Cleaning up and redeveloping a site can make a property owner eligible for significant tax credits, including the Brownfields Revitalization Incentive Program (BRIP). For five years after cleanup, a site may qualify for a real property tax credit between 50% and 70% of the increased value of the site (in an Enterprise Zone, the tax credit may last for up to 10 years). To qualify for the tax credit, the site must be owned by an inculpable person and must have gone through the Maryland Department of the Environment’s (MDE) Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) and have received formal designation by the Maryland Department of Commerce as a “qualified Brownfields site.”
Baltimore County enacted BRIP-enabling legislation in 1997. The county’s BRIP legislation includes:
- BRIP available for qualified properties for five taxable years after the first revaluation after completion of a voluntary cleanup or corrective action plan for a tax credit of 50% of the property tax attributable to the increase in assessment of the brownfield site.
- The legislation allows for an additional 20% property tax credit for properties located within an enterprise zone or a designated commercial revitalization area.
- The legislation allows for an additional 20% property tax credit for properties when the cost of voluntary cleanup or corrective action exceeds $1,000,000.
- The legislation allows for an additional five years of the tax credit for properties within an enterprise zone.
- The cost of the voluntary cleanup or corrective action plan shall be determined by the demonstrated costs incurred at the time of the application for the tax credit.
- Credit is terminated if the recipient withdraws from the VCP or if MDE withdraws the approval of the Response Action Plan or a Certificate of Completion.
Web Resources:
Baltimore County BRIP Legislation
Baltimore County Tax Credits
Baltimore County BRIP Tax Credit Background and Application
Maryland Department of Commerce BRIP Information
Maryland Department of the Environment Land Restoration Program
