Delilah Incentives
Find every grant, tax credit, and incentive in law.
We analyze legislation across all 50 states and identify the tax credits, grants, exemptions, loans, and rebates your business qualifies for — automatically.
The Gap
Government creates incentives to grow the economy. Industry needs them to invest, hire, and expand. But the two sides can't find each other.
Government side
Legislators pass thousands of incentive programs every year — tax credits, grants, workforce programs — specifically designed to attract business investment. But these programs are buried in legislative text that nobody reads. Many go underutilized or completely unclaimed.
Industry side
Companies make billion-dollar decisions about where to build factories, open offices, hire workers. They want government support but don't have the time, money, or expertise to track 50 state legislatures simultaneously. So they hire outside consultants — spending hundreds of thousands just to find out what's available.
The gap costs everyone. Government programs don't reach the businesses they were designed for. Businesses miss incentives they qualify for. The economy loses the jobs, investment, and growth that these programs were created to produce.
What Delilah Does
We use AI to close the gap between government and industry.
What we search for
Five types of economic incentives, defined.
An economic incentive is any provision in legislation designed to encourage business activity — investment, hiring, expansion, or relocation — by reducing costs or providing direct financial support. We classify every incentive we find into one of five types.
Grants
Money the government gives you that you don’t pay back.
A grant is direct government funding awarded to a business, organization, or individual for a specific purpose. Unlike a loan, a grant does not need to be repaid. Governments use grants to fund activities they want to encourage — job creation, research, workforce training, facility construction, infrastructure, and community development. Grants are typically competitive: you apply, demonstrate eligibility, and the awarding agency selects recipients.
How it works in practice
A state passes a bill creating a $50M workforce development fund. Manufacturers who commit to hiring 100+ workers in underserved counties can apply for grants of up to $500K to cover training costs. The business gets the money, trains the workers, and never repays a dollar.
Tax Credits
A dollar-for-dollar reduction in the taxes you owe.
A tax credit directly reduces the amount of tax a business owes — dollar for dollar. If you owe $100,000 in taxes and have a $30,000 tax credit, you pay $70,000. This is different from a tax deduction, which only reduces your taxable income. Many credits are refundable, meaning if the credit exceeds your tax bill, the government pays you the difference. Tax credits are the most common tool states use to attract business investment.
How it works in practice
A state offers a $5,000 tax credit for every new full-time job created. A company opens a warehouse and hires 200 people. At tax time, they reduce their state tax bill by $1,000,000. If the credit is refundable and their tax bill was only $600,000, the state writes them a check for the remaining $400,000.
Tax Exemptions
Certain taxes are completely eliminated.
A tax exemption removes a specific tax obligation entirely. Where a tax credit reduces what you owe, an exemption means the tax simply doesn’t apply to you. Exemptions are typically tied to a qualifying activity, property type, or geographic zone. They reduce ongoing operating costs, making a state more competitive for long-term investment. Common targets include sales tax on equipment purchases, property tax on new facilities, and inventory taxes.
How it works in practice
A state designates enterprise zones in economically distressed areas. Any business that builds a new facility inside the zone pays zero property tax for 10 years. A manufacturer builds a $20M plant in the zone and avoids roughly $400,000 per year in property taxes — $4M saved over the life of the exemption.
Rebates
Cash back after you make a qualifying investment.
A rebate is a direct cash payment returned to a business or individual after they complete a qualifying purchase, investment, or activity. Unlike tax credits, rebates don’t require you to have a tax liability — the payment comes directly, often as a check or wire transfer. Rebates are commonly used for energy efficiency, clean energy adoption, equipment upgrades, and environmental compliance.
How it works in practice
A state energy office offers a 30% rebate on commercial solar installations. A business installs a $200,000 solar system on their warehouse. After submitting proof of installation, the state sends them a $60,000 rebate check — regardless of whether they owe any taxes.
Loans
Government-backed financing at terms banks can’t match.
Government-backed loans provide capital at below-market interest rates with favorable terms — deferred payments, extended repayment timelines, or partial forgiveness. They exist because many projects that benefit the public (small business expansion, infrastructure, affordable housing) don’t meet the risk criteria for traditional bank lending. Some government loans convert to grants if performance benchmarks are met.
How it works in practice
A state small business development authority offers 2% interest loans (versus 8-10% at a bank) for businesses expanding into rural areas. A company borrows $2M to open a second location, with no payments for the first two years and 15 years to repay. If they maintain 50+ jobs for 5 years, 25% of the loan is forgiven.
How we classify
Three dimensions of every incentive.
Beyond the five financial types above, every incentive bill is tagged across three dimensions — so you can search by what your business does, what kind of support you need, or what industry you're in.
By industry
Which sectors does this incentive target? Some are open to any business. Others are written specifically for one industry.
- Energy & Clean Tech
- Manufacturing
- Technology & Software
- Healthcare & Biotech
- Agriculture
- Real Estate & Construction
- Automotive & EV
- AI & Machine Learning
By mechanism
How does the money flow? Each incentive uses one of these financial structures to deliver value to the business.
- Grants — direct funding
- Tax Credits — reduce tax owed
- Tax Exemptions — eliminate a tax
- Loans — subsidized financing
- Rebates — cash back after purchase
By activity
What does the business need to do to qualify? Incentives are tied to specific actions the government wants to encourage.
- Job Creation — hiring commitments
- R&D — research and innovation
- Business Expansion — new facilities
- Workforce Training — upskilling employees
- Relocation — moving operations to a state
Government builds incentives. We help industry find them.
Every type. Every state. One search.
Delilah Incentives · Used in Delilah Pro
