IT-QJ: Application for Georgia Quality Jobs Tax Credit (Revision 2021-07)
Georgia · Georgia DOR · Used for tax years 2024, 2025, 2026
Form IT-QJ is the application for the Georgia Quality Jobs Tax Credit and must be attached to your tax return to claim the credit. It reports business and project details, payroll and wage information, employees in new quality jobs, and other project incentives or tax credits.
Who files this form
Taxpayers claiming the Georgia quality jobs tax credit must attach Form IT-QJ to their tax return.
Section G calculates whether the taxpayer meets the requirement to create 50 new quality jobs within one year. Line 4, which subtracts the prior 12-month average from the qualifying month's job count, must be at least 50.
In the first taxable year the taxpayer first employs 50 new quality jobs, the credit may be claimed even if the annual average is below 50. In subsequent years, the average number of new quality jobs must be at least 50 to claim the credit.
What you'll need
Have these details and records ready:
- Tax year end, legal taxpayer name, address, contact information, business type and federal employer ID number. Corporations must also list their state of incorporation.
- Business description, six-digit NAICS code, products or services, county and tier, and project location information.
- Payroll totals, average weekly wages and applicable county average wages.
- Monthly job counts for the prior 12-month period and the years being reported, as needed for the job calculations.
- A list of all incentives and inducements, including tax credits already in place or to be applied for during the period the quality jobs credit is claimed.
- An employee schedule covering all new quality jobs, including those in prior and subsequent seven-year job creation periods. Include employee names, the last four digits of Social Security numbers, average weekly wages and the percentage above the Year 1 county average wage. Total the wage column.
- Any credit carryover from prior years.
If a legal representative is authorized to represent the company, include a power of attorney. If you elect to include jobs from disregarded entities, complete page 1 for each entity whose employees are included.
How to file
Read Revenue Regulation 560-7-8-.51 before completing Form IT-QJ.
Complete the applicant, business, financial and project information. Provide the employee schedule, calculate the job counts, track eligible jobs under the five-year rule and calculate the credit.
Attach Form IT-QJ to your tax return to claim the credit. The supplied form does not provide a mailing address or e-filing instructions.
Common mistakes
- Leaving the form off the return. Form IT-QJ must be attached to claim the credit.
- Checking more than one category. Check only one business type and one project category.
- Using estimates where actual figures are required. For the starred county wage entries, the form says to enter actual numbers for completed years only.
- Including employer benefit contributions in wages. Wages include bonuses and incentive pay, but not employer contributions to health insurance, retirement or other benefit programs.
- Reusing a credit amount without recalculating it. Recalculate the credit amount each year it is claimed.
- Combining prohibited credits. The credit cannot be claimed by taxpayers electing credits under Code sections 48-7-40 or 48-7-40.1 for the same jobs, or under sections 48-7-40.2, 48-7-40.3, 48-7-40.4, 48-7-40.7, 48-7-40.8 or 48-7-40.9 for the same project.
Questions people ask
How long can a new quality job qualify for the credit?
The credit may be claimed for the year the job is created and the following four years, to the extent the job is maintained in Georgia.
How do I calculate average weekly wages?
Add all wages for all new quality jobs in the taxable year. Divide by the average number of all new quality jobs, then divide by 52. Compare that result with the county average weekly wage from the year the jobs were created.
What if the taxpayer was not located in Georgia during the prior 12 months?
The taxpayer does not have to complete Section F and should use zero for the prior 12-month average in Section G.
Do I need to provide full employee Social Security numbers?
The employee schedule asks for the last four digits. The Department of Revenue may request full Social Security numbers during an audit.
What phone number is printed on the form?
The Georgia Department of Revenue number printed on Form IT-QJ is 1 (877) 423-6711.