Eligibility: This property tax credit is available to newly constructed energy-efficient buildings that meet the following criteria:

• is a commercial or multi-family residential building in Montgomery County, MD
• has or will have at least 10,000 square feet of gross floor area
• has a certification from the Department of Permitting Services within the last 12 months indicating the new building’s percentage performance above current Building Code requirements at time of application (minimum 10% better than Building Code as demonstrated by DPS approved and stamped performance-based energy modeling reports)
• has not previously received the Newly Constructed Energy-Efficient Buildings Tax Credit.

Guidance for Tax Credit Application Submissions:

• Energy-efficient buildings located in MWCOG's Equity Emphasis Areas at the time of application are eligible for an additional 10% credit towards the New Building Energy Reduction Tax Credit. To see if your building is located within an Equity Emphasis Area, use this GIS map and click on the magnifying glass in the bottom toolbar to enter your building's address. 
• To earn this property tax credit, a newly constructed energy-efficient building must achieve 10% or greater than any mandatory energy performance requirements for building construction where the building is being built. Building Code requirement means any code, standard, zoning ordinance, or other requirement related to commercial and multi-family building construction and permitting processes that applies to a newly constructed energy-efficient building. Building owners can apply for this tax credit within 1 year of receiving a use and occupancy permit.
• Once the 10%+ energy performance criteria has been met, a building owner may seek additional credit for recognized green building certifications within 2 years of after obtaining a use and occupancy permit. That additional credit is either 25% or 75%, depending on the green building certification earned. 
• The maximum credit that may be granted in any fiscal year cannot exceed 100% of the building’s annual County property tax liability.
• Review the County Code related to this tax credit.

Guidance for Tax Credit Application Submissions:

• Energy-efficient buildings located in MWCOG's Equity Emphasis Areas at the time of application are eligible for an additional 10% credit. To see if your building is located within an Equity Emphasis Area, use this GIS map and click on the magnifying glass in the bottom toolbar to enter your building's address. 
• To earn this property tax credit, a newly constructed energy-efficient building must achieve 10% or greater than any mandatory energy performance requirements for building construction where the building is being built. Building Code requirement means any code, standard, zoning ordinance, or other requirement related to commercial and multi-family building construction and permitting processes that applies to a newly constructed energy-efficient building. Building owners can apply for this tax credit within 1 year of receiving a use and occupancy permit.
• The 10%+ energy performance must be demonstrated by submitting a DPS approved and stamped performance-based energy modeling report for the eligible property.
• Once the 10%+ energy performance criteria has been met, a building owner may seek additional credit for recognized green building certifications within 2 years of after obtaining a use and occupancy permit.
• The maximum credit that may be granted in any fiscal year cannot exceed 100% of the building’s annual County property tax liability.
• Review the County Code related to this tax credit.

Newly Constructed Energy-Efficient Buildings Application Instructions:

• All fields with a red asterisk (*) are required. Click the "Next" button in the bottom right corner to fill out the Application Form. Click the "Previous" button to go back and amend information on a prior screen. Click the "Submit" button when you are ready to submit your completed Application Form to Treasury.
• Once you submit this form, it cannot be amended. The County will review and verify all data reported on this form, which may alter the final Combined Energy-Efficient Buildings Property Tax Credit amount earned.

If NO, your building may be eligible for Property Tax Credit – Existing Energy-Efficient Buildings, Montgomery County Code, Section 52-103A

TO RECEIVE THE NEW BUILDING ENERGY REDUCTION TAX CREDIT, THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED:

Calculate the annual County property tax credit for your building, which will be awarded for 4 years if approved. The credit cannot exceed 100% of County taxes.

1. Determine your energy performance, determined by a DPS-approved modeling software.
2. Calculate how much greater your energy performance is than current Building Code requirements.
3. Use the table below to determine your new building’s tax credit amount.

TO RECEIVE THE NEW BUILDING ENERGY REDUCTION TAX CREDIT, THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED:

1.b) IF NO, you are not eligible for the New Building Sustainability Tax Credit. You may apply for this tax credit once you have been approved for the New Building Energy Reduction Tax Credit (Section 1 above).

