Small Business Incubator Report

In 1988, the Oklahoma Legislature passed the Oklahoma Small Business Incubators Incentives Act. The Act enables the tenants of a certified incubator facility to be exempt from state tax liability on income earned as a result of occupancy for up to five years. In 2001, the Legislature amended “the Act” to extend the tenant’s tax exemption from five to 10 years. The exemption remains in effect after the tenant has graduated from an incubator. For tax years starting before January 1, 2020, in order to qualify for the tax exemption from the sixth through the 10th year, the tenant must make at least 75 percent of its gross sales to out-of-state buyers, to buyers located within the state if the product or service is resold to an out-of-state customer, or to the federal government.

For tax years starting after January 1, 2020, the requirement for the sixth through the 10th year is not required. The exemption will be in effect for ten years as long as the tenant graduates from a certified incubator.

Since the inception of the Act, the State of Oklahoma has benefited from increased revenues and increases in the number of start-up and expanding small businesses. These businesses have created jobs and enhanced economic activity in the Oklahoma communities in which they are located.