Local Incentives: Fairfax City
Technology Zone BPOL
The Business, Professional and Occupational license (BPOL) tax is an annual tax typically based on gross receipts for the preceding year. Existing businesses must pay the BPOL by March 1, and new businesses must submit a BPOL application within 30 days of the start of operations. BPOL rates can be easily calculated using the Fairfax Business Tax Calculator.
Fairfax City has established a Technology Zone in city limits, which allows Qualified Technology Businesses to acquire special tax exemptions.
A Qualified Technology Business is a business which derives a reasonable accounting of its income from the design, development, manufacture or other creation of technology-based products, processes, or related services.
Upon certification by Fairfax City and entering into a performance agreement, Qualified Technology Businesses are eligible for various benefits including a total or partial exemption for up to five calendar years of BPOL taxes, beginning in the year the business becomes a Qualified Technology Business.
The exemption schedule includes 100% BPOL exemption in Year One, 80% BPOL exemption in Year Two, 60% exemption in Year Three, 40% exemption in Year Four, and 20% exemption in Year Five.
For more information on the Technology Zone BPOL exemption, or if your business qualifies, contact us today!
If your business qualifies, fill out the Technology Zone Application and submit it to EDAInformation@fairfaxcityeda.org or mail to 10300 Eaton Place, Suite 235, Fairfax, VA 22030
State Incentives
The Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP) is an economic development incentive that supports the creation of new jobs and investment in the Commonwealth by offsetting recruiting and training costs for new and expanding companies.
VJIP consists of three initiatives: the New Jobs Program, the Small Business New Jobs Program and the Retraining Program.
Eligibility for the New Jobs and Small Business New Jobs Programs is limited to projects by for-profit companies in the following business sectors:
- Manufacturing
- Distribution centers
- Corporate headquarters of companies with multiple facilities (only support positions at headquarters are funded)
- Inbound call centers
- Information technology services exclusively for businesses
- Research and development
The New Jobs Program focuses on expansion of existing companies or new facility locations. To qualify for assistance, a company must be:
- Considering another state or country for the expansion or new location
- Generating more than 50 percent of its revenue outside Virginia
- Creating at least 25 net new jobs within 12 months from the date of the first hire
- Making a new capital investment of at least $1 million associated with the expansion or new location
- Paying a minimum entry-level wage of $10 per hour. Only full-time jobs are eligible for funding.
The Small Business New Jobs Program supports start-up firms and existing Virginia businesses with 250 or fewer employees companywide. To qualify for assistance, a company must be:
- Creating at least five net new jobs within 12 months from the date of the first hire
- Making a new capital investment of at least $100,000 associated with the start-up or expansion
- Paying a minimum entry-level wage of $10 per hour. Only full-time jobs are eligible for funding
The Retraining Program is limited to projects by for-profit companies in the manufacturing and distribution center business sectors. It provides services and funding to help them train their existing workforce.
Under the program, “retraining” is defined as upgrading the skills of existing employees identified as essential to the production or distribution of a product. Participating companies typically are undergoing an integration of new technology into their production processes, changing product lines in keeping with marketplace demands or substantially changing service delivery processes, requiring an assimilation of new skills and technological capabilities. Companies may use the program no more than once every three years.
To qualify for assistance, a company must be:
- retraining at least 10 full-time employees;
- making a new capital investment of at least $500,000 associated with the retraining project;
- paying a minimum entry-level wage of $10 per hour. Only full-time jobs are eligible for funding.