Arlington Economic Development is committed to attracting and retaining high-quality businesses of all shapes and sizes. When it comes to assisting businesses, we don’t believe in a “one size fits all” policy. Our approach is to get to know your business, understand your needs and find solutions that will help you grow and succeed in Arlington.
To learn more, download Arlington's Incentive Overview and view our incentives matrix.
COF is a discretionary incentive to secure a business location or expansion project. Grants are awarded to localities on a local matching basis. COF requires that a company make a capital investment of at least $5 million and create 50 new jobs. COF incentives are only used when Virginia faces active and realistic competition with another state for a business attraction or expansion project.
VEDIG is a discretionary cash grant to assist and encourage companies to locate significant headquarters, administrative or service sector operations in Virginia. VEDIG requires an investment of at least $5 million (or $6,500 per job) plus job creation thresholds ranging between 300-400 jobs depending on wage.
VJIP provides cash reimbursements per job, plus a variety of free recruiting and training services for new and growing companies. Requirements include new job and investment minimums:
VJIP also provides support for Virginia companies that are upgrading the skills of their existing workforce. Requirements include:
SBJGF provides cash reimbursements per job, ranging between $500 and $2,000, plus a variety of free recruiting and training services for new and growing companies. Companies must have 250 employees or less and fall under the following sectors: Corporate HQ, Research and Development or Information Technology Services to Business, to name a few. Requirements include the creation of 5 new jobs within 24 months and making a capital investment of at least $50,000.
SBJGF also provides support for Virginia companies that are upgrading the Recruitment & Selection skills of their existing workforce.
The Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit is a $1,000 corporate income tax credit per job over a 50 job threshold; job threshold must be met within a 12-month period and taken in equal installments over a two-year period (i.e. $500 per job per year).
Read more about Virginia’s Incentive Programs
Arlington County offers IDA Performance Grants for priority economic development projects, including fast-growing technology companies, large office users and important research and nonprofit organizations. Typically IDA Performance Grants are used in conjunction with the Commonwealth Opportunity Fund (see page three). Award amounts for IDA Performance Grants are determined by the project’s estimated fiscal benefit to Arlington County based on the company’s industry, square footage, capital investment and number and salary of jobs. IDA Performance Grants are awarded starting in year two and are paid out over a customized performance period based on lease length. IDA Performance Grants are only used when Arlington faces active and realistic competition with another jurisdiction for a business attraction or expansion project.
The Arlington County Gazelle Grant program offers economic development performance grants between $10,000 and $150,000 to select fast-growing technology companies and tech catalyst organizations like business incubators, accelerators and venture funds. To learn more about the program, please contact Christina Winn at [email protected].
The Arlington Real Labs Initiative will facilitate collaboration between Arlington County and startup technology companies to produce solutions for improving local government. More information on ARLi coming soon!
Arlington County is dedicated to building the ideal innovation economy and welcoming tech sector businesses. The Technology Zone incentive is a partial offset of the Business, Professional, Occupational License (BPOL) tax, a local license tax levied on business gross receipts for the prior year. Qualified technology companies receive a 50% reduced BPOL rate – from $0.36 to $0.18 per $100 of gross receipts for 10 years. The BPOL rate continues to decrease as companies grow their employee base. Technology zones are located in Arlington’s premier high-technology business corridors and savings are equivalent to approximately $2.00 to $3.00 per square foot in building occupancy costs annually.
Read more about the Arlington Technology Zone incentive
Arlington provides a ten year tax exemption on the increased assessment of rehabilitated commercial structures for qualified redevelopments.
ConnectArlington brings Arlington’s technology infrastructure to the forefront of not only the region, but the entire country by making available its dark fiber to businesses locating in Arlington. What’s more – ConnectArlington provides direct, dedicated fiber with the highest levels of security to provide unprecedented opportunities for secure collaboration with the nation’s top defense and research agencies.
The Arlington Employment Center (AEC), a County agency, provides a number of services in recruiting and training personnel at no cost to the business. For example, a business can specify its personnel needs and the Employment Center will pre-screen job applicants and provide a location to conduct interviews.
Arlington Transportation Partners (ATP) can help employers develop programs to ease the journey to work for their employees. Services such as transportation consulting and surveys are available at no cost to the business. Additionally, ATP can help businesses design commuting incentives and create Personalized Transportation Options Portfolios for each employee.
Arlington can help qualified tax-exempt organizations finance new or expanded facilities at reduced rates through the tax-exempt Revenue Bond Program.
For more information on any of these programs, contact Christina Winn, Director, Business Investment Group at 703-228-0801 or [email protected].
