Table for Credits

Taxpayers are allowed a credit for the costs incurred to rehabilitate property owned 
or leased for business purposes and located within an economically distressed area 
contaminated property.

The amount of the credit is either 25% or 50% of certain environmental response and 
removal costs. The maximum amount of credit that may be taken in any taxable year 
may not exceed 50% of the tax liability 
for the taxable year.

Schedule BC  and certificate number

Not
Refundable

Five Succeeding Years

Effective January 1, 2011, a new tax credit is available to Individuals or entities for 
certain qualified rehabilitation expenditures with respect to a certified housing 
development project. The credit is available to a taxpayer only to the 
extent awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community 
Development (DHCD.)

The DHCD may award a taxpayer a credit of up to ten percent of the costs of 
qualified substantial rehabilitation expenditures of the market rate units within the 
certified housing development projects.

Refundable

None

An earned income credit is available to certain low-income individuals who have
earned income and meet federal requirements for the federal earned income credit.

Taxpayers must qualify for and claim the federal earned income credit allowed under Internal Revenue Code § 32 as amended and in effect for the taxable year.

Taxpayers may claim the credit even though they neither owe any taxes nor have any income taxes withheld from their pay. To receive the credit, taxpayers must file tax returns and claim the credit. The Massachusetts refundable credit is 15% of the computed federal credit.

Taxpayers who participate in a "certified project" as defined in M.G.L. c. 23A, s. 3A 
are allowed a credit against their tax liabilities up to a specified percentage of the cost 
of qualifying property.

For projects certified on or after January 1, 2010, the EDIPC is available only to the 
extent awarded by the Economic Assistance Coordination Council (EACC.)

Credit Amount:

• For certified expansion projects and certified enhanced expansion projects,
  the credit awarded may be up to ten percent of the cost of qualifying property;
• For certified manufacturing retention projects, the credit awarded may be as
  high as forty percent of the cost of such property. Upon filing a return and complying with any additional procedures, any credit that exceeds the excise for the taxable year will be refunded to the taxpayer.

Not Refundable

Ten Succeeding Years, or Five Year Limitation Depending on Circumstances

Film Incentive Credit

Not
Refundable

Five Succeeding Years

Schedule RFC 

Refundable

None

Historic Rehabilitation Credit  

Under the Massachusetts Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program, a certified 
rehabilitation project of a qualified historic structure is eligible to receive up to 20% 
of qualified rehabilitation expenditures in state tax credits. The credit is not to exceed 
$50,000,000 per year.

The Commissioner, in consultation with the Massachusetts Historical Commission, 
is authorized to allocate credits, for the 6-year period beginning January 1, 2006, 
and ending December 31, 2011. Effective July 1, 2010, this period 
has been extended to December 31, 2017.

Certificate 
Number

Not
Refundable

Massachusetts residents and part-year residents are allowed a credit for taxes
due any other jurisdiction. The credit is available only on income reported and taxed
on a Massachusetts return.

The Credit is allowed for taxes paid to:

• other states in the U.S.;
• any territory or dependency of the U.S., (including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the District of Columbia; and/or
• the Dominion of Canada or any of its provinces. The amount must first be reduced by an amount allowed as a federal Foreign Tax Credit on U.S. Form 1116. The allowable federal credit must be deducted whether or not claimed;
• New Hampshire for business profits tax which is considered an income tax
• District of Columbia Unincorporated Business Franchise Tax (UBT)

The credit is for tax due to another jurisdiction; it is not for:

• taxes paid to the U.S. government;
• any city or local tax;
• taxes paid to a foreign country other than Canada;
• interest and penalties paid to another jurisdiction; and
• excise, property tax or franchise tax.

Massachusetts allows a credit to any owner of MA residential property who has 
paid for deleading (covering or removing lead paint) of such property for purposes 
of bringing it into either full compliance or interim control pending full compliance.

The credit is the lesser of: 1) the cost of removing or covering any paint, plaster, 
or other structural accessible materials containing dangerous levels of lead; or $1,500.

Schedule LP 

Not
Refundable

Seven Succeeding
Years

For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2009, certain credits may be 
available to certified life sciences companies only to the extent authorized pursuant 
to the Life Sciences Tax Incentive Program:

Investment Tax Credit 
an Investment Tax Credit (ITC) equal to 10% of the cost of qualifying property 
acquired, constructed or erected during the taxable year and used exclusively in 
the Commonwealth.

FDA User Fees Credit
A credit for user fees paid on or after June 16, 2008 to the U. S. Food and 
Drug Administration (U.S.F.D.A.) upon submission of an application to manufacture 
a human drug in the Commonwealth. This credit is equal to100% of  the user fees 
actually paid by the taxpayer. To be eligible for the credit, more than 50% of the 
research and development costs for the drug must have been incurred in Massachusetts.

Research Credit
A new credit to provide qualifying companies with a means to obtain a research 
credit for certain expenditures not qualifying for the existing research credit under 
c. 63, § 38M. The credit is generally calculated in the same manner as the research 
credit under section 38M.

There are different credits which the Massachusetts Life Sciences may authorize a 
taxpayer to have refunded in lieu of carrying forward such credit to a future year.

If a life sciences ITC exceeds the tax otherwise due under the corporate excise, 
as applicable, 90% of the balance of  such credit may, at the option of the taxpayer, 
be refundable to the taxpayer for the tax year in which the qualified property giving 
rise to such credit is placed in service.

Taxpayers may use the FDA user fees credit to reduce their tax to zero; 90% of the 
balance of credit remaining is refundable. The deduction otherwise allowable for 
user fees qualifying for the credit is disallowed.

Refundable

None

None

Building Identification Credit

Not
Refundable

None

Not Refundable

Certain taxpayers age 65 or older may claim a credit for the real estate taxes 
paid on the residential property they own or rent in Massachusetts that is used 
as their principal residence.

Eligible taxpayers may claim a credit equal to the amount by which their 
property tax payments (for renters, 25% of rent) exceed 10% of their 
"total income" for that tax year.

For tax year 2012, the maximum credit allowed is $1,000

To be eligible for the credit for the 2012 tax year:

• the taxpayer or spouse, if married filing jointly, must be 65 years of age or older at the close of the taxable year;
• the taxpayer must own or rent residential property in Massachusetts and occupy the property as his or her principal residence;
• the taxpayer's "total income" cannot exceed $53,000 for a single filer who is not the head of a household, $67,000 for a head of household, or $80,000 for taxpayers filing jointly; and
• for homeowners, the assessed valuation of the homeowner's personal residence as of January 1, 2012, before residential exemptions but after abatements, cannot exceed $705,000.

Refundable

None

Any owner of residential property located in Massachusetts who is not a 
dependent of another taxpayer and who occupies the property as his or 
her principal residence is allowed a credit for the expenses incurred to:

1) repair or replace a failed cesspool or septic system in compliance with 
the sewer system requirements of the State Environmental Code Tile V; or 
2) connect to a municipal sewer systems pursuant to a federal court order, 
administrative consent order, state court order, consent decree, or 
similar mandate.

The amount of credit in the aggregate cannot exceed $6,000 but maximum amount of credit claimed in any tax year cannot exceed $1,500. The computation of the credit 
is 40 percent (.40) of available actual costs, not to exceed $15,000 ($15,000 
x .40 = $6,000).

Schedule SC 

Not
Refundable

Five Succeeding Years

Not
Refundable

Three Succeeding Years