Available Incentives

Performance agreements, often referred to as job-based agreements, are contracted incentives between companies and the Frisco EDC. Companies are required to meet certain metrics, such as number of jobs, capital investment, size of space leased or build or other specific project details, etc., before any incentives are paid to the company. These types of agreements require companies to complete annual compliance reports detailing proof of meeting performance metrics. Once the compliance report is submitted, it is reviewed by the FEDC staff and Board of Directors. Once approved, incentives are then paid within a specified time frame.

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is defined as a public financing mechanism through which the growth in taxes (increment) associated with new development or redevelopment can be captured and used to pay costs associated with economic development for the public good. The area in which TIF is being used is known as a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ).

A Half Cent Sales Tax can be used to improve targeted infrastructure and attract new businesses and encourage growth. This is a primary tool that EDC's use to offer incentives to qualified projects, companies, infrastructure or job growth. Sales tax increases must be approved by voters before it can be enacted. To see the local government code, visit https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/LG/htm/LG.501.htm.

Retail incentives may be available in the form of economic development infrastructure incentives. These types of incentives may be available to attract qualified retail projects that would have a regional or national draw.

In Separated Materials Sales Tax Grants, suppliers for the construction project are given resale certificates instead of the developer paying tax on the materials being incorporated to the property or on services used to develop the property. The contractor will then collect the sales tax for the materials.

The Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) awards “deal-closing” grants to companies considering a new project for which one Texas site is competing with other out-of-state sites. The fund serves as a financial incentive for those companies whose projects would contribute significant capital investment and new employment opportunities to the state’s economy. The Texas Enterprise fund is the largest fund of its kind in the nation.

The Texas Enterprise Zone Program (EZP) is a state sales and use tax refund program designed to encourage private investment and job creation in economically distressed areas of the state.

State Skills Development Fund Training Grants are grants provided for specific, customized training opportunities for Texas businesses and their employees. These grants are designed to increase the skill level and wages of the Texas workforce. Average training costs are around $2,000 per employee but can vary.For more information, visit https://www.twc.texas.gov/.

Ad Valorem or Property Tax Exemptions are sometimes known as Freeport Exemptions. A community may choose to offer the Freeport exemption for various types of goods that are detained in Texas for a short period of time. Freeport property includes goods, wares, merchandise, ores, and certain aircraft and aircraft parts. Freeport property qualifies for an exemption from ad valorem taxation only if it has been detained in the state for 175 days or less for the purpose of assembly, storage, manufacturing, processing, or fabricating. For certain aircraft parts, a community, by official action, may extend the deadline to 730 days.

Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) are secure areas under U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) supervision that are generally considered outside CBP territory upon activation. Located in or near CBP ports of entry, they are the United States' version of what are known internationally as free-trade zones.