“California Competes” Tax Credit Program for California Breweries

Growing craft breweries and business across California can apply for the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) California Competes Tax Credit program. The program – created by Governor Jerry Brown – provides income tax credits to businesses that create jobs in California. Several CCBA brewery members have applied for and received this credit over the past few years, including New Helvetia Brewing Company in Sacramento.

“California Competes provides a significant benefit to breweries creating jobs in California,” said Dave Gull, owner of New Helvetia. “We knew it was a competitive program, but had no idea how competitive. It’s an honor to be selected from the vast array of businesses that applied throughout the state. Cal Competes is a valuable tool we plan to continue to utilize to help us grow our business and add employees.”

New Helvetia Brewing Co. received a $125,000 credit to continue to grow, on board and retain employees in 2016.

For the 2017-18 fiscal year, $200 million has been allocated by GO-Biz to be awarded, with 25 percent of those funds reserved for small businesses like many of California’s craft breweries. An FAQ about the program can be found here.

During the last application period for this benefit (January 2017), the California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC) committee approved $60.9 million in tax credits for 74 companies expanding and creating jobs in California in, including several breweries across the state. The credit helped these companies create a projected 6,568 jobs and generate over $670 million in total investment across California.Since 2014, GO-Biz has allocated over $400 million to 574 companies that are projected to create 62,000 jobs and make $12.6 billion in investments.

The next application period for the tax credit program will begin in March 2017. CCBA is partnering with GO-Biz to provide more information, including webinars and in-person meetings, to craft breweries across the state that are planning to hire additional staff and continue to grow their businesses in California. Please note there is no application fee for this credit and no minimum number of jobs that must be created to receive the credit, although the credit will be awarded on a competitive basis.

CCBA will be sharing more information and resources with its members through the Weekly Bulletin once the application period is open. In the meantime, more information can be found at https://www.calcompetes.ca.gov.