Wisconsin · Manufacturing · WI-MAC-001
Manufacturing and Agriculture Credit
Publication revised September 24, 2026. Sourcebook page 281.
Credit amount / calculation
7.5% of eligible Wisconsin manufacturing production income, subject to the applicable tax and income limitations.
Business fit and eligible activity
Major ongoing credit for businesses classified by Department of Revenue as manufacturers; tied to qualifying production income rather than a particular expansion. Qualified investment or approved project activity; confirm eligible property, location and taxpayer type.
Illustrative business benefit
$500,000 of eligible production income x 7.5% = $37,500 before limitations. Use qualified production income, not gross sales or the equipment budget.
Timing / first action
Tax-year claim: document the eligible expense, hire or placed-in-service date and meet any separate certification deadline. Confirm manufacturing property classification and the eligible production-income calculation.
Official sources
- Wisconsin Department of Revenue — Manufacturing and Agriculture (revenue.wi.gov)
Related programs
Business Development Tax Credit
generally
Highly relevant to existing forest-products companies because Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation can certify refundable credits for capital investment, jobs and training rather than limiting support to competitive grants.
Enterprise Zone Jobs Tax Credit
Refundable project-specific components under a negotiated
Large strategic projects can receive refundable credits for jobs, retained jobs, capital investment, training and Wisconsin supply-chain purchases.
Research Credits
Generally
Wisconsin manufacturers can claim a partly refundable research credit; research activity.
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.