State of Illinois Blue Collar Jobs Act Incentivizes Local Construction Projects
Allea Newbold, Principal
813.371.0566 | allea.newbold@ryan.com
Megan McNulty, Manager
412.477.5641 | megan.mcnulty@ryan.com
Illinois released the Blue Collar Jobs Act (BCJA) as of May 2023. The program is designed to promote large-scale economic development activities by providing corporate income tax credits to project owners that make substantial capital investments in Illinois. BCJA tax credits are based on the amount of withholding taxes from the compensation paid to construction workers employed on site at an eligible project.
Qualifying companies may receive an income tax credit of up to 50% (or up to 75% if the project is in an underserved area) of withholding taxes attributable to wages paid to construction workers employed on the job for qualified projects.
Eligibility requirements include:
- Project concluded after January 1, 2021;
- Eligible business must pay prevailing wages;
- Must meet one of the following additional requirements:
– Located in an Enterprise Zone and invest a minimum of $10M in eligible expenses, or
– Located in a River Edge Redevelopment Zone and invest a minimum of $1M in a qualified rehabilitation plan, or
– Have an EDGE (Economic Development for a Growing Economy) and invest a minimum of $10M, or
– Designated as a High Impact Business and;
- Invest a minimum of $12 million and create 500 full-time jobs or,
- Invest a minimum of $30 million and retain 1,500 full-time jobs