Taxes & Incentives

A Pro-Business Environment

Thanks to low tax rates and competitive state and local incentive programs, businesses thrive here. North Carolina has the lowest corporate income tax rate in the nation at 2.5 percent, and Forsyth County boasts low tax rates as well. What really sets Winston-Salem apart is the way that its government agencies, businesses, organizations and community leaders work together to develop incentive programs. The result of this collaborative environment is better incentives that help both businesses and the community. Local incentive support is based on net new capital investment and job creation. Each project is reviewed on a case-by-case basis, but history has shown that our community is aggressive in pursuing the right deals. Greater Winston-Salem, Inc. coordinates all local incentive requests with City and County staff prior to taking the request to the public bodies.

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State Incentives

North Carolina’s statewide incentives offer competitive businesses advantages to entice companies to locate here.

Discretionary programs include:

Building Reuse Program – Provides grant assistance to qualified companies for the renovation of vacant or existing buildings.

Job Development Investment Grant – Provides a limited number of cash grants to new and expanding businesses that will provide economic benefits to the state, and need the grant to carry out the project in North Carolina.

One North Carolina Fund – Awards grants for job creation and/or retention in conjunction with local government matches.

SBIR/STTR Small Business Technology Funding – Awards matching funds to firms who have been awarded a SBIR/STTR Phase I award from the federal government.

Infrastructure Support – Provides assistance for site development and infrastructure improvements for very high-impact projects.

Other programs include:

Foreign Trade Zones – Provides opportunities to defer, reduce and/or eliminate import duties.

Community Development Block Grants – Provides grants and loans for infrastructure development to eligible local governments.

Road Access and Rail Access Programs – Provides funds for the construction of roads and rail access to new or expanded industrial facilities.

Recycling Business Assistance Center – Provides grants, tax credits and loans to businesses involved with recycling in North Carolina.

North Carolina Biotechnology Center – Provides loans and matches to help leverage larger financial awards for biotechnology companies.

Winston-Salem Incentives

The Target Area Business Assistance Program is designed to provide incentives to encourage businesses to locate within distressed areas of the city and to create job opportunities.

A Pro-Business Environment

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North Carolina State Incentives

Doing Business in Winston-Salem

Forsyth County Tax Administration

Entrepreneurship Resources

State Incentives

Other programs include:

Winston-Salem Incentives

Facts & Rankings

2.5%

Corporate Income Tax Rate, Lowest in the U.S.

#3

Most Affordable Downtown in the U.S.

#2

Corporate Tax Environment

#4

Best Cities to Start a Small Business