START-UP NY stopped accepting new applicants after December 31, 2025. Companies already enrolled continue to receive support, but the program is closed to anyone applying now.
That is worth stating plainly, because a lot of published guidance has not caught up. If you found START-UP NY while researching New York incentives and built it into your expansion case, you need a different plan.
START-UP NY was a targeted program rather than a broad one, and New York’s largest incentives sit elsewhere. Here is what it required, and what is open now.
What START-UP NY required
START-UP NY required a company to locate in vacant space belonging to a participating college or university, or an affiliated incubator, and to align with that campus’s academic mission. That pairing between a company and a campus is what made the program valuable where it fit. Roughly 400 companies statewide qualified across its run.
We worked it successfully. New Flyer’s expansion into Jamestown was awarded incentives under the program with Jamestown Community College as the host campus, a first for the college and a first for the Southern Tier region.
Where a project had no natural campus partner, the programs below were usually the stronger route, and all of them are still open.
The Excelsior Jobs Program
Excelsior is New York’s main program for companies expanding in or relocating to the state, and it is open.
Qualifying firms can receive five fully refundable tax credits over a benefit period of up to ten years. The two that matter most to a growing operation:
- A credit of up to 6.85% of wages for each net new job created
- A credit worth 2% of qualified investments
Manufacturers have an easier path in than most sectors. A manufacturing firm that retains at least five employees is eligible to apply, and a manufacturer creating at least 25 net new jobs inside a designated investment zone meets the eligibility threshold.
Applications go through an Empire State Development industry director or regional office, or through New York State’s Consolidated Funding Application. Unlike START-UP NY, there is no campus affiliation requirement and no academic mission test.
What you get here without applying for anything
This is the part that gets lost in incentive conversations, and it is often worth more than the programs.
Manufacturers in New York pay no state corporate income tax. There is no inventory or personal property tax, and no sales tax on production or research and development equipment. None of that requires an application, an approval, or a campus.
For a manufacturer, that standing tax position frequently outweighs a discretionary credit, and it does not carry clawback provisions or annual reporting obligations.
Programs that are still open
Beyond Excelsior, the incentives most relevant to companies building or expanding in Buffalo Niagara:
- Low-cost hydropower. New York State law reserves allocations of hydroelectric power specifically for companies building or expanding in this region. For an energy-intensive operation this is frequently the single largest number in the file.
- Foreign Trade Zones. Certified zones here let qualifying goods be brought in, assembled, repackaged, or re-exported without going through formal customs procedures.
- Property and sales tax abatements through the county industrial development agencies, typically on new construction, expansions, and non-production equipment.
- Grant programs for site and infrastructure work, new construction, equipment, energy performance, and working capital.
- Workforce training funds, including customized training grants administered through the Department of Labor.
- The federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit, ranging from $1,200 to $9,600 per qualifying hire.
Most projects end up combining several of these rather than relying on one. That combination is what a real incentive package looks like, and it is why comparing single programs against each other tends to mislead.
New York Incentives
Not sure which programs you still qualify for?
We map your project against every live state, county and utility program, then coordinate the applications. Free, and we tell you plainly when the answer is no.
What to do if START-UP NY was in your plan
Do not simply substitute Excelsior and move on. The programs work differently. START-UP NY eliminated certain taxes outright. Excelsior is a refundable credit tied to jobs and investment you actually deliver, with reporting obligations attached.
That difference changes your model, your timeline, and in some cases which site makes sense.
The faster path is to describe your project once to someone who knows the current program list, and get back a picture of what you would actually qualify for across all of them. That takes about half an hour and it is more useful than reading another article about any single program.
Our team does incentive identification and coordination at no cost and in confidence, working with Empire State Development, the county industrial development agencies, the utilities, and the campuses. We are not a broker and we have no position in your deal.
Start a confidential conversation and tell us what you are planning. You can also review the incentives available in Buffalo Niagara or read about expanding your business to the region.
Sources: University at Buffalo Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships, START-UP NY closure to new applicants after December 31, 2025; Empire State Development, Excelsior Jobs Program credit structure and manufacturing eligibility; New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, manufacturing tax treatment; Invest Buffalo Niagara regional incentive summary.
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