Alternative equivalent green building certifications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Contact DEP to learn more: energy@montgomerycountymd.gov

To calculate the tax credit for your building, identify which of the following eligible green building certifications (or an approved equivalent certification) your building has achieved:​

PHIUS+ or Passive House certification

• “PHIUS+” refers to the Passive House Building Standard certification administered by the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS). All PHIUS+ certification types are eligible (CORE, PHIUS+, SOURCE ZERO, and ZERO).
• “Passive House certification” refers to the standard administered by the international Passive House Institute (PHI). Both Passive House and EnerPHit Certification are eligible.

​​Gold or Platinum certification for LEED

• “LEED” means the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system administered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). In this application, LEED building certification includes all eligible rating systems for newly constructed non-single-family-residential buildings.

Gold or Emerald certification for NGBS

• “NGBS” means the National Green Building Standard rating system administered by Home Innovation Research Labs.

Excellent or Outstanding Final certification for BREEAM

• “BREEAM-NC" means the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method rating system for New Construction administered by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) Group.
• Excellent or Outstanding Final ratings for BREEAM-NC issued at the Post-Construction stage.
• Only Shell and Core, Partially Fitted, and Fully Fitted scopes of work are eligible (Shell Only is not eligible for this property tax credit).

LBC Petal Certification

• “LBC Petal Certification” refers to the Living Building Challenge (LBC) partial certification administered by the International Living Future Institute.
• New Building and Existing Building Typologies are eligible (Interior, and Landscape or Infrastructure Typologies are not eligible).
• To earn the LBC Petal Certification, all CORE Green Building Certification Required Imperatives must be met, plus either the Water, Energy, or Materials Petal.

Full Living Building Certification

• “Living Building certification” refers to the Living Building Challenge (LBC) full certification administered by the International Living Future Institute.
• New Building and Existing Building Typologies are eligible (Interior, and Landscape or Infrastructure Typologies are not eligible).
• All Living Building Challenge Certification projects must achieve all required Imperatives.

To calculate the total tax credit granted, add the property tax credit percentage earned from the Energy Reduction Requirement to the tax credit percentage earned from your building’s green building certification.

EXAMPLE: Building 24% above Building Code also earns LEED Gold credit of 25% = 49% Total Property Tax Credit per year for 4 years. If this building was in a verified Equity Emphasis Area, the Property Tax Credit would become 59% per year for 4 years.

Note that if deemed eligible for the New Building Energy Reduction Tax Credit and the New Building Sustainability Tax Credit, the total percentage cannot exceed 100% per year. If awarded, the property will receive a credit granted against County taxes owed for four (4) years.*

*If a building achieves the Living Building Certification, the property will receive the 75% New Building Sustainability Tax Credit granted against County taxes owed for five (5) years. However, the New Building Energy Reduction Tax Credit will end after four (4) years.

Note building owners are only eligible for one New Building Energy Reduction Tax Credit and one New Building Energy Reduction Tax Credit. Reapplications are not permitted, even if it has undergone extensive modifications. Buildings seeking further incentives for additional energy efficiency improvements should explore the Property Tax Credit – Existing Energy-Efficient Buildings, Montgomery County Code, Section 52-103A

The PHIUS can be contacted at 312-561-4588, or on the web at:  https://www.phius.org/home-page

The PHI can be contacted at +49 (0)6151 / 82699-0, or on the web at: https://passivehouse.com/index.html

The USGBC can be contacted at 1-800-795-1747, or on the web at: www.usgbc.org

The Home Innovation Research Labs can be contacted at 301-249-4000, or on the web at: https://www.homeinnovation.com

The BRE Group can be contacted at 1-415-747-5152, or on the web at: https://www.breeam.com

The International Living Future Institute can be contacted at 206-223-2028, or on the web at: https://living-future.org

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) can be contacted at 1-240-777-0311, or on the web at: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dep/