Location Neutral Employment (LONE) Incentive

Note: This incentive program was sunset on 12/31/2022 and is no longer available.

For: Businesses considering interstate competitive expansion or relocation projects in Colorado
Type: Cash incentive
Amount: $300,000 per company
Time period: 5 consecutive years

The Location Neutral Employment (LONE) Incentive provides companies that will be approved for a Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit with an additional cash incentive for each remote worker employed in an eligible rural county outside the county where the project is based. Each LONE award is capped at $300,000 per company.

This performance-based cash incentive is a Strategic Fund Job Growth Incentive. As an additional perk, companies will not be required to have a $1-to-$1 local match to receive this funds.

The incentive term of the Strategic Fund cash portion of the LONE incentive is five consecutive years with one payment at the end of that term. The incentive term of the Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit portion of the LONE incentive is eight years and paid annually.

Incentive levels per eligible net new rural job vary based on the number of jobs created in rural areas.

Rural Jump-Start counties include Alamosa, Archuleta, Baca, Bent, Chaffee, Cheyenne, Clear Creek, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley, Custer, Dolores, Fremont, Garfield, Grand, Hinsdale, Huerfano, Jackson, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Lake, Las Animas, Lincoln, Logan, Mesa, Mineral, Montezuma, Otero, Ouray, Park, Phillips, Prowers, Rio Grande, Saguache, San Juan, San Miguel, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma.

Just Transition communities are diversifying away from coal-dependent economic development strategies. Just Transition counties included in this program are Delta, Gunnison, Moffat, Montrose, Morgan, Pueblo, Rio Blanco, and Routt.

The net new remote rural workers created through a project will count in the Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit job and average annual wage calculations.

Eligibility

Companies hoping to take advantage of LONE must receive a Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit.

All rural net new jobs must be full-time permanent positions and maintained for at least one year in each evaluation period. To qualify as an eligible remote rural worker, that employee must work at least three days per week on average in a rural remote location.

Rural jobs may be distributed geographically over a number of rural areas as long as the county is currently eligible or has been eligible for the Rural Jump-Start Program. As long as the total project average annual wage requirement is met, then the LONE average annual wage requirement is also met.

How to Apply

If you are considering applying for Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit, please follow that application process and let the following Global Business Development contact know that you are interested in the LONE incentive during the application process.

Mike Landes
Global Business Development Manager
Email Mike

Related Incentives

Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit
Strategic Fund Job Growth Incentive