More Incentives

The Montgomery County Job Creation Fund offers businesses a powerful incentive to expand their workforce. Eligible companies creating at least five (5) new full-time, permanent jobs with a base annual salary of $100,000 (excluding benefits) can receive up to $10,000 per new job created. For businesses located in Community Equity Index disadvantaged areas, this award increases to $12,000 per job.

The updated MOVE grant program helps businesses that are signing their first commercial lease or expanding their existing lease by at least 500 square feet in office space. Qualified companies signing a commercial lease in the county may receive up to $150,000 for a new office space. MOVE grant awards are funded on a first-come, first-served basis based on the date of receipt of submitting all required documentation and subject to availability of funding. At this time, due to the overwhelming success of the program, all available grant funds for the current fiscal year have been fully allocated, and Montgomery County is no longer accepting applications.

Funded through the State of Maryland’s Video Lottery Terminal (VLT) loan program, loans are available to small, minority, and woman-owned businesses.  MCEDC partners with the Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) as our fiduciary partner to assist eligible small businesses in underserved communities. The program is open to small, woman, and minority-owned businesses across the state of Maryland

International companies opening their first office, lab or coworking space in the U.S. or first East Coast operation can receive up to $10,000 to reimburse their initial business registration, rent and other costs related to locating in Montgomery County innovation space.

The Maryland MADE grant program provides grants to small Maryland manufacturers to invest in the adoption and deployment of smart manufacturing and high-performance manufacturing technologies that will increase energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and enable lasting improvements.

Slated for businesses that have (i) licensed technologies from a qualifying Maryland university within 12 months of applying for a Program award (a Program award can either be for Technology Assessment or Company Formation); and (ii) are located in Maryland.

Businesses that have qualified R&D expenditures in Maryland may qualify for the R&D Tax Credit. The tax credit is equal to ten percent (10%) of eligible R&D expenses incurred during the taxable year in excess of the Maryland Base Amount. If the total credits applied for exceed the statutory caps, the business’s R&D tax credit is prorated. The total statutory cap is $12 million with a small business set-aside of $3.5 million. A single applicant may not receive a tax credit exceeding $250,000.

The Maryland Momentum Fund invests in USM-affiliated companies to support entrepreneurism, catalyze outside investment in early-stage startups, and foster economic development and technology commercialization. A pre-seed to late-seed stage investment fund, the Maryland Momentum Fund helps promising early-stage companies bridge from grant funding and angel investment to a Series A round of investment.

Dingman Center Angels (DCA) is a Maryland-based angel investment group that provides funding to early-stage companies primarily located in the mid-Atlantic region. Typically, DCA invests between $100,000 and $250,000 in growth seed/early-stage companies and will often participate in syndicates with other local angel groups and VC’s for capital raises up to $2 million.

The Pre-seed Builder Fund (or Builder Fund) was created to financially and operationally support the development of startup companies run by entrepreneurs who demonstrate a socially or economically disadvantaged background that hinders access to traditional forms of capital and executive networks at the pre-seed stage. Funding up to $50K.

State reimbursement grant for staff training costs at technology & manufacturing companies.

Companies engaged in R&D with the potential for commercialization may be eligible to apply for highly competitive grant awards of varying amounts (e.g. $100,000 to $2M) to support commercialization projects.

TEDCO will provide $100,000 to $500,000 seed funding through convertible debt and equity instruments to qualified early-stage companies in cybersecurity, life sciences, and other technologies. Programs include: Cybersecurity Investment Fund, Life Sciences Investment Fund, Technology Commercialization Fund (Funds are 100% deployed for FY25), Gap Investment Fund.

Companies with proprietary technology and a competitive advantage in the market may apply for $500k to $1.5M investment from the Maryland Venture Fund.

Companies seeking funding, facilities, resources, and expertise within Maryland’s public universities to create new products and opportunities can apply for MIPS funding to support up to $90,000 of a $100,000 project.

This six-year credit is available to businesses that increase their space by at least 5,000 square feet of new, never before occupied space and their employee count by at least 25 new jobs. Businesses that are already resident in the County or that are moving from outside of Maryland are eligible to apply. The credit is not available to businesses that move to Montgomery County from another Maryland county or from Baltimore City, and it is not available to retailers. The company must hire the 25 new permanent full-time employees during a 24 month period during which the company takes possession of the new or expanded premises.

Investors in a Qualified Maryland Technology Company (QMTC) conducting R&D in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, agriculture, Al, blue tech, cybersecurity, education, energy and sustainability, fintech, life sciences, quantum, sensor and robotics may qualify to receive up to $250K in tax credits for 33% of their eligible investment.

Investors in Montgomery County biotechnology companies who are approved to receive tax credits for 33% of their eligible investment up to $250,000 from the Maryland Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit Program automatically receive an additional supplemental grant (amounts vary annually) from the County.

The Business Expansion Fund is designed to support existing Rockville businesses that seek to lease or purchase additional Class A or B office, industrial, retail or flex space to accommodate their growing needs. Businesses expanding within the corporate limits of the City of Rockville are eligible to receive a grant in the amount of up to $4.00 per square foot for the additional space occupied, with a maximum grant amount of $40,000 per application. Grants are subject to the amount of available funding at the time of application. There are two application deadlines each year–September 30 and April 30.

Provides grants for infrastructure projects to advance innovation and growth in eligible technology sectors. Grants may be awarded to private companies, nonprofit entities, local governments, or colleges and universities.