The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program provides essential financing for economic development projects across Utah’s diverse communities. From Salt Lake City’s urban neighborhoods to Ogden’s revitalizing corridors, from Provo’s innovation districts to rural communities throughout the state, NMTC financing enables transformative investments in areas where traditional capital markets fall short. CBO Financial partners with Utah developers, technology companies, advanced manufacturers, healthcare providers, and community organizations to structure financing solutions that strengthen the Beehive State’s economy while addressing unique challenges, including rapid growth pressures in the Wasatch Front, economic transition in rural mining and agricultural communities, and infrastructure needs in underserved neighborhoods. Utah’s dynamic economy—characterized by technology and software, aerospace and defense, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, tourism and outdoor recreation, financial services, and agriculture—creates substantial opportunities for strategic NMTC deployment. The program offers a 39% federal tax credit to investors who provide capital to qualified projects in low-income communities, significantly reducing borrowing costs and making economically vital projects financially feasible. Whether you’re developing technology facilities in Silicon Slopes, expanding aerospace manufacturing operations, creating mixed-use developments in West Valley City or St. George, or building healthcare infrastructure in rural counties, NMTC financing can provide the capital advantage necessary for project success in Utah’s competitive markets.
How the NMTC Program Works in Utah
The NMTC Program functions through certified Community Development Entities (CDEs) authorized by the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund to make Qualified Low-Income Community Investments (QLICIs) throughout Utah. Projects must be situated in census tracts where the poverty rate exceeds 20% or the median family income falls below 80% of the area median. Investors providing equity to CDEs receive tax credits totaling 39% over seven years—5% annually for the first three years and 6% annually for the remaining four years.
Utah contains eligible geography across its metropolitan areas, smaller cities, and rural communities. Salt Lake County features qualifying census tracts on Salt Lake City’s west side, in South Salt Lake, and in portions of the valley. Utah County contains eligible tracts in Provo, Orem, and surrounding areas. Weber and Davis Counties include qualifying geography in Ogden, Roy, and Clearfield. Southern Utah communities, including St. George, Cedar City, and rural areas throughout the region, do not offer NMTC opportunities. Rural Utah—particularly counties in the eastern and western areas—presents significant opportunities due to the decline of the mining industry, agricultural transition, and limited economic diversification.
The program supports sectors central to Utah’s economic priorities: technology and software development; aerospace and defense manufacturing; life sciences and medical device production; advanced manufacturing operations; outdoor recreation and tourism infrastructure; healthcare facilities; food processing and agricultural value-chain facilities; and mixed-use urban developments. CBO Financial connects Utah projects with regional and national CDEs, navigating compliance requirements while advancing economic revitalization in Washington, D.C. Objectives are aligned with state economic development goals.
Eligible Projects and Borrowers
Utah projects eligible for NMTC financing address critical infrastructure and economic development needs across the state’s diverse sectors. Technology and software projects leverage Utah’s Silicon Slopes ecosystem and growing tech sector. Software development facilities, data centers, technology incubators, innovation centers, and research facilities qualify when located in eligible census tracts and create accessible employment opportunities. Utah’s concentration of technology companies and entrepreneurial ecosystem creates substantial opportunities for tech-focused NMTC projects.
Aerospace and defense manufacturing projects leverage Utah’s significant concentration of defense contractors and aerospace companies. Aircraft component manufacturing, missile systems production, defense electronics, space technology operations, and related manufacturing facilities qualify for NMTC support. Utah’s position as a central aerospace and defense hub, supported by Hill Air Force Base and numerous contractors, offers significant opportunities.
Life sciences and medical device projects capitalize on Utah’s growing biotech cluster. Medical device manufacturing, pharmaceutical production, biotechnology research facilities, and clinical laboratories qualify when demonstrating job creation in low-income communities. Advanced manufacturing facilities that produce machinery, electronics, precision components, or other goods qualify if located in eligible census tracts.
Healthcare infrastructure projects remain critically important given Utah’s rapid population growth and disparities in healthcare access between urban centers and rural communities. Community health centers, specialty clinics, behavioral health facilities, dental clinics, and rural health clinics all qualify when serving underserved populations. Utah’s challenges with mental health access and rural healthcare provider recruitment make healthcare facilities particularly compelling NMTC candidates.
Outdoor recreation and tourism infrastructure leverages Utah’s natural amenities and tourism economy. Hotels and lodging facilities in underserved areas, recreation facilities, cultural centers, museums, and tourism support infrastructure qualify for NMTC support. Food processing and agricultural infrastructure projects—including meat processing, dairy operations, specialty food production, and farm-to-market distribution—support Utah’s agrarian sector.
Technology and innovation spaces—including business incubators, accelerators, coworking facilities, and maker spaces—qualify when they spur economic development in transitioning communities or serve underserved entrepreneurs. Educational facilities such as charter schools, early childhood education centers, STEM learning facilities, and workforce training centers address academic needs and qualify for financing.
Downtown revitalization projects in Utah’s smaller cities—Ogden, Provo, Logan, St. George, Cedar City, Price—leverage NMTC to transform underutilized properties into vibrant mixed-use developments. Historic building rehabilitation in communities throughout the state creates modern commercial space while preserving character.
Eligible borrowers include for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, and local government entities developing qualified projects. The borrower must demonstrate substantial service to low-income communities and demonstrate that NMTC financing is essential to the project’s feasibility. CBO Financial creates comprehensive capital packages through CDFI small business lending that combine NMTC with conventional debt, equity, Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity incentives, local economic development programs, and other complementary sources tailored to Utah’s development landscape.
