What is a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district?

  • In Oklahoma City, TIF is used as an economic development tool whereby future property and/or sales tax dollars generated in a specific district are redirected from the budgets of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County to private and public projects in the same district.
  • According to the Oklahoma Tax Commission, as of 1/25/18 there are more than 90 TIF districts in the state.
  • The term of a TIF typically runs 25 years, the maximum allowed by the state constitution.
  • TIF's are used in other cities in Oklahoma and the U.S., although there is great variation in how this tool is used in terms of redirecting taxes, approval / management process and how the taxes are allocated.



Existing TIF districts in Oklahoma City

There are 12 Tax Increment Funding (TIF) districts that are currently active in Oklahoma City and 6 more approved and soon to be activated:
TIF # District Budget* Type of Taxes Start End
1 Health Sciences Center $47.00
2 Central Business District $195.00 Ad Valorem 03/07/00 03/06/25
3 Skirvin Hotel $5.00 Sales 06/07/04 06/06/29
4 Dell $28.20 Ad Valorem 03/29/05 03/28/30
5 Dell $0.00 Sales 03/29/05 03/28/30
6 Los Rosas $3.10 Ad Valorem
7 Health Sciences Center $21.00 Ad Valorem 08/01/06 07/31/31
8 Devon / Project 180 $157.00 Ad Valorem, Sales 12/16/08 12/15/33
9 Northeast Renaissance $45.00 Ad Valorem, Sales 2015 2040
10 First National Center $45.00 Ad Valorem, Sales 2016 2041
11 Innovation $52.00 Ad Valorem 2016 2041
12 Western Gateway / Wheeler $120.00 Ad Valorem 2017 2042
13-18 Core to Shore $395.00 Ad Valorem TBD +25
Total: $1,113.30

* In millions. In most cases, the original budget is far exceeded by actual receipts.




New TIF District to fund OG&E Headquarters, convention garage and hotel


From where are TIF tax dollars redirected?

Property (ad valorem) tax
Every privately owned property in Oklahoma County (apart from nonprofits, which are exempt) is taxed annually at a rate of approximately 1% of assessed property value. Each year, property values -- and thus property taxes -- are adjusted (almost always upwards) according to the latest market conditions. In normal circumstances, all property tax goes to the County and they in turn distribute to the public schools, library system, City/County Heath Departmnet and CareerTech.



At the start of a TIF a role of properties within the district is created and the base assessed value (AV) is established according to the current County value. The amount currently paid to the County continues to go them; but any increase in taxes based in increased assessed values is redirected into the TIF. Thus, any increase in property tax over the first year gets paid each of the next 25 years into the TIF account rather than being sent to the County.






Sales tax
In Oklahoma, all sales are taxed by the state at a rate of 4.5% and that money goes into their general budget.

Oklahoma City adds 3.875% (for a total of 8.375%) but only the 2% that goes to the City General Fund (operating budget) is redirected to the TIF:


Partial Listing of City Services
Police, Municipal Court, Fire & Emergency Medical Services, Parks & Recreation Centers, Street Maintenance, Code Enforcement, Public Transportation, Civic Center Music Hall, Arena & Convention Center, Water & Wastewater, Utilities, Solid Waste Collection, Airports.


How are TIF's approved and who manages them?

In Oklahoma City, City staff drafts potential new TIF Districts to address specific challenges or opportunities, presents to the City Council in informal sessions, meets with the affected tax jurisdictions, then the City Council ultimately votes as a part of one their regular public meetings.

Part of setting up any new TIF District is a project plan that includes the boundaries of where the money is captured and where it can be spent. In addition, a general outline is established as to how the money will be used, but usually presented in terms of a few broad categories. To date, the City has not chosen to establish specific criteria for allocating the captured tax dollars.


After the TIF District is established, City staff alone decides which projects are worthy of further consideration. If staff decides a project application isn't worthy of TIF funds, the process stops there. Where an application has been brought for council vote, 100% have been approved.

Most requests from TIF funds come from private developers. But other requests actually originate from City staff themselves, such as public improvements, parking and school projects.

In most cases the allocation is only paid to the developer / entity once the project is complete and certified. In a small number of projects (21c, Plow, Steelyard and 123 Garage) the City loaned the money up front at low interest rates.



Example: OKC TIF District #2

The best way to understand how a TIF operates is to look at a specific example, in this case TIF #2 for downtown OKC.

In 2000, the City decided to create a TIF for the downtown area in order to concentrate spending in the area and spur development.

As the TIF was to be funded by property tax (no sales tax was included) a base Assessed Value (AV) was set for all properties within the boundaries shown below (roughly 13th to the north, the old I-40 to the south, Western to the west and I-235 to the east) when the district was formed in 2000. Any INCREASE (called the increment) in property taxes (generally 1% of AV) over that base in 2000 went into the TIF fund.

Also, although the taxes collected are within the boundaries described, they can be spent in a larger area, shown as the Project Area below.

The amount that goes into the TIF is separated into two categories:
  • Indirect: 50% of the tax increase since 2000. Indirect properties are defined as those not receiving TIF funds. Currently accounts for about 40% of the TIF 2 amount.
  • Direct: 100% of the tax increase since 2000. Direct properties are those that receive TIF funds. Currently accounts for 60% of the TIF 2 amount.

The original budget for TIF #2 was $47.5 million. However, it is now estimated that $126 million will be collected before the TIF expires in 2025. Of that amount, almost $90 million has been allocated.



Where TIF #2 dollars have been spent







Key TIF #2 awards as a percentage of total investment

Follow links for wiki articles on each project.

Project Type Investment TIF Award TIF as % of Inv.
Level Apartments Apartments $24.0 $1.3 5.2%
Maywood Apartments Apartments $16.0 $1.0 6.3%
Edge @ Midtown Apartments $34.0 $2.3 6.8%
Mosaic Apartments $24.0 $1.1 4.6%
Maywood Apartments Phase II Apartments $20.0 $1.0 5.0%
21c Museum Hotel Hotel $53.0 $5.3 10.0%
LIFT Apartments $42.5 $3.0 7.1%
Mideke Building Office $17.0 $1.0 5.9%
Civic Center Flats Condos $6.0 $0.4 5.8%
Steelyard Apartments $75.0 $4.1 5.4%
Avana Apartments $33.0 $2.5 7.6%
Block 42 Condos $12.0 $1.0 8.3%
Totals: $356.5 $23.9 6.7%