Sales tax savings for data centers topped $65 million in 2025
North Dakota lawmakers are reviewing a tax incentive program for data centers. In 2025, this program resulted in over $65 million in sales tax savings for data center owners and operators. The exemption covers equipment and software, but not construction costs.
North Dakota lawmakers are currently re-examining a tax incentive designed to attract data centers to the state. During a recent committee meeting, legislators learned that sales tax savings for data center owners and operators are projected to exceed $65 million for activity in 2025 alone.
This exemption applies to qualifying equipment and software used to operate a data center, though it does not cover the cost of building construction. Furthermore, while tenants leasing space in data centers can also receive exemptions on their purchased equipment, these savings are not required to be included in annual reports, meaning the reported $65 million figure does not represent the total extent of exempt activity.
One lawmaker commented that the Legislative Assembly could not have foreseen the scale of the incentive's impact when it was first enacted, noting its significant growth over just 11 years.