Side-by-side comparison
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| Pennsylvania | Virginia | Ohio | Maryland | Georgia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The program | |||||
| Program | Computer Data Center Equipment Exemption Program | Data Center Retail Sales and Use Tax Exemption | Data Center Sales and Use Tax Exemption | Data Center Maryland Sales and Use Tax Exemption | High-Technology Data Center Equipment Exemption |
| Legal authority | Act 84 of 2016, amended by Act 13 of 2019 and Act 25 of 2021; 72 P.S. § 9931-D | Va. Code § 58.1-609.3 | Ohio Rev. Code § 122.175 | SB 397 (2020); Md. Tax-General § 11-239 | O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3(68.1); HB 696 (2018), amended by HB 1291 (2022) |
| Administered by | Department of Revenue | Virginia Economic Development Partnership (MOU) and Department of Taxation | Ohio Tax Credit Authority | Department of Commerce (certification) and Comptroller (exemption certificate) | Department of Revenue |
| What it takes to qualify | |||||
| Minimum investment | $75M (county of 250,000 or fewer); $100M (larger county) | $150M; $70M in distressed localities | $100M over three years | $2M (Tier 1 area); $5M elsewhere | $250M (county population over 50,000); $75M (30,001 to 50,000); $25M (30,000 or fewer); over a seven-year investment period |
| Jobs | 25 new jobs (county of 250,000 or fewer); 45 new jobs (larger county) | 50 new jobs; 10 in distressed localities (unemployment and poverty above statewide rates) | No job count in statute; payroll requirement applies instead | 5 qualified positions within three years | 25 new quality jobs (county over 50,000); 10 (30,001 to 50,000); 5 (30,000 or fewer) |
| Wages | At least $1M aggregate annual compensation at the site after the fourth anniversary of certification | Jobs must pay at least 1.5 times the prevailing average wage in the locality | At least $1.5M annual Ohio payroll | Full-time, net new, at least 150% of state minimum wage | Quality jobs must pay at least 110% of county average wage |
| What the state gives | |||||
| What's exempt | Computer data center equipment installed in a certified data center; excludes local sales tax, labor, maintenance contracts, and tools | Computer equipment and enabling software, including servers, routers, chillers, and backup generators | Computer data center equipment, including delivery, installation, and repair; construction materials | Qualified data center personal property; electricity is not exempt | High-technology data center equipment and certain construction materials; state and local sales tax |
| How long | 25 full calendar years after the application year; qualified tenants up to 10 years | Through program sunset | Set in each agreement (examples: 10 and 15 years); exemption may be full or partial | 10 years, renewed annually; 20 years with $250M+ investment | Through program sunset |
| Program sunset | None identified | June 30, 2035; extensions to 2040 ($35B investment, 1,000 jobs) or 2050 ($100B investment) | None identified | None identified | December 31, 2031 |
| Accountability | |||||
| Clawback | Department may revoke certification and recapture all or part of benefits if requirements are not met | MOU with VEDP sets repayment obligations if investment and job goals are not met | Authority may reduce the exemption's percentage or term for noncompliance; if operations cease, it may terminate the agreement and require repayment of all or part of previously exempted taxes | Annual renewal; failure to maintain thresholds jeopardizes the exemption | Revenue commissioner may require a bond of up to $20M, forfeited if the minimum investment is not met |
| Public reporting | Annual list of certifications; no reporting requirement at time of purchase, so actual cost is unknown. Not included in the IFO's annual incentive report, which covers tax credits, spending and grants, job training, and loans (Sept 2026) | Operators report to VEDP; biennial report with return-on-investment analysis | Companies report annually to the Development director (financial details confidential); director reports annually by Aug 1 to the governor and legislative leaders on agreements and project status | Annual reports to Commerce; neither Commerce nor the Comptroller has data on the value of exemptions used | Final report to Department of Revenue after seven-year investment period |
| Formal evaluation | None; as a sales tax exemption it falls outside the Act 48 tax credit review cycle | Yes: JLARC (2024) | None identified; statute requires an annual status report, not an effectiveness evaluation | None available | Yes: Department of Audits and Accounts (2022; updated 2025) |
