Starting a Business

Financial Assistance - Government Programs

• Direct Install for Small Business (Mass Save): Eversource provides eligible business customers a free energy audit of their facility by Mass Save. The audit will identify energy saving opportunities, and potentially pay for up to 70% of the total cost for retrofitting qualified lighting and mechanical systems. Gas measures will also be addressed. For further information and other small business incentives, please visit Mass Save's website for businesses.

• Disabled Access Credit (U.S. Government): The Disabled Access Credit provides a non-refundable credit for small businesses that incur expenditures for the purpose of providing access to persons with disabilities. An eligible small business is one that that earned $1 million or less or had no more than 30 full time employees in the previous year; they may take the credit each and every year they incur access expenditures. Refer to Form 8826, Disabled Access Credit (PDF), for information about eligible expenditures. Additional information can be found by visiting the American with Disabilities Act websiteor calling the ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or TTY 800-514-0383.

• Barrier Removal Tax Deduction (U.S. Government): The Architectural Barrier Removal Tax Deduction encourages businesses of any size to remove architectural and transportation barriers to the mobility of persons with disabilities and the elderly. Businesses may claim a deduction of up to $15,000 a year for qualified expenses for items that normally must be capitalized. Businesses may use the Disabled Tax Credit and the architectural/transportation tax deduction together in the same tax year, if the expenses meet the requirements of both sections. For further information, contact the Internal Revenue Service. Additional information can be found by visiting the American with Disabilities Act website or calling the ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or TTY 800-514-0383.

• Federal Tax Incentives for Preserving Historic Properties (U.S. Government): Federal historic preservation tax incentives are available for any qualified project that the Secretary of the Interior designates as a certified rehabilitation of a certified historic structure. For more information, please visit the National Park Service’s website.

• KIVA: A site for people all over the world seeking small loans to start their own businesses. The loans typically back individual economic activity to help alleviate poverty through support for entrepreneurial ventures in places where other sources of funding are hard to come by.

• Massachusetts Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (Commonwealth of Massachusetts): The Massachusetts Historic Rehabilitation Tax allows the certified rehabilitation of an income-producing property to receive up to 20% of the cost of certified rehabilitation expenditures in state tax credit. For more information, please visit the Massachusetts Historical Commission’s website.

• U.S. Small Business Administration (U.S. Government): The SBA offers many loan programs; the 7a loans and the CDC/504 loans have been useful to a number of business in Somerville. If you are looking to purchase a building or fixed equipment for your business, these loans can provide SBA-guaranteed loans that will drastically reduce the financing costs.