HUBZone Certification
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The Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) program helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. These preferences go to small businesses that obtain HUBZone certification in part by employing staff who live in a HUBZone. The company must also maintain a "principal office" in one of these specially designated areas.
Contract Benefits: There are three types of HUBZone contracts:
Competitive HUBZone contracts can be awarded if the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that at least two qualified HUBZone small business concerns (SBCs) will submit offers and that the contract will be awarded at a fair market price.
Sole-source HUBZone contracts can be awarded if the contracting officer determines that: one qualified HUBZone SBC is responsible to perform the contract, two or more qualified HUBZone SBCs are not likely to submit offers and the anticipated award price of the proposed contract, including options, will not exceed: $5,000,000 for a requirement within the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for manufacturing or $4,000,000 for a requirement within all other NAICS codes
Full and open Competitive contracts can be awarded with a price evaluation preference. The offer of the HUBZone small business must not be 10 percent higher than the offer of a non-small business.
Other Benefits Eligible HUBZone firms can qualify for higher SBA-guaranteed surety bonds on construction and service contract bids. Firms in Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) can also benefit from employer tax credits, tax-free facility bonds, and investment tax deductions. |