Taxes and Incentives
Increasing our global and local economic footprint has been important to our state and Fort Dodge, and our successes are due in part to a progressive tax code that allows everyone to thrive. Below are highlights of our code.
Low Corporate Income Tax
Iowa tax code limits corporate income tax to a percentage of sales within the state and includes a 50 percent deductibility of federal taxes—one of only five states that offers such a deduction.
No Personal Property Tax
No tax is charged on personal property, which includes corporate inventories of goods-in-process, raw materials, and all salable goods.
Machinery and Equipment Are Not Subjected Sales and Property Tax
Computers, industrial machinery, and other equipment you need to run your business is exempt from Iowa sales and property tax. So are utilities like electricity and natural gas.
Research Activities Tax Credit
To encourage innovation and growth, Iowa provides a tax credit to offset up to 6.5 percent of research costs.
Renewable Chemicals Production Tax Credit Program
Iowa is the first state in the union to offer tax credits to businesses developing biotechnology, in particular, using biomass as feedstocks for renewable chemicals.
Additional Incentives
Low Unemployment Insurance Rate
All new, non-construction businesses receive as low as a 1.9 percent unemployment insurance rate for the first three years they remain in Iowa. Afterwards, they may be eligible for a good experience zero rate—approximately 45 percent of our statewide businesses are operating at a zero rate.
Low Worker's Compensation Costs
Iowa’s worker’s comp costs is among the nation’s lowest—less than 25 percent of the national average.
Business Friendly Employment Laws
Iowa is the most progressive Midwest state when it comes to employment laws and ranks fifth in the nation state legal liability. We a “right to work” state, which limits the influence of an operating union, and we have an “at will” employment law which allows businesses to terminate employees without cause.
