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County and municipal authorities may levy a fee in lieu of taxes, including school taxes, on projects totaling over $100 million. The minimum fee allowable cannot be less than one-third of the property tax levy. Eligible enterprises include warehouse and/or distribution centers, manufacturers, processors, refineries, research facilities, regional and national headquarters, air transportation and maintenance facilities, and regional shopping malls. This fee is subject to approval by the Mississippi Development Authority.

Manufacturers may also be exempt from paying property taxes, including school taxes, on finished goods inventory by taking advantage of Mississippi's Free Port Warehouse law. Manufacturers must operate a warehouse as a business separate and apart from the manufacturing operation, and at least 50% of the value of personal property consigned to the warehouse must be shipped to destinations outside the State. Companies with free port warehouses can be exempt from paying property taxes on finished goods stored in the warehouse in the ratio that the value of shipments outside the State bears to the value of total shipments. For example, if 98% of the value of finished goods are shipped to destinations outside the State, then 98% of the value of the goods on January 1 would be exempt from property taxes.  

Example of Property Tax:
Assume that a plant is located within a municipality, where the total of all property taxes is 78.5 mills. The total tax due is shown below:

Assessed Value: 15% x $2,910,000 or $436,500
Tax due before exemptions: 78.5 mills x $436,500 or $34,265