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SCAM ALERT: DCEO has been made aware of organizations receiving fraudulent “notice of award” letters claiming to be from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. These are not legitimate notices from DCEO. If your organization receives a notice, please report it to the Federal Trade Commission and/or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Advancing Innovative Manufacturing (AIM)

The Advancing Innovative Manufacturing Illinois Tax Credit (AIM) is a new tax incentive program designed to accelerate manufacturing projects that integrate cutting-edge technologies into their processes. Established in 2025 through Public Act 104-0006, 35 ILCS 65, AIM is designed to strengthen business growth and investment across the state’s top industry sectors.  The program supports projects that utilize advanced manufacturing and involve substantial qualified capital improvements.

Simple credit tiers:

  • 3% credit on qualified investments of at least $10,000,000 or more, but less than $50,000,000
  • 5% credit on qualified investments of at least $50,000,000 or more, but less than $100,000,000
  • 7% credit on qualified investments exceeding $100,000,000

Applicants

For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, applicants must meet the following criteria for the purpose of modernizing, upgrading, automating, or streamlining a manufacturing or production process, or be an R&D business that results in manufacturing.  To qualify, an applicant must:

  • Be a manufacturer, or primarily engaged in the research and development, of critically needed goods;
  • Be located in Illinois, or plan to relocate their business to Illinois; and
  • Make capital improvements investment of $10,000,000 or more within five years.

Once the companies place a project in service, the program provides an Illinois Corporate Income Tax Credit based on the level of investment.

For the purposes of eligibility, a business primarily engages in research and development if at least 50% of its business activities involve research and development in the manufacturing of critically needed goods.

"Critically Needed Goods" means products or materials produced through advanced manufacturing and that are essential for maintaining public health, public safety, economic security, or vital infrastructure, and for which there is a risk of a supply chain disruption.  Examples include semiconductors; critical materials and minerals; energy materials and essential consumer goods; automotive manufacturing goods; aerospace manufacturing goods; energy and life sciences materials; machine manufacturing goods; fabricated metal commodities; chemical manufacturing goods; robotics supplies; and the production of other advanced materials, products, and machines.

A qualified   "Capital Improvement" means (i) the purchase, renovation, rehabilitation, or construction of permanent tangible land, buildings, structures, equipment, and furnishings at an approved project site in Illinois and (ii) expenditures for goods or services that are normally capitalized, including organizational costs and research and development costs incurred in Illinois. For land, buildings, structures, and equipment that are leased, the term of the lease must equal or exceed the term of the agreement, and the cost of the property shall be determined from the present value, using the corporate interest rate prevailing at the time of the application, of the lease payments.

The team is available to provide a program and/or application technical assistance session with businesses that are interested in applying. Please reach out to CEO.AIM@Illinois.gov to schedule.

AIM Toolbox