At some point, you’ve probably seen a news story about another major corporation receiving millions in tax incentives to build a new headquarters or hire hundreds of people—and wondered why help isn’t available for a small business like yours.

If you’re planning to hire extra staff, add space or invest in new equipment, an incentive program might very well be within reach.

For example, about 90 percent of the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City’s clients are small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, said Pete Fullerton, the EDC’s president and CEO.

Kansas City is home to several smaller companies—marketers, commercial printers, manufacturers, IT firms and more—that have secured help in the last few years for their growth plans.

Missouri Works and PEAK

For companies based in the Show Me State, one of the most useful programs is the Missouri Works Program, which allows eligible companies to retain, for five to six years, the state withholding taxes they would otherwise have paid on new hires. In certain situations, companies can also qualify for tax credits.

In most cases, a business needs to add at least 10 new positions that, averaged together, pay at least 90 percent of that county’s average wage. There are exceptions, of course. Companies in Enhanced Enterprise Zones (now called ZoneWorks) and rural areas can qualify if they create at least two new jobs and make an investment of at least $100,000. (The average wage of the new jobs must be at least 80 percent of the average county wage if the project is in an Enhanced Enterprise Zone. Rural businesses must meet the 90 percent guideline.)

Kansas, meanwhile, offers Promoting Employment Across Kansas, which allows qualifying companies to keep 95 percent of their state payroll withholding tax on new hires. To qualify, companies in metro areas must create, over two years, at least 10 new jobs that pay, in the aggregate, at least the county median wage or the average for that industry. The standard is five new jobs over two years in the rest of the state.

Talk to an Expert First

The most important thing is to get economic development officials involved early, Fullerton said. They have more knowledge about the available programs and, because they have more experience with the process, might spot needs that companies didn’t know they had. They can help shepherd small businesses through the application process as smoothly as possible.

But these discussions must happen before the company proceeds with or publicly announces an expansion. The incentive packages are typically based on how many hires companies make or how much money they invest after the incentives have received approval from the authorizing agency. In Missouri Works’ case, that’s the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The Kansas Department of Commerce oversees PEAK.

“We know there’s a big up-front cost to job creating and buying equipment,” Fullerton said. “If you create ways to make that upfront cost more affordable, you’ll have more activity.”