Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) tax credits
Three refundable tax credits are available for taxpayers who remediate a brownfield: (1) A brownfield redevelopment credit of 10% to 22% is dependent on remediation level, location and type of taxpayer (personal or corporate); (2) A credit for real property taxes for remediated brownfields based on number of employees at the location can reach 100% of real property taxes; and (3) Environmental remediation insurance credit for remediation insurance premiums up to $30,000 or 50% of premium cost, whichever is less.
Brownfield tax credit fact sheet
- Site preparation costs (expenses related to qualification for a remediation certificate or preparing a site for development)
- Tangible property costs (similar to ITC credit, e.g. buildings and structural components thereof)
- On-site groundwater costs (remediation of groundwater contamination) This Credit is calculated using the following % of the costs for each component that qualifies for the credit:
| Taxpayer | Base | Track 1 | En-Zone | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Article 22 | 10% | +2% | +8% | 20% |
| All others | 12% | +2% | +8% | 22% |
This credit increases by 2 % if the Site is remediated to a cleanup level (Track 1) that will allow the site to be used for any purpose without restriction (see subdivision 4 of section 27-1415 of the Environmental Conservation Law) and another 8% if at least one half of the Site is located in an Environmental Zone (En-Zone - see description below).
2. Remediated Brownfield Credit for Real Property Taxes
For real property taxes paid for a qualified site. The amount of the credit is 25% of the product of the taxpayer's employment factor (a percentage based on the number of persons employed by the taxpayer on a qualified site) and the taxpayer's "eligible real property taxes" (see section 22(b)(4) of the Tax Law).
| Full-Time Employees | 0 – 24 | 25 – 49 | 50 – 74 | 75 – 99 | > 100 |
| Employment No. Factor | 0% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 100% |
If the Site is located in an En-Zone the credit is 100% of the product of the employment factor and the real property taxes paid. There is a credit limitation equal to the product of the number of full time employees at the qualified site times $10,000. For instance, if the eligible real property taxes are $50,000 and the taxpayer employs 100 employees:
- Outside of an En-Zone; the credit is $12,500 (25% of 1.0 times $50,000)
- Inside an En-Zone; the credit is $50,000 (100% times 1.0 times $50,000)
3. Environmental Remediation Insurance Credit
For premiums paid for Environmental Remediation Insurance (see section 3447 of the Insurance Law) up to the lesser of $30,000 or 50% of the cost of the premiums. An En-Zone is an area designated by the Commissioner of Economic Development as such by December 31, 2003. The area, as of the 2000 census, must have a poverty rate of at least 20% and an unemployment rate of at least 1 1/4 times the statewide unemployment rate.
A taxpayer must have been issued a Certificate of Completion (also referred to in the law as a Remediation Certificate) from the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation to be eligible for these tax credits (see section 27-1419 of the Environmental conservation Law). Only costs incurred on or after the date of execution of the Brownfield Cleanup Agreement (see section 27-1409 of the Environmental Conservation Law) are eligible for purposes of computation of the credit.