Massachusetts · Investment · MA-ITC-001
Investment Tax Credit
Publication revised September 24, 2026. Sourcebook page 144.
Credit amount / calculation
3% of qualifying tangible property; motor vehicles excluded; carryover rules apply.
Business fit and eligible activity
Massachusetts manufacturers can claim a broad statutory credit on qualifying tangible property used in manufacturing. Qualified investment or approved project activity; confirm eligible property, location and taxpayer type.
Illustrative business benefit
A sawmill invests $1.50 million in qualifying production machinery. At 3%, the nominal credit is $45,000 before annual caps, tax-liability limits, carryforward rules, or negotiated adjustments. The company should isolate eligible machinery from buildings, vehicles, land, and other costs that the statute does not treat the same way.
Timing / first action
Tax-year claim: document the eligible expense, hire or placed-in-service date and meet any separate certification deadline. Get a written answer on which property is qualified - especially buildings, installation, software, used equipment, vehicles, and mobile machinery.
Official sources
Related programs
Economic Development Incentive Program Credit
Project-specific negotiated award based on jobs
Qualifying expansions can negotiate a state investment tax credit through EDIP.
Research Credit
Credit based on qualified Massachusetts research
Qualified Massachusetts research can produce a corporate excise credit.
Clean Electricity Investment Credit (Internal Revenue Code §48E)
Generally
Potentially relevant when a forest-products facility owns qualifying zero-emission generation or energy-storage property.
Clean Electricity Production Credit (Internal Revenue Code §45Y)
Production-based
Alternative to the investment credit for owners/operators of qualifying clean-electricity facilities; potentially relevant to qualifying on-site generation.
Credit for Increasing Research Activities (Internal Revenue Code §41)
Regular research-credit method
A sawmill, secondary manufacturer or biomass business can qualify when it performs genuine technological experimentation to improve a product or process.