Posted by John McAllister on Thu, Apr 18, 2013 @ 01:15 PM
Many of our clients are surprised to learn that they are eligible to recoup some of the money they have spent cleaning up oil spills and hazardous waste sites via tax breaks. In Massachusetts, one of significant and often overlooked tax break is the Brownfields Tax Credit. The Massachusetts Brownfields Tax Credit is, just as the name implies, a true tax credit. It provides certain taxpayers with a credit for the cleanup of properties in economically distressed areas. You may, or may not, be surprised to find that huge swaths of the state are considered economically distressed areas, including some communities that most of us would consider fairly affluent.
If you have land pollution clean-up costs associated with your redevelopment project, you may qualify for as much as a 50% refund of these costs in the form of a tax credit, through a Massachusetts funded program.
You may also qualify for Federal incentives and other financing opportunities.To find out more, please download our free Brownfield Redevelopment Cleanup Financing Opportunities Information Kit.
According to the Massachusetts Tax Credit Transparency Report , in 2011 approximately 80 taxpayers took advantage of this credit achieving a combined tax savings of over $40,000,000. That may seem like a lot, but it is widely believed that this represents only a fraction of those who are eligible.
A Federal Brownfields Tax Incentive is also available to some taxpayers. This incentive allows for environmental cleanup costs at eligible properties to be fully deductable in the year incurred, rather than capitalized and spread over a period of years. In this case, it is possible to claim the incentive even if the taxpayer caused the release/contamination. In the past this incentive was not available for sites with only petroleum contamination, but in 2006 the rules were changed to include these sites. Past tax returns can also be amended to include deductions for past cleanup expenditures.
If you have questions about brownfields tax credits and incentives, Norfolk would be happy to talk with you and point you in the right direction. Please contact Jon Kitchen at (508) 747-7900 x154 or use our contact form to tell us a little about your situation and someone will be in touch soon.
More information on the Massachusetts Brownfield Tax Credit is available from the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Revenue . More information on the Federal Brownfields Tax Incentive is available from the EPA.
Norfolk is an environmental consulting and engineering firm which provides technical advice on the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. While Norfolk helps clients identify potential tax benefits, we do not provide tax, legal, or financial advice. Certain restrictions apply to the credits and incentives discussed above. Please be sure to consult with a tax professional.
Posted by John McAllister on Wed, Sep 12, 2012 @ 10:23 AM
More often than not, environmental cleanups pose a significant financial challenge for clients. At Norfolk, we have found it helpful to meet with clients and stakeholders to help them identify and pursue the best financing options available. From state brownfields tax credits and federal tax deductions to UST reimbursement funds and insurance policies, Norfolk can help you find the funding best suited to you and your project. If a loan is what you need, Norfolk can help explain the situation to your financier to take some of the uncertainty out of lending.
Some examples of how we work with our clients include;
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Norfolk recently helped the owner of a former gasoline station petition for reinstatement of eligibility for 1.5 million dollars in reimbursement funds.
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We have helped municipalities identify, pursue, and receive millions of dollars in grants.
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An elderly homeowner was faced with cleaning up a serious home heating oil spill. She had exhausted all funding options but was ineligible for "financial inability" status from the state and had been denied a bank loan. Norfolk worked with her bank to quantify the financial risks and structure the cleanup project such that she could tap the equity in her home to clean up the property.
Several of our clients who have financed their cleanups "out of pocket" have been pleasantly surprised to find that they could recover 25 to 50% of their cleanup costs through tax credits.
When a client had a leak from a gasoline tank, their insurance carrier initially denied coverage. Norfolk worked with the client, insurance agent, and attorney to provide supporting justification for the claim, such that the insurance carrier agreed to provide coverage, saving the client nearly $100,000.
If you have questions about how to pay for your environmental cleanup or if you have already paid for an environmental cleanup and would like to find out if you might be eligible for a tax credit, please contact Jon Kitchen at (508) 747-7900 x154.
You can also read more about our site remediation and brownfield redevelopment services by following the links.
Norfolk is an environmental consulting and engineering firm which provides technical advice on the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. While Norfolk helps clients identify funding we do not provide tax, legal, or financial advice.
Find out if you qualify for a Brownfields Tax Credit!
Posted by John McAllister on Wed, Jun 06, 2012 @ 01:38 PM
The Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development has announced that it has made available the application materials for its latest round of the MassWorks Infrastructure Program.
The program is a consolidation of six former grant programs and provides public infrastructure financing to support economic development and job and housing creation. This includes transportation improvements in small, rural communities, mixed use developments, and redevelopment of previously developed sites. All the relevant materials regardind the program are available at www.mass.gov/hed/massworks
The submission period for grant application runs between August 27 and September 10, 2012, so there is still plenty of time to put together an application. The grant award decisions will be made by the end of October. Last year's program awarded grants to 42 communities throughout Massachusetts; projects that are set to begin construction this spring.
If you have questions about the MassWorks Infrastructure Program or how it could apply to you or your organization, please contact Mark Bartlett at (508) 747-7900 extension 131.
Posted by Jon Kitchen on Wed, Sep 01, 2010 @ 02:17 PM
Last March we blogged about the need for careful soil management at redevelopment sites, including the pitfalls of dealing with RCRA wastes. This month the Massachusetts DEP has released written guidance relative to one aspect of the management of RCRA waste; the state management of the federal “contained-in” policy. This policy allows for certain low concentrations of RCRA “listed” waste to be treated as non-hazardous under very specific circumstance. It is a tool that has the potential to achieve substantial savings at sites where management of RCRA waste is required (e.g. dry cleaners and former plating or jewelry manufacturing facilities). A link to the DEP Technical Update is provided here.
If you have questions regarding soil management or brownfields redevelopment please contact Jon Kitchen at (508) 747-7900 x154
In Massachusetts, environmental clean-up of some brownfields sites can receive as much as a 50% refund in the form of a tax credit. Learn about the Brownfields Tax Credit and find out if you qualify!