| Evaluation finding | Not applicable | Influential factor in data center growth; moderate economic benefits | Not applicable | Not applicable | Negative net fiscal impact; about 70% of activity would have occurred without the exemption |
| Energy or water conditions | Since an Aug. 18, 2026 executive order, access to the exemption is conditioned on the governor's GRID standards, which include environmental, economic, and transparency requirements; PUC separately proposed a large-load tariff framework. In addition, the FY 2026-27 Fiscal Code (Act 21 of 2026) requires data centers of 10 MW or more to report energy and water use annually to DEP starting in 2027 | None in the exemption; 2026 bills to add clean-energy conditions failed. EO 22 (Sept. 2026) adds environmental standards but does not tie them to the exemption | None identified | None in the exemption | None identified |
| Cost and status | |||||
| Estimated cost | $115M (current FY); $188M (FY 2026-27); over $500M annually by 2030 (administration estimates) | $1B (FY 2024), up from $685M (FY 2023) | State only, calendar years: $554.9M (2024); about $1.57B (2025), against a $136M forecast for 2025. Local sales tax losses: $166.8M (2024); $446.3M (2025) | No official figure (10 approved data centers as of Feb 2026) | State and local: about $2.5B projected for FY 2026 (Governor's tax expenditure report), against a $327M earlier estimate. State only: $474M in FY 2025 (University of Georgia audit) |
| 2026 status | In effect. In June 2026 the House passed a repeal bill (HB 2198, 197-5) and the Senate passed repeal language in a separate tax code bill (HB 1667, 44-6), but neither reached the governor before the July 12 budget. An Aug. 18, 2026 executive order conditions the exemption on the governor's GRID standards. The Senate has not acted on the House-passed repeal (HB 2198) this fall | In effect; 2026-28 budget kept exemption, added a separate electricity tax, and ordered a tax policy study due Dec 15, 2026; a Sept. 18, 2026 executive order (EO 22) set new data center accountability standards but did not change the exemption or require companies to meet the standards to receive it | New applications paused since May 27, 2026, through the end of Gov. DeWine's term; existing agreements continue; the legislature did not agree on reform in June; repeal bills (HB 975, SB 374) in committee | In effect; Sept 23, 2026 executive order put Gov. Moore on record for repeal; repeal bill HB 560 saw no action after hearing | In effect; 2026 bills to repeal, suspend, or sunset early did not pass |
| Still to verify | Nothing outstanding | Nothing outstanding | Nothing outstanding | Nothing outstanding | Whether repayment of exempted taxes applies beyond the bond |
| Sources | |||||
| Sources | pa.govpalegis.usspotlightpa.orgifo.state.pa.uscityandstatepa.cominquirer.comcumberlink.compalegis.us | vedp.orgjlarc.virginia.govsfac.virginia.govservercountry.orgcardinalnews.orggoodjobsfirst.org | codes.ohio.govgovernor.ohio.govnews5cleveland.comsignalohio.orgnbc4i.com | commerce.maryland.govmgaleg.maryland.govmdbaynews.com | dor.georgia.govajc.comaudits2.ga.govservercountry.orgcomputelaw.blog |
| Last updated | 2026-09-30 | 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-24 | 2026-09-24 | 2026-09-24 |
What stands out
Entry thresholds vary widely
Maryland requires $2 million in investment and five jobs in its Tier 1 areas. Georgia requires $250 million and 25 jobs in its largest counties. Virginia, the largest market, requires $150 million and 50 jobs.
Costs have outpaced projections
Ohio forecast $136 million for 2025; state-only losses came to about $1.57 billion. Georgia's estimate for fiscal 2026, including local losses, rose from $327 million to about $2.5 billion.
Formal evaluation is the exception
Virginia and Georgia have independently evaluated their programs. Pennsylvania's exemption falls outside the Act 48 cycle that reviews the Commonwealth's tax credits, and neither Pennsylvania nor Maryland collects data on the actual value of exemptions claimed.
What to watch
- Pennsylvania's fall session: the Senate has not yet acted on the House-passed repeal (HB 2198).
- Virginia's Joint Subcommittee on Tax Policy reports on the exemption by December 15, 2026.
- Maryland's General Assembly returns in January with repeal on the table.
- Ohio's Joint Data Center Committee will shape whether and how the paused program resumes.
- Georgia's 2027 session is widely expected to revisit the exemption.
The question that will shape the next round: whether states change who qualifies, or what they require in return, through reporting, evaluation, and conditions tied to energy and water use.