to businesses located or expanding within a designated Enterprise Zone Area. Click the link and confirm. You may also confirm eligibility with your county or tribal economic development office. The purpose of the tax credit is to encourage investment and job creation by rural Utah businesses.

This application covers the Employee Tax Credit only. For the Capital Investment Tax Credit Application please submit an application here. Businesses in the designated Enterprise Zone Area are eligible to submit both applications.

DO NOT claim any Enterprise tax credits on returns until applicant receives the approval letter & certificate from GOED. A submission does not mean automatic approval. Submitting a tax return to the Tax Commission with the Enterprise Zone tax credit prior to GOED approval may lead to an audit by the Tax Commission.

The Employee Tax Credit 
  1. A tax credit of $750 may be claimed by a business entity for each new full-time employee position created within the enterprise zone;

  2. An additional $500 tax credit may be claimed if the new full-time employee position created within the enterprise zone pays at least 125% of the county average monthly nonagricultural payroll wage;

  3. An additional tax credit of $750 may be claimed if the new full-time employee position created within the enterprise zone is in a business entity that adds value to agricultural commodities through manufacturing or processing;

  4. An additional tax credit of $200 may be claimed for two consecutive years for each new full-time employee position created within the enterprise zone that is filled by an employee who is insured under an employer-sponsored health insurance and the employer pays at least 50% of the premium cost for the year for which the credit is claimed.

Instructions:

Before filing an Employee Tax Credit application you will need the following documents: 

• Download Employee Credit Template 

• Employee company health care policy that outlines premium price and what is covered by the company

• Signed letter of certification


Employee documentation includes, but is not limited to: 

Employee lists including employee:

  •  Name
  •  Title
  •  Department
  •  Hours Worked - Note: DO NOT annualize employee hours
  •  Hourly rate
  •  Gross salary - Monthly nonagricultural payroll wage
  •  Gross benefits
  •  Hire date
  •  Termination date as well as additional information necessary to validate additional employment-related  tax credits claimed

Tax Credit Process:
  1. To complete the application:
    • Carefully read each question and provide accurate answers.
    • Submit the required documentation to support your submission
    • Fill out, sign and submit a letter of certification which has been approved by the state as described in 63N-2-213 (2)(a).  
  2. Eligibility will be confirmed and reviewed by the GOED Compliance Team.
  3. Dependent on eligibility, you will receive a tax credit certificate for qualifying incremental job creation. The Enterprise Zone Tax Credit is filed with your Utah State Income Tax. 
  4. If the amount of a tax credit under this section exceeds a business entity's tax liability under this chapter for a taxable year, the business entity may carry forward the amount of the tax credit exceeding the liability for a period that does not exceed three taxable years.

Please contact goedcompliance@utah.gov, with any questions or concerns regarding the Enterprise Zone program. 
 


Page 2

Business Entity Eligibility Information
Carefully read each question and provide accurate answers
























Employee credit(s) hire date clarification:

 

Per statute § 63 N-2-202 (6), a qualified new full-time employee position must be "filled by an employee working at least 30 hours per week: (a) for a period of six consecutive months; and (b) where the period ends in the tax year for which the credit is claimed."

 

This definition suggests that employees hired later within the fiscal year can’t be claimed due to the six months end date falling outside of the year. An entity that includes employees with a hire date after June (excluding the first week of July up to July 10 for 2016) are able to claim these employees in the following year. For example, if the employee, John Doe, is hired July 28, 2016, the 6 consecutive months will end in the following year on the date January 26, 2017. Since the period ends in 2017, John Doe can be claimed by the entity for the tax year of 2017. This same procedure is followed and applicable for the baseline.

Page 3 - General Information

Input your operating address and information below. Only businesses that have an operating address within an Enterprise Zone will qualify for an Enterprise Zone Tax Credit. If the only connection to an Enterprise Zone is a P.O. Box or the provided business address is not within an Enterprise Zone, the application will be rejected. 


