State of Iowa Financial Assistance

Iowa offers an array of financial assistance programs to aid businesses with their relocation and/or expansion.  The Iowa Values Fund (IVF) is the state's premier 10-year economic development program designed to transform Iowa's economy by creating high quality jobs through business development and expansion across Iowa.  With a $35 million dollar annual appropriation for business development, the IVF assists existing businesses and promotes the attraction of new businesses to Iowa.  A business interested in Iowa's financial assistance programs should contact IFADC directly to discuss the most appropriate program(s) for the needs of your project.  A variety of business development programs are available, as listed below:

Direct Financial Assistance Programs:

• Community Economic Betterment Account (CEBA) / Economic Development Set-Aside (EDSA) - Provides financial assistance to companies that create new quality employment opportunities and/or retain existing jobs, and make new capital investment in Iowa. The EDSA program is targeted toward low- and moderate-income individuals.
• Loan and Credit Guarantee Fund - Designed to assist businesses that night not have access to conventional financing. The fund provides lenders with additional security, thereby encouraging greater lender activity to Iowa business.
• Value-Added Agricultural Products and Processes Financial Assistance Program (VAAPFAP) - Seeks to increase the innovative utilization of Iowa's agricultural commodities.

Tax Incentives for business development include the following:

• High Quality Job Creation Program - This program is designed to promote the creation of quality jobs by assisting businesses locating, expanding or modernizing their facilities in Iowa through a package of tax credits, exemptions, and/or refunds to approved businesses.
• Enterprise Zones - Enterprise Zones are economically depressed areas in which state and local tax benefits are available to businesses and developers to make new investments, creating new jobs, and building or rehabilitating housing in those areas. Businesses locating or expanding in an Enterprise Zone may receive property tax exemptions, funding for employee training, sales tax refunds and more.

Employee Training programs create a thriving, skilled work force:

• Iowa Industrial New Jobs Training Program (260E) - Provides no-cost or reduced-cost job-training services to new employees of eligible businesses through Iowa's community college system.
• Iowa Jobs Training Program (260F) - Provides job training services to current employees of eligible businesses that are located in Iowa.
• Accelerated Career Education Program (260G) - Assists Iowa's community colleges in establishing/expanding programs that train individuals in the occupations most needed by Iowa businesses.
• New Jobs Tax Credit - When businesses enter into an agreement under the Iowa New Jobs Training Program, they may qualify for this additional credit to their Iowa corporate income tax.
• Targeted Small Business Financial Assistance Program (TSBFAP) - Designed to create and expand minority- or women-owned businesses through direct loans.
• Self-Employment Loan Program (SELP) - Offers low-interest loans to low-income owners of new or expanding small businesses.
• Entrepreneurs With Disabilities (EWD) - Helps qualified individuals with disabilities establish, acquire, maintain or expand a small business by providing technical and financial assistance.
• Assistive Device Tax Credit - Reduces taxes for small businesses that incur costs through making physical changes to the workplace to help employees with disabilities to get or keep their job.