Oregon Investment Advantage

Oregon Investment Advantage is sponsored by Business Oregon. Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP) Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center (OMIC) <li style="margin-bottom&#58;8px;margin-lef

Business Oregon : Oregon Investment Advantage (OIA) : Oregon Investment Advantage (OIA) : State of Oregon Translate this site into other Languages tag, as divs are not allowed in 's --> Oregon Investment Advantage (OIA) Oregon Investment Advantage (OIA) The Oregon Investment Advantage is a 10-year taxable income exemption for a certified business in eligible locations. It can often be combined with property tax abatement programs.

Companies setting up operations in an eligible county can be certified as many as 10 consecutive times to annually deduct or subtract taxable income related to those operations, potentially eliminating any state business income tax liability for that period. There is no restriction on the size of the investment or business. Any type of business activity, in any industrial or commercial sector, may qualify.

To be eligible, the site of the facility must be: Inside a county that currently (or in the past two years) qualifies for the program, in terms of annual unemployment and per capita income; and On land zoned for industrial uses or located inside the urban growth boundary (UGB) of a city that has a population of 15,000 or less. Meeting both geographic criteria matters only when applying for preliminary certification.

​ What is the Certification Process? Criteria for Preliminary Certification The business has not recently operated another facility anywhere in Oregon that is the same as the proposed facility, and the proposed operations are new to the facility; and The proposed operations will not compete with existing businesses in the local area where the facility is located.

​ Criteria for Continued Annual Certification The facility has resulted in the hiring of five or more new full-time, year-round employees; The average wage of new employees must equal or exceed the most current average county annual wage; and At least five new employees must also each—at a minimum—receive annual “compensation” (including all non-mandatory financial benefits) that is equal to or greater than the following: 150% of local income*; or 130% of local income*, if the facility is located outside a federally designated metropolitan statistical area; or 100% of local income*, if employees at the facility receive health insurance coverage that is equivalent to or better than that of local city, port, or county personnel.

*Most recently available figures for per capita personal income in the applicable county at the time of application for preliminary certification. What is the Application Process? Preliminary Certification Businesses must apply before any hiring or work commences on the facility.

The process for approval involves a 60-day period, during which local governments could potentially object. Businesses must apply within 30 days after each applicable income tax/fiscal year after any of 10 consecutive income tax years. The first submission must be at least 24 months after the date that operations commenced.

​ What Counties are Currently Eligible? The following counties are currently eligible (based on the date when a business applies for preliminary certification on and after January 1, 2026, until revised). Oregon Investment Advant​age Map ​ Subsequent change in county eligibility does not affect a facility's future receipt of the OIA income tax benefit.

Once the application is made, hiring, investments, construction or other project work on the facility may begin. Pursuant to compliance review and an opportunity potentially for local government objection, Business Oregon will issue a preliminary certification to the applicant, after which new operations at the facility need to commence within a reasonable period and without extended interruption in project activity.

For projects involving significant construction, this period would be at least 18 months from the date of preliminary certification. A business may reapply with no fee, in order to update its preliminary certification, provided that project work or hiring has still not begun,​ and that the county also is eligible at that time. ​ How to recognize an official Oregon website Only share sensitive information on official, secure websites.

Your browser is out-of-date! It has known security flaws and may not display all features of this and other websites. Learn how