Company Contact Information - All Questions are Required
This is the company name on your Utah state tax return. If you are claiming this credit on your individual income tax return please use your name here.
Business entity owner's first name.
Business entity owner's last name.
Contact Information
First name of the person completing this application on behalf of the applicant, such as a CPA.
Last name of the person completing this application on behalf of the applicant, such as a CPA.
Please enter the email address where you would like to receive correspondence and the digital letter and/or certificate.
Company Specific Data - All Questions are Required
 This code will determine if you are eligible for an Enterprise Zone credit in this application.
If you are claiming this credit on your individual income tax return please use your Social Security number here.

Value-added Agriculture: a change in the physical state or form of a product in a manner that enhances its value, thus expanding the customer base of the product. Examples include milling wheat into flour or making strawberries into jam.


Enterprise Zone Address

Please input your Enterprise Zone business address below. Addresses not located within an Enterprise Zone Area will be ineligible. Go here to verify that your address is in an Enterprise Zone. Please note that businesses located in Cache, Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah, Washington and Weber Counties are not eligible for a tax credit.

 

The Enterprise Zone Physical Address fields below are for the physical address of the business operating address within the Enterprise Zone Area.

Page 4 -  Employee Information

Please input information regarding your employee count. In order for a new position to qualify for the Enterprise Zone tax credit the position must meet the following requirements:
a. Each new position must be filled by an employee working a minimum of 30 hours per week and
b. Each new position must be filled by an employee employed for at least six consecutive months and
c. Each new position must be new and exceed the highest baseline count of employees over the last three years.  (Ex. if your business had 20 employees in 2016, 23 in 2017, and 19 in 2018 and you were applying for 2019, your baseline would be the 2017 count of 23. Only new positions that meet the criteria of (a) and (b) over the baseline of 23 would be eligible for the credit.)
Employee Information - All Questions are Required

A full-time employee is one working at least 30 hours per week and has been employed for at least six months of the last tax year for which you are filing. This should be a total of just those new positions within an active Enterprise Zone area. Please include only full-time positions with more than six months of employment for the tax year you are filing.
3. Total FTE Employees for each of the last three years (as of the last month of each tax year)


Please enter the number of full time employees (30+ hours a week) the entity retained as of the last month of your tax year (as of December if your tax period is on the calendar year) of each of the last three years. For example, if filing for tax year 2019 put the employee count for December 31, 2019 in Question 2 and December 31st 2018, 2017, and 2016 in the boxes for Question 3. If no employees were working for the company in a given year, input a zero.

Page 5 -  Enterprise Zone Employment Tax Credits 

All new full-time positions over the baseline may be eligible for the Enterprise Zone Employment tax credit.
1. A tax credit of $750 may be claimed by a business entity for each new full-time employee position created within the enterprise zone during the last tax year.

Each eligible employee must have been hired in the last tax year and work within an Enterprise Zone for a period of at least six consecutive months. Employees whose consecutive six months falls outside the tax year, may be claimed in the following tax year. Please input the total number of new eligible employees in this field.
2. An additional $500 tax credit may be claimed if the new full-time employee position created within the enterprise zone pays at least 125% of the county average monthly nonagricultural payroll wage.

County average monthly wage is defined by legislation as the following: a. the county averge monthly nonagricultural payroll wage for the respective industry as determined by the Department of Workforce Services; or b. if the county average monthly nonagricultural payroll wage is not available for the respective industry, the total average monthly nonagricultural payroll wage in the respective county where the enterprise zone is located.
3. An additional tax credit of $750 may be claimed if the new full-time employee position created within the enterprise zone is in a business entity that adds value to agricultural commodities through manufacturing or processing.

Employee Healthcare
4. An additional tax credit of $200 may be claimed for two consecutive years for each new full-time employee position created within the enterprise zone that is filled by an employee who is insured under an employer-sponsored health insurance program if the employer pays at least 50% of the premium cost for the year for which the credit is claimed.

Employees can be claimed for two consecutive years, but cannot be claimed until they have been employed for at least six consecutive months. Eligible employees are those positions above the baseline.

Page 6 




Our staff will review your application and contact you soon. If approved, a form will be issued to file with your taxes.

Please click the Submit button below to submit this application. 
If you would like to confirm receipt of your application, please email goedcompliance@utah.gov within a week of submission.
Save my progress and resume later | Resume a previously saved form

Contact Information