Innovation Investment Tax Credit (IITC)

Innovation Investment Tax Credit (IITC)

Offers Maryland technology investment tax credits to investors in certified technology companies, with investment-focused participation.

Eligibility · United States · US-MD

The Innovation Investment Tax Credit (IITC), formerly the Cybersecurity Investment Incentive Tax Credit (CIITC), was a Maryland income tax credit programme for investors who placed capital into Qualified Maryland Technology Companies (QMTCs). The programme has permanently sunsetted: Commerce is no longer accepting applications, and the final investor application deadline was September 24, 2024 at 11:59 PM. No successor programme has been named on the Commerce website.

The IITC offered a 33% credit on eligible investment in a QMTC, capped at $250,000 in tax credits per investor, rising to 50% (up to $500,000) for investments in QMTCs located in rural counties: Allegany, Dorchester, Garrett, or Somerset. The programme originated in 2014 as the Cybersecurity Investment Incentive Tax Credit (CIITC), limited to Qualified Maryland Cybersecurity Companies. In 2021, the Maryland General Assembly passed SB 160, extending the programme through 2025, renaming it IITC, and expanding eligibility from cybersecurity companies to all qualifying Maryland technology companies. The final operating cycle ran through September 2024.

Investors with remaining historical IITC credits may still be able to claim them on Maryland income tax returns for applicable prior years; the contact for historical questions is Jason Sobel, Tax Specialist (jason.sobel1@maryland.gov), Maryland Department of Commerce. Prospective technology investors should review the BIITC (Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit) as the active investor-credit programme remaining at Commerce; broader technology investment incentives have shifted to TEDCO, a separate Maryland agency.