Benefits of the NMTC Program for Utah
The NMTC Program delivers tangible economic benefits to Utah communities while providing borrowers with advantageous financing structures. The 39% tax credit substantially reduces effective capital costs, often enabling projects to achieve debt service coverage acceptable to lenders while maintaining operational viability. For capital-intensive projects common in Utah—technology facilities, aerospace manufacturing plants, healthcare campuses, mixed-use developments—this cost reduction frequently determines project feasibility in the state’s competitive, high-growth environment.
Beyond financial mechanics, NMTC investments generate significant community impact. Job creation and retention constitute primary program objectives, with projects committing to creating positions accessible to low-income individuals. In Utah’s distressed neighborhoods and rural communities, where economic opportunity increasingly concentrates along the Wasatch Front’s technology corridor, job creation in underserved areas carries substantial importance for inclusive growth.
Utah’s rapid population growth creates both opportunities and challenges. NMTC projects help ensure that growth benefits extend beyond affluent communities to underserved neighborhoods and rural areas. Projects in West Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Ogden’s urban core, and rural communities help distribute economic opportunity more equitably across the state.
NMTC projects catalyze significant private investment—each additional dollar allocated typically attracts multiple additional capital dollars, multiplying the program’s economic impact. This leverage is significant in Utah’s fast-moving real estate and development markets, where projects must compete for capital with numerous other opportunities.
The program provides patient capital with flexible repayment terms. Unlike conventional lloans that requireimmediate full debt service, NMTC structures often feature interest-only periods dduring the nitial years, allowing projects to stabilize operations before principal payments commence. This flexibility proves valuable for projects with extended lease-up periods or those ramping up technology operations. To evaluate your Utah project’s NMTC potential, start a free project analysis with CBO Financial’s specialized team.
Regulatory & State Development Framework
Utah’s economic development infrastructure supports NMTC deployment through various state-level programs and agencies. The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah) administers incentive programs that complement NMTC financing, including the Economic Development Tax Increment Financing (EDTIF) program, Industrial Assistance Fund, Rural Fast Track Program, and various workforce development initiatives. Understanding how to layer these state resources with federal NMTC benefits can significantly enhance project economics.
Utah’s Enterprise Zone program provides tax credits to businesses tot create jobthat createignated zones, many of which overlap with NMTC-eligible census tracts. Combining Enterprise Zone benefits with NMTC creates powerful incentive packages for qualifying projects. The Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative supports technology and innovation projects with grants and resources that can complement NMTC structures.
Local governments in Utah offer additional incentives through Community Reinvestment Agency (CRA) tax increment financing, fee waivers, and other local programs. Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo, and other municipalities maintain active economic development programs that can enhance NMTC transactions.
Regional economic development organizations—including the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, Salt Lake Chamber, Utah Valley Chamber, Ogden-Weber Chamber, and various county and municipal development offices—provide project support and help navigate local programs. Utah’s strong collaborative culture among economic development professionals facilitates project coordination.
For technology projects, partnerships with organizations supporting Utah’s Silicon Slopes ecosystem—including the Silicon Slopes organization itself, BioUtah for life sciences, and various accelerators and incubators—strengthen applications and provide validation. The University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Utah State University, and other institutions provide research partnerships and workforce pipelines.
For manufacturing projects, the Utah Manufacturing Extension Partnership provides technical assistance. For rural projects, the Utah Governor’s Office of Rural Development coordinates resources and helps identify appropriate funding programs, including USDA financing.
CBO Financial ensures projects meet both federal NMTC compliance requirements and Utah’s state regulatory framework. We coordinate timing between NMTC closing schedules, Go Utah incentive applications, Enterprise Zone certifications, local CRA negotiations, and approval processes. Our understanding of Utah’s collaborative economic development culture and relationships with state and regional organizations streamlines project execution across the state’s markets.
Get Started with NMTC Financing in Utah
If you’re developing a project in a Utah low-income community—whether in Salt Lake City’s west side, Ogden’s downtown, Provo’s opportunity zones, or rural communities throughout the state—NMTC financing deserves serious consideration. The program’s capacity to reduce capital costs while directing investment to underserved areas makes it uniquely powerful for addressing Utah’s development challenges, particularly ensuring inclusive growth benefits underserved neighborhoods and rural communities amid the state’s rapid expansion.
CBO Financial’s process begins with a comprehensive project evaluation: verifying census tract eligibility, analyzing community impact potential, assessing NMTC suitability relative to other financing options, including Enterprise Zone benefits and Go Utah programs, and identifying optimal CDE partners. We then construct customized capital stacks that may combine NMTC with conventional debt, equity investments, state incentives, local CRA financing, and other complementary sources.
Utah clients benefit from our established relationships with CDEs, tax credit investors, and lenders active in the Mountain West. We understand Utah’s unique development context—the technology sector’s rapid growth and concentration, the importance of the aerospace and defense cluster, the state’s business-friendly environment, the challenges facing rural communities, and the opportunities in Utah’s high-growth metropolitan areas. This Utah-specific expertise streamlines the NMTC process and increases allocation success rates.
Project size shouldn’t deter NMTC exploration. Utah transactions ranging from $3 million to $75 million regularly close using creative structuring approaches tailored to the state’s markets. The key is early engagement with experienced advisors who understand both NMTC mechanics and Utah’s specific development landscape. Connect with new markets tax credit consultant financing professionals at CBO Financial today to discover how NMTC can make your Utah community development project a reality.