Massachusetts Brownfields Credit Application

Brownfields Credit Application
Form BCA
Massachusetts Department of Revenue

Form BCA
Brownfields Credit Application
For calendar year 2023 or taxable year beginning 		
Name of applicant 		

	

2023

and ending

Federal Identification or Social Security number

	

Mailing address 		

City/Town 	

State 	

Name of contact person 		

Telephone 	

E-mail address

Zip

Type of entity:

● Corporation  ● Trust  ● Partnership  ● Sole proprietorship  ● LLC  ● Nonprofit  ● Other: 
Address of property 		

City/Town 	

State 	

Zip

Date(s) eligible costs incurred

1	 Total net response and removal costs incurred. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 1	

	

2	 Is the property located in an economically distressed area as defined under MGL ch 21E and its associated regulations?  ● Yes  ● No
3	 Did the applicant own or lease the property during the remediation process?  ● Own  ● Lease
4	 Date of the deed or lease for the property_____________________________________________________________________________________
5	 Does the applicant currently own or lease the property?  ● Yes  ● No. If No, date this relationship ended___________________________________
6	 Assessed value of the property prior to remediation .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 6	
7	 Percentage of costs with respect to the assessed value of the property prior to remediation .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 7	
8	 Is the applicant an “eligible person” as defined under MGL ch 21E, § 2?  ● Yes  ● No
9	 Is the applicant subject to any enforcement action under MGL ch 21E?  ● Yes  ● No
10	 Identify all release tracking numbers associated with this application________________________________________________________________
11	 What is the outcome that has been achieved?__________________________________________________________________________________
	

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

	

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12	 Does the permanent solution or remedy operation status include an activity and use limitation?  ● Yes  ● No
13	 Date the permanent solution or remedy operation status has been achieved__________________________________________________________
14	 Has the permanent solution or remedy operation status been maintained?  ● Yes  ● No
15	 Did the applicant cause or contribute to the release of oil or hazardous material from or at the site?  ● Yes  ● No
16	 Did the applicant own or operate the site at the time of the release of oil or hazardous material from or at the site?  ● Yes  ● No
17	 Can any other person or entity claim the credit for the property and/or site?  ● Yes  ● No
18	 Amount of the credit that applicant is seeking..  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 18	
I declare under the pains and penalties of perjury that to the best of my knowledge, the information contained herein is accurate and complete.
Name of preparer (print) 	

Title 	

Date

Signature of preparer
Mail to Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Audit Division, 200 Arlington Street, Room 4300, Chelsea, MA 02150, attn. Brownfields Unit.

Form BCA Instructions
What is the Brownfields Credit?

Non-profit organizations and taxpayers subject to tax under MGL
chs 62 and 63 are allowed a credit for incurring eligible costs to
remove oil or hazardous materials on property the taxpayer owns
or leases for business purposes and which is located within an economically distressed area. See MGL ch 62, § 6(j) and MGL ch 63, §
38Q. In general, the amount of the credit will be either 25% or 50%
of the net response and removal costs incurred between August 1,
1998, and January 1, 2024, provided that the applicant commences and diligently pursues an environmental response action before
August 5, 2023.

Who is Eligible for the Credit?

Only a non-profit organization or taxpayer that is an eligible person
as defined in MGL ch 21E, § 2 and is not subject to any enforcement action pursuant to MGL ch 21E may receive a credit.
An eligible person is defined as an owner or operator of a site from
which there has been a release of oil or hazardous material who did
not cause or contribute to the release and did not own or operate
the site at the time of the release.

What Properties are Eligible for the Credit?

Eligible property where all three conditions must be met:
1. The property is owned or leased by the applicant for business
purposes.
2. The property has been reported to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
3. The property is located in an economically distressed area. A list
of economically distressed areas is available from the DEP website.

Limitations on the Credit

There are limitations on the credit:
•	Fifty-percent limitation for MGL ch 62 taxpayers: the maximum
amount of credit that may be taken may not exceed fifty percent
(50%) of the tax liability for the taxable year;
•	Fifty-percent limitation for business corporations: the maximum
amount of credit that may be taken may not exceed fifty percent
(50%) of the excise tax for the taxable year;
•	Minimum excise limitation for business corporations: the credit
may not be used to reduce the tax liability below the minimum
excise which is currently $456.

Carryover of Credit

An unused credit may be carried over for up to five succeeding
tax years. However, in no event may the taxpayer apply the credit
in any taxable year in which it has ceased to maintain the remedy
operation status or the permanent solution for which the credit was
granted.

Corporations Filing Combined Returns

Pursuant to MGL ch 63, § 32B, for tax years beginning on or after
January 1, 2009, a credit that may be validly claimed by a taxable
member of a combined group and that is attributable to the combined group’s unitary business may be shared with the other taxable members of the combined group to the extent such sharing of
the credit is consistent with the statutory requirement for claiming
the credit, taking into account the nature of the business and activities of each of the taxable members that seek to share the credit.

