Taxes and Incentives

Competitive tax rates

NC Corporate Tax Rate: 2.5%

NC Sales Tax Rate: 7%  (4.75% state; 2.25% local)

Local Incentives

Rockingham County and the local municipalities review each new business location individually in order to offer a generous location assistance package. The local assistance package is based on investment in machinery and equipment, the creation of jobs, and building upfit.

Contact the Rockingham County Center for Economic Development, Small Business, and Tourism for more information or to assist with your business location or expansion.

State Incentives

North Carolina offers several targeted, performance-based incentive programs that greatly lessen the tax burden and lower the overall costs, to help companies that are locating and doing business here succeed.  Programs include:

County Tier Designations

The North Carolina Department of Commerce annually ranks the state’s 100 counties based on economic well-being and assigns each a tier designation. The 40 most distressed counties are designated as Tier 1, the next 40 as Tier 2 and the 20 least distressed as Tier 3. County Tiers are calculated using four main factors: average unemployment rate; median household income; percentage growth in population; adjusted property tax base per capita. This tier system is incorporated into various state programs to encourage economic activity in the less prosperous areas of the state.  Rockingham County is designated as Tier 1.

Job Development Investment Grant

The Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) is a performance-based, discretionary incentive program that provides cash grants directly to new and expanding companies to help offset the cost of locating or expanding a facility in the state. The amount of the grant is based on a percentage of the personal income tax withholdings associated with the new jobs and by weighing a number of factors to determine its potential value, including the location of the project, the county tier designation, the number of net new jobs, the wages of the jobs compared to the county average wage, the level of investment and whether the industry is one of the state’s targeted industry sectors. Grant funds are disbursed annually, for up to 12 years, to approved companies following the satisfaction of performance criteria set out in grant agreements

For projects located in a Tier 1 county:
100% of the annual grant is paid to the company.

One North Carolina Fund

The One North Carolina Fund (OneNC) is a discretionary cash-grant program that allows the Governor to respond quickly to competitive job-creation projects. The North Carolina Department of Commerce administers OneNC on behalf of the Governor. Awards are based on the number of jobs created, level of investment, location of the project, economic impact of the project and the importance of the project to the state and region.  In order to qualify for funding through OneNC, the company must meet a minimum set of requirements, which varies depending on the tier designation of the county under consideration.

Target parameters for Tier 1 projects:
The local government must provide no less than $1 for every $3 provided by OneNC

Job Development Investment Grant (Transformative Project)

The Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) is a performance-based, discretionary incentive program that provides cash grants directly to new and expanding companies to help offset the cost of locating or expanding a facility in the state. The amount of the grant is based on a percentage of the personal income tax withholdings associated with the new jobs.

To qualify as a transformative project, the grantee (company) must create at least 3,000 jobs and invest at least $1 billion within the base period, which can now be up to ten years.

For additional state incentive programs contact the Rockingham County Center for Economic Development, Small Business and Tourism, or visit the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.