How To Apply for Brownfield Single Business Tax Credits Information on brownfield Single Business Tax Credits and the Brownfield Redevelopment Credit Project Pre-approval Application, Form 3660, are at the Michigan Treasury Department Web site or 1-800-367-6263. Information on the brownfield Single Business Tax Credit can also be found on the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Web site A summary of brownfield redevelopment assistance and community economic development incentives from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, with links to program descriptions and opportunities, is here The first contact for many of the MEDC programs, including brownfield redevelopment, is the MEDC Community Assistance Team. For northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, the contact is: Laura Bower Community Specialist Michigan Economic Development Corporation Phone: 517-241-2331 Email: bowerl@michigan.org

Public Act 382 of 1996 amended the Single Business Tax Act to provide qualified taxpayers a credit against that tax for “eligible investment” they make at an “eligible” brownfield property. Unlike the grants, loans, and tax increment financing assistance that help cover the extraordinary cost of brownfield redevelopment, the single business tax credit provides an actual financial enticement for developers to invest in brownfields.
 
Eligible property must currently be a state-defined “facility” under Part 201 of the state’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. Or, in the case of designated core communities and property owned or controlled by a land bank, the property can be blighted or functionally obsolete.
 
Eligible property must be in a brownfield plan developed under 1996 Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act criteria. The state must approve the application for the credit before construction begins, as well as the final accounting, before the single business tax can be claimed.

Eligible investments include demolition, construction, restoration, and alteration; improvement of buildings or sites on eligible property; and the addition of machinery, equipment, and fixtures to eligible property. “Soft” costs such as legal, engineering, and architectural expenses are considered eligible investment if they are directly related. In order to qualify, these investments must be made after a pre-approval letter has been issued.

Environmental response activities (baseline environmental assessment activities, due-care plans, remediation costs, and land acquisition costs) are not eligible investments.

A Notice of Intent must be filed with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to begin discussions of the project and its eligibility for a Brownfield Single Business Tax Credit.