Financial Aid Received by All Taxpayers

Taxpayers may claim this credit even if they receive financial assistance from the Brownfields Development Fund or from the Redevelopment Access to Capital (RAC) Program. However, the amount of
state funds received from either of these funds must be deducted
from the expense base for which the credit is available.
With reference to RAC, the amount of state financial assistance is
calculated as the amount of state funds paid on behalf of the borrower for participation in the program. If the taxpayer has borrowed
funds subject to a state guarantee in order to finance the expenses
of remediation, the amount of the loan is permitted to be included
in the expense base for which the credit is available. However, if the
borrower defaults on the loan and the guarantee is invoked, any
credit taken for the amount of the loan will be recaptured as taxes
due in the year the loan is paid.

Eligible Costs

The Brownfields Act states that eligible costs are net response and
removal costs paid by the taxpayer for the purpose of achieving a
permanent solution or remedy operation status in compliance with
MGL ch 21E. The costs must be equal or greater than 15% of the
assessed value of the property prior to remediation. The Department in conjunction with DEP has determined that the following
costs are eligible for consideration as net response and removal
costs where such costs are a direct and necessary part of attaining
a permanent solution or remedy operation status and where such
costs have been incurred by the taxpayer while the taxpayer owned
or leased the property:
•	Any assessment, removal, or containment action as required under MGL ch 21E;
• Assessment activities performed prior to notification that identify
an obligation to notify DEP;
•	Preparation of phase reports, status reports, or other submittals
required by the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP) pursuant
to 310 CMR 40.0000;
•	Removal, assessment, containment, treatment, transport, storage, reuse, recycling and/or disposal of soil, groundwater, surface
water or sediments that contain oil and/or hazardous materials;
•	Development and implementation of assessment and remediation
plans, including pilot testing and treatability tests;
•	Geotechnical or environmental testing; Demolition or repair of
buildings;
•	Replacement or repair of blacktop or concrete;
•	Hydrogeologic/aquifer tests;
•	Provisions for the temporary and/or permanent replacement or
treatment of potable drinking water supply contaminated by oil
and/or hazardous materials;
•	Installation of test borings, monitoring wells, recovery wells, and/
or gaseous injection or extraction wells;
•	Attorney fees for “compliance assistance” in the preparation of
submittals documenting response actions required pursuant to
the MCP;
•	Permit fees, cost of paid police details and security details;

•	Closure or removal of components of an Underground Storage
Tank System pursuant to 527 CMR 9.07(H), 9.07(I), or 310 CMR
80.00 et. seq., as the case may be; and

•	Any other costs that are not a direct and necessary part of attaining a permanent solution or remedy operation status and incurred
by the taxpayer while the taxpayer owned or leased the property;

•	Rental of temporary storage tanks for the management of remediation wastes.

•	Any costs for which the taxpayer received or anticipates reimbursement; and

Costs that are not eligible for the Brownfields credit include the following:

•	Any other costs not expressly listed as eligible.

•	Retro-fitting, relining or replacing UST Systems;

Please submit the following along with this application:

•	Loss of business revenue because of shutdown of business due
to a release or the performance of response actions;
•	Landscaping expenses including expenses related to the loss, replacement, or installation of trees, shrubs, or signs;

Additional Requirements

•	A copy of the Response Action Outcome Report/Remedy Operation Status Report/Permanent Solution Statement prepared by
the Licensed Site Professional hired for this project;

•	All governmental, federal, state and local oversight fees;

•	Documentation showing the assessed value of the property prior
to remediation;

•	Compliance fees, punitive damages, civil or administrative penalties, and criminal fines;

•	The deed or lease agreement for the property;

•	Interest payments or any finance charges;
•	Small tools;
•	Costs incurred prior to notification to the DEP of the release and
the receipt of a DEP tracking number that are not otherwise eligible;
•	Ordinary business expenses or capital improvements, including
expenses that would have been incurred in the ordinary course of
development of the property in the absence of contamination, oil
and hazardous materials management, and replacement of tanks;

•	A description of the business purpose for which the property is
owned or leased, i.e., the current business activity that is taking
place on this site;
•	Copies of all correspondence sent to and received from the DEP
relating to the cleanup and outcome of this property.
The following requirement should be submitted in an electronic
format. Note: This must be in a standard database spreadsheet
format:

•	Insurance costs associated with remediation;

•	A complete list of all eligible costs. This list should include the
invoice date, invoice number, vendor, eligible net response and
removal costs and a brief description of the service(s) provided.

•	Costs attributable to the time and expense of an owner, operator,
or principal;

Questions or concerns relating to the Brownfields Credit Application
should be directed to the Brownfields Unit at 617-887-6974.
Mail completed application to Massachusetts Department of
Revenue, Audit Division, 200 Arlington Street, Room 4300,
Chelsea, MA 02150; attn. Brownfields Unit.