Redevelopment Tax Credits

Culter Development team standing in front of STAR sign at StarLofts

Developers in Iowa can receive tax credits for redeveloping properties known as brownfield and grayfield sites. Additional tax credits are available for projects that meet or exceed sustainable design standards as defined by state law.

This tax credit program is offered as a way to promote the economic health of communities by reducing environmental potential hazards, cleaning up eyesores, creating new jobs and boosting tax revenue.

Brownfield Sites

Brownfield sites are abandoned, idled or underutilized industrial or commercial properties where real or perceived environmental contamination prevents productive expansion or redevelopment. Examples of brownfield sites include former gas stations, dry cleaners and other commercial operations that may have utilized products or materials potentially hazardous to the environment.

  • Tax credits of up to 24% of qualifying costs of a brownfield project and up to 30% if the project meets green building requirements.

Grayfield Sites

Grayfield site is an abandoned public building or industrial or commercial property that meets these requirements:

  1. The property’s infrastructure is outdated or prevents efficient use – site is vacant, blighted, obsolete, or otherwise underutilized.
  2. Property improvements and infrastructure are at least 25 years old AND one or more of the following conditions exists:
    1. At least thirty percent of a building located on the property is available for occupancy and has been unoccupied for at least a year.
    2. The assessed value of property’s improvements has decreased by at least 25 percent.
    3. The property is used as a parking lot.
    4. Improvements on the property no longer exist.
  • Tax credits of up to 12% of qualifying costs of a grayfield project and 15% if the project meets green building requirements
  • Program capped at $15 million per fiscal year with a maximum award of $1.5 million per project

Eligibility

Application Process

  • Applications accepted annually during the months of July and August with a September 1 deadline
  • Visit govconnect.iowa.gov to apply. Once logged in, click on “Apply for a Tax Credit” under “Tax Credits,” then click on “Redevelopment Tax Credit Application” under “Iowa Economic Development Authority Tax Credit Applications.”

Resources