Texas communities must nominate companies in their jurisdiction to receive an Enterprise Zone designation and thus be eligible to receive state sales and use tax refunds on qualified expenditures by submitting an application on the company’s behalf. Companies must contribute information to the application packet where required. Companies must meet minimum capital investment thresholds and create and/or retain jobs that employ a certain percentage of economically disadvantaged individuals, enterprise zone residents, or veterans.

State sales and use tax refund, with the maximum allowable refund—both total and per-job—determined for each company which has been awarded a designation based on the company’s planned capital investment and job creation and/or retention at the qualified business site (see table below). Companies approved for Enterprise Zone designations are eligible to apply for refunds of the state sales and use tax they have paid during the designation period on qualified expenditures, up to their maximum allowable refund. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts administers all refunds. EZP designations are effective beginning 90 days prior to the deadline for the applicable application round and extend for a period of not less than 1 year and not more than 5 years from the date on which the designation is made.

Level of Capital Investment	Maximum Number of Jobs Allocated	Maximum Potential Refund	Maximum Refund Per Job Allocated
Half Enterprise Project $40,000 to $5,000,000 or more	250	$625,000	$2,500
Enterprise Project  $5,000,000 to $149,999,999	500	$1,250,000	$2,500
Double Jumbo Project $150,000,000 to $249,999,999	500*	$2,500,000	$5,000
Triple Jumbo Project $250,000,000 or more	500*	$3,750,000	$7,500

The application period for the Enterprise Zone Program occurs quarterly. Applications for the respective rounds due on the first business day of March, June, September, and December. Texas communities applying on behalf of a company must submit a complete application via the portal and provide the non-refundable fee by the deadline for the EZP round for which they wish to be considered. The Office of the Governor must receive the non-refundable fee no earlier than one week before and no later than the project deadline. Late applications will not